I've waited a long while to experience the thrill of wandering the vast decaying halls of an abandoned asylum in the UK again. The last time I explored a classic compact arrow/echelon plan asylum was a revisit to Hellingly Hospital all the way back at the tail end of 2009. Nearly nine long years without a major asylum here under my belt other than little bits of Aston Hall, Harperbury and a 2015 return to Hellingly, through a combination of bad luck on my part, laziness on my part - case in point Severalls, Whittingham, St. Mary's, etc etc all doable but for some reason I never made it to them before they were demolished - and bad timing with access/security stuff.
Construction of Whitchurch Hospital began in 1898 and it was officially opened in 1908. Like most Victorian asylums it was designed to be fully self-sufficient with it's own farm, water and power supplies. During the Second World War part of the hospital was put under control of the military and it became the largest emergency hospital in South Wales. In 1948 it was taken over by the Ministry of Health as the NHS came into being and was fully utilised until care in the community systems beginning in the 1980s saw patient numbers begin to decrease. Phasing down of the hospital began in the mid 2000s with services beginning to move to new buildings elsewhere, and the hospital officially closed in April 2016.
This is probably the best all-round derelict asylum the UK has produced since West Park. It's got a bit of everything from fresh as the day it was abandoned wards to extremely derpy bits, modernised and unmodernised areas, a dentist surgery, amazing hall and loads of stuff left to root through. Finding the old records room was an added bonus too.
It was absolutely pouring down with rain for the duration of the visit so I didn't get any proper external shots however I took a number through windows as I absolutely love the look of this place from the outside with it's unusual two tone brickwork.
I apologise in advance for the length of this thread, after spending eight hours inside naturally I came away with quite a number of shots and want to give it a thorough showing. Visited with @Grom @Brewtal @Zotez and two non members, it was a fantastic morning/afternoon full of laughs and great company. Myself, Zotez and one of the non members left before Grom and Brewtal, and on the way out Brewtal was collared by a police dog unit who were also on site yesterday so keep that in mind if you fancy a look.
The wards here didn't have names, they were simply numbered 1-5 on each side East and West. East & West 1 were closest to the centre of the hospital, with East & West 5 at the furthest points away along the giant U-shaped corridor that runs around the site.
Ward West 5 was an anomaly in that, for unclear reasons, it was shuttered way back in the 1980s. It may have had something to do with the rampant dry rot that has invaded the building, but who knows. It couldn't have been more of a contrast to it's sister ward on the other side, Ward East 5, which was the most intact out of all the wards.
The floors in West 5 were so badly rotted out that we were unable to venture far, but it provided a window into what the asylum would have looked like before modernisation happened in the 1990s.
After that we headed back into the main body of the asylum to the hall via the dentist surgery. At some point some mocked up modernised 'new' rooms were constructed in the middle of the hall which is both intriguing but also annoying as it ruins it somewhat.
We then decided to make the climb up the water tower that dominates the middle of the site. Sadly by this time the rain had started coming down even harder so opportunities for photos were limited in the exposed top portion.
As I mentioned before, Ward East 5 is the exact opposite to the long-closed West 5. East 5 was the Crisis Assessment Ward and thanks to it's out of the way location it looks as if everyone has just stepped out for a minute and will return any second.
Wards East 4 and 3 were inaccessible due to building work taking place in the vicinity so it was onwards to East 2 and 1.
Apologies for the long read!
Thanks for looking
Construction of Whitchurch Hospital began in 1898 and it was officially opened in 1908. Like most Victorian asylums it was designed to be fully self-sufficient with it's own farm, water and power supplies. During the Second World War part of the hospital was put under control of the military and it became the largest emergency hospital in South Wales. In 1948 it was taken over by the Ministry of Health as the NHS came into being and was fully utilised until care in the community systems beginning in the 1980s saw patient numbers begin to decrease. Phasing down of the hospital began in the mid 2000s with services beginning to move to new buildings elsewhere, and the hospital officially closed in April 2016.
This is probably the best all-round derelict asylum the UK has produced since West Park. It's got a bit of everything from fresh as the day it was abandoned wards to extremely derpy bits, modernised and unmodernised areas, a dentist surgery, amazing hall and loads of stuff left to root through. Finding the old records room was an added bonus too.
It was absolutely pouring down with rain for the duration of the visit so I didn't get any proper external shots however I took a number through windows as I absolutely love the look of this place from the outside with it's unusual two tone brickwork.
I apologise in advance for the length of this thread, after spending eight hours inside naturally I came away with quite a number of shots and want to give it a thorough showing. Visited with @Grom @Brewtal @Zotez and two non members, it was a fantastic morning/afternoon full of laughs and great company. Myself, Zotez and one of the non members left before Grom and Brewtal, and on the way out Brewtal was collared by a police dog unit who were also on site yesterday so keep that in mind if you fancy a look.
![44797814632_cde313c585_b.jpg 44797814632_cde313c585_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246490-44797814632-cde313c585-b.jpg)
![44797814462_39c0382f60_b.jpg 44797814462_39c0382f60_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246491-44797814462-39c0382f60-b.jpg)
![30975321018_889cd942bc_b.jpg 30975321018_889cd942bc_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246492-30975321018-889cd942bc-b.jpg)
![44797814262_d99cc82029_b.jpg 44797814262_d99cc82029_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246493-44797814262-d99cc82029-b.jpg)
![44797814082_fa49c7cc76_b.jpg 44797814082_fa49c7cc76_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246494-44797814082-fa49c7cc76-b.jpg)
The wards here didn't have names, they were simply numbered 1-5 on each side East and West. East & West 1 were closest to the centre of the hospital, with East & West 5 at the furthest points away along the giant U-shaped corridor that runs around the site.
Ward West 5 was an anomaly in that, for unclear reasons, it was shuttered way back in the 1980s. It may have had something to do with the rampant dry rot that has invaded the building, but who knows. It couldn't have been more of a contrast to it's sister ward on the other side, Ward East 5, which was the most intact out of all the wards.
The floors in West 5 were so badly rotted out that we were unable to venture far, but it provided a window into what the asylum would have looked like before modernisation happened in the 1990s.
![43036277180_cf91c50292_b.jpg 43036277180_cf91c50292_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246495-43036277180-cf91c50292-b.jpg)
![44126854734_77a0bda757_b.jpg 44126854734_77a0bda757_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246496-44126854734-77a0bda757-b.jpg)
![43036276970_95a382dbf4_b.jpg 43036276970_95a382dbf4_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246497-43036276970-95a382dbf4-b.jpg)
After that we headed back into the main body of the asylum to the hall via the dentist surgery. At some point some mocked up modernised 'new' rooms were constructed in the middle of the hall which is both intriguing but also annoying as it ruins it somewhat.
![44126854534_62653ccf1f_b.jpg 44126854534_62653ccf1f_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246498-44126854534-62653ccf1f-b.jpg)
![43036276810_4d903a1cf0_b.jpg 43036276810_4d903a1cf0_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246499-43036276810-4d903a1cf0-b.jpg)
![43036276180_d8fddf28e7_b.jpg 43036276180_d8fddf28e7_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246500-43036276180-d8fddf28e7-b.jpg)
![44126854064_c472e852f7_b.jpg 44126854064_c472e852f7_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246501-44126854064-c472e852f7-b.jpg)
![44126852924_60f7fe2599_b.jpg 44126852924_60f7fe2599_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246502-44126852924-60f7fe2599-b.jpg)
![43036276410_5cb84656ab_b.jpg 43036276410_5cb84656ab_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246503-43036276410-5cb84656ab-b.jpg)
![44126853574_a3fc98a56d_b.jpg 44126853574_a3fc98a56d_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246504-44126853574-a3fc98a56d-b.jpg)
![44847499041_6a7fd71647_b.jpg 44847499041_6a7fd71647_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246505-44847499041-6a7fd71647-b.jpg)
![44847498671_2041c16562_b.jpg 44847498671_2041c16562_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246506-44847498671-2041c16562-b.jpg)
![44126852204_0202b19f28_b.jpg 44126852204_0202b19f28_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246507-44126852204-0202b19f28-b.jpg)
![44126851534_991a172230_b.jpg 44126851534_991a172230_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246508-44126851534-991a172230-b.jpg)
![44847497711_dec07b711a_b.jpg 44847497711_dec07b711a_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246509-44847497711-dec07b711a-b.jpg)
We then decided to make the climb up the water tower that dominates the middle of the site. Sadly by this time the rain had started coming down even harder so opportunities for photos were limited in the exposed top portion.
![44126851254_ed78c22922_b.jpg 44126851254_ed78c22922_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246510-44126851254-ed78c22922-b.jpg)
![44847497441_7332c14fc4_b.jpg 44847497441_7332c14fc4_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246511-44847497441-7332c14fc4-b.jpg)
As I mentioned before, Ward East 5 is the exact opposite to the long-closed West 5. East 5 was the Crisis Assessment Ward and thanks to it's out of the way location it looks as if everyone has just stepped out for a minute and will return any second.
![44847497221_77e30a1115_b.jpg 44847497221_77e30a1115_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246512-44847497221-77e30a1115-b.jpg)
![44847497081_1bcb79edd7_b.jpg 44847497081_1bcb79edd7_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246513-44847497081-1bcb79edd7-b.jpg)
![43036273490_f616e718b3_b.jpg 43036273490_f616e718b3_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246514-43036273490-f616e718b3-b.jpg)
![29911282797_1050790567_b.jpg 29911282797_1050790567_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246515-29911282797-1050790567-b.jpg)
![44847496851_dc95b3d90e_b.jpg 44847496851_dc95b3d90e_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246516-44847496851-dc95b3d90e-b.jpg)
Wards East 4 and 3 were inaccessible due to building work taking place in the vicinity so it was onwards to East 2 and 1.
![43036273340_e4def10362_b.jpg 43036273340_e4def10362_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246517-43036273340-e4def10362-b.jpg)
![44847496711_7c352afb49_b.jpg 44847496711_7c352afb49_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246518-44847496711-7c352afb49-b.jpg)
![43036273220_3f02986468_b.jpg 43036273220_3f02986468_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246519-43036273220-3f02986468-b.jpg)
![44847496351_9207c58806_b.jpg 44847496351_9207c58806_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246520-44847496351-9207c58806-b.jpg)
![44126849824_164ee1f777_b.jpg 44126849824_164ee1f777_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246521-44126849824-164ee1f777-b.jpg)
![43036272920_8b39d63a9b_b.jpg 43036272920_8b39d63a9b_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246522-43036272920-8b39d63a9b-b.jpg)
![44126849644_7bd63d10a2_b.jpg 44126849644_7bd63d10a2_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246523-44126849644-7bd63d10a2-b.jpg)
![44126849474_d22f27ba25_b.jpg 44126849474_d22f27ba25_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246524-44126849474-d22f27ba25-b.jpg)
![43036272470_3947c23743_b.jpg 43036272470_3947c23743_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246525-43036272470-3947c23743-b.jpg)
![44126849204_629f34efca_b.jpg 44126849204_629f34efca_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246526-44126849204-629f34efca-b.jpg)
![29911282007_024b8b52b9_b.jpg 29911282007_024b8b52b9_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246527-29911282007-024b8b52b9-b.jpg)
![44126848804_50ed1e7257_b.jpg 44126848804_50ed1e7257_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246528-44126848804-50ed1e7257-b.jpg)
![44126848554_94a8109278_b.jpg 44126848554_94a8109278_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246529-44126848554-94a8109278-b.jpg)
![43036271360_6edfbc24d6_b.jpg 43036271360_6edfbc24d6_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246530-43036271360-6edfbc24d6-b.jpg)
![30975306138_7841a521b2_b.jpg 30975306138_7841a521b2_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246531-30975306138-7841a521b2-b.jpg)
![44126846804_6f89fe403b_b.jpg 44126846804_6f89fe403b_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246532-44126846804-6f89fe403b-b.jpg)
![44126847884_1c8fb397ab_b.jpg 44126847884_1c8fb397ab_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246533-44126847884-1c8fb397ab-b.jpg)
![44126847264_2bdeba3058_b.jpg 44126847264_2bdeba3058_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246534-44126847264-2bdeba3058-b.jpg)
![30975303688_8a9cc8f549_b.jpg 30975303688_8a9cc8f549_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246535-30975303688-8a9cc8f549-b.jpg)
![30975302088_e846176944_b.jpg 30975302088_e846176944_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246536-30975302088-e846176944-b.jpg)
![30975301308_18b33ff5ef_b.jpg 30975301308_18b33ff5ef_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246537-30975301308-18b33ff5ef-b.jpg)
![29911288147_eea721aa43_b.jpg 29911288147_eea721aa43_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246538-29911288147-eea721aa43-b.jpg)
![44847490661_1428b76dd8_b.jpg 44847490661_1428b76dd8_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246539-44847490661-1428b76dd8-b.jpg)
![29911287257_5284e73b60_b.jpg 29911287257_5284e73b60_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246540-29911287257-5284e73b60-b.jpg)
![29911284587_21fdcafa99_b.jpg 29911284587_21fdcafa99_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/246/246541-29911284587-21fdcafa99-b.jpg)
Apologies for the long read!
Thanks for looking