Visited with TheVampiricSquid and Chopper!
The short story with this place is that it was originally a Victorian orphanage. In later years it became a seminary and also ballet school and ultimately became an Islamic school. It's infamy came about when in the late 90s, Abu Hamza used it to train his acolytes in the use of automatic weaponry and handguns. Further dodgy goings on were reported later on and the Police raided the place in 2006.
The location of the place is in a sparsely populated, predominantly upper class, inland area of my home county! It's easy to see why Abu Hamza was using it, because it's right out of the way of everyone. The grounds have added privacy from areas of coppice and small copses, as well as a ton of thick brambles! We spend some time skulking around the outside, looking in old asbestos buildings and being very cautious as there were a number of vehicles on the grounds. On closer inspection it was revealed that they were write-offs.
The first wing of the building we got into. It included numerous side rooms with squat toilets, European toilets, areas for washing before prayer and urinals.
DSC04096 by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
I've had bad experiences with these things in the past...
Islamic Bog Shot by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
Corridor which we got to the end of, gently opened the door and heard voices in the adjacent room. We wrote it off as just secca paying a visit and went back the way we came.
DSC04098 by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
Next stop was the pigeon poop encrusted chapel.
Poop Encrusted by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
DSC04108 by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
DSC04107 by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
Finding a way into the main building, the first room we stumbled upon was a very small classroom.
Mr.Slim Abdullah Abu Jafar Jim by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
We opened up one of the desks and it was revealed to be full off some very new looking books...
Somehow I think We're Not Alone... by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
As we made out way back out, we all got a shock as we realised someone was coming down the stairs, so we dived into a side room full of junk. We all stood there, trying to look valiant and not like we were on the verge of soiling ourselves, but it was a false alarm! We ventured back out of the room and made our way further down a hallway, as it became more and more apparent that there was a number of children in the building (could hear adults bellowing and children squawking and running around). We could also smell Eastern food and spices on the go. We reconsidered our situation: We were tempted to press on, as was I to burst in to one of the side rooms full of unsuspecting people for good video footage, but wasn't sure how they'd deal with it. Especially considering cultural issues, potential language barriers and the fact there were children around. In the end, common sense prevailed and we abandoned ship. We got outside by the main gate and a load of people drove past us on the track. A dude in Arabic attire stepped out, so we decided to approach him and ask if we could take some external shots. In short he said no, explaining that it was a school and mosque (I had no idea it was still active!). He was surprisingly calm and polite.
I didn't get much in the way of decent photos, but there's a lot of video to follow! My descriptions of the explore will tie more in with that as I was filming almost constantly. Just editing the first part at the moment!
It was a great start to a day of exploring on the whole! Definitely something different and thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
The short story with this place is that it was originally a Victorian orphanage. In later years it became a seminary and also ballet school and ultimately became an Islamic school. It's infamy came about when in the late 90s, Abu Hamza used it to train his acolytes in the use of automatic weaponry and handguns. Further dodgy goings on were reported later on and the Police raided the place in 2006.
The location of the place is in a sparsely populated, predominantly upper class, inland area of my home county! It's easy to see why Abu Hamza was using it, because it's right out of the way of everyone. The grounds have added privacy from areas of coppice and small copses, as well as a ton of thick brambles! We spend some time skulking around the outside, looking in old asbestos buildings and being very cautious as there were a number of vehicles on the grounds. On closer inspection it was revealed that they were write-offs.
The first wing of the building we got into. It included numerous side rooms with squat toilets, European toilets, areas for washing before prayer and urinals.
DSC04096 by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
I've had bad experiences with these things in the past...
Islamic Bog Shot by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
Corridor which we got to the end of, gently opened the door and heard voices in the adjacent room. We wrote it off as just secca paying a visit and went back the way we came.
DSC04098 by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
Next stop was the pigeon poop encrusted chapel.
Poop Encrusted by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
DSC04108 by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
DSC04107 by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
Finding a way into the main building, the first room we stumbled upon was a very small classroom.
Mr.Slim Abdullah Abu Jafar Jim by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
We opened up one of the desks and it was revealed to be full off some very new looking books...
Somehow I think We're Not Alone... by SlimJim UE, on Flickr
As we made out way back out, we all got a shock as we realised someone was coming down the stairs, so we dived into a side room full of junk. We all stood there, trying to look valiant and not like we were on the verge of soiling ourselves, but it was a false alarm! We ventured back out of the room and made our way further down a hallway, as it became more and more apparent that there was a number of children in the building (could hear adults bellowing and children squawking and running around). We could also smell Eastern food and spices on the go. We reconsidered our situation: We were tempted to press on, as was I to burst in to one of the side rooms full of unsuspecting people for good video footage, but wasn't sure how they'd deal with it. Especially considering cultural issues, potential language barriers and the fact there were children around. In the end, common sense prevailed and we abandoned ship. We got outside by the main gate and a load of people drove past us on the track. A dude in Arabic attire stepped out, so we decided to approach him and ask if we could take some external shots. In short he said no, explaining that it was a school and mosque (I had no idea it was still active!). He was surprisingly calm and polite.
I didn't get much in the way of decent photos, but there's a lot of video to follow! My descriptions of the explore will tie more in with that as I was filming almost constantly. Just editing the first part at the moment!
It was a great start to a day of exploring on the whole! Definitely something different and thoroughly enjoyed the experience!