Taxal Lodge, Derbyshire, October 2018

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HughieD

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1. The History
Taxal Lodge was originally built in 1904 as the home of Lt. Col. Henry Ramsden-Jodrell (born March 1871), one of six children John Charles Francis Ramsden, a Royal Artillery Captain and his wife Emma Susan Duncombe. Eton educated, he gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Artillery and married Dorothy Lynch Cotton-Jodrell. He went on the have three daughters with her; Susan born in 1903, Francis in 1905 and Mary in 1916. During World War I he was director of the Ministry of Munitions during the First World War.

Taxal Lodge from the air in 1937:

30560137347_56c89ca9af_b.jpg20181022_190742 by HughieDW, on Flickr

When he died in 1950, the lodge was then sold and became a special school for 'disruptive or emotionally disturbed children' between the ages of 11-16, run by Stockport Education Authority. They spent weekdays at the school and were then allowed home at the weekends, if they had a home to go to. Those that didn’t stayed in another care-home nearby.

Two pictures of Taxal Lodge circa 1955:

44586825295_3fda0e48e2_b.jpg20181022_191050 by HughieDW, on Flickr

45454945992_4e1b7f50a6_b.jpg20181023_001626 by HughieDW, on Flickr

At its peak, between 50 and 60 boys lived at the Lodge. During its time as a school there were reported cases of abuse resulting in it now being considered a haunted place. For a balanced account of former pupil’s memories of their time at Taxal Lodge follow this link HERE

The School changed its name in 1998 to The Taxal Centre. Its last Ofsted Report was in May 2004 before finally closing its doors in 2005. The lodge was apparently then sold on the 13th March 2009 for £900,000, according to houseprices.co.uk. In 2010, planners at High Peak Borough Council turned-down a building application to convert the Lodge into 14 homes, tabled by the new owners/developers, Ruttle Contacting Ltd from Chorley in Lancashire. The main reasons behind the refusal were around the concerns about extra traffic on Linglongs Road and the fact that the proposal did not include any ‘affordable housing’.

Later in the year, a fire damaged a large amount of the outbuildings including the gymnasium, but the main lodge was unaffected. Another fire occurred in May 2012. Since then the lodge has been left empty and open to the vandals and the elements and is now in a dire state of repair.

2. The Explore
We went expecting maximum derpage and so it came to be. The lodge is completely open and easy-to-access and also completely trashed. The roof has totally gone in places and subsequent water ingress has cause whole floors to fall through. The floors in the left-hand wing remain in situ and in better condition but still shady so we just stuck to the ground floor. The place is completely stripped with little in the way of original features to see. Things could have been so different for this place if planning permission was granted back in 2010. The decline of the lodge since then is quite staggering. The place is now destined to decay and fall down. It’s a shame as it started life as a lovely country pile and happy home for the Ramsden-Jodrell family.

3. The Pictures

One of the out-buildings:

30535774137_6bb024586d_b.jpgimg9927 by HughieDW, on Flickr

And the gable-end of another:

44750569364_a765290b0a_b.jpgimg9928 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Front of house:

44561640535_c5e1b53fc5_b.jpgimg9929 by HughieDW, on Flickr

44561585605_6bdaccd683_b.jpgimg9930 by HughieDW, on Flickr

45424073252_3dccdba6c7_b.jpgimg9931 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Presumably the family crest of the lodge’s builder:

44750396734_b5ba9953f4_b.jpgimg9932 by HughieDW, on Flickr

What were the house’s charming grounds, now overgrown:

45475672551_b388265deb_b.jpgimg9933 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Looking rather ‘open plan’ these days:

44750218584_17c1579e1e_b.jpgimg9939 by HughieDW, on Flickr

1st floor on the ground floor:

44750269324_8f295efe07_b.jpgimg9938 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Remains of the old pool table:

45475490891_1532630b61_b.jpgimg9944 by HughieDW, on Flickr

More downstairs derpage:

44561199355_3140edfcb1_b.jpgimg9947 by HughieDW, on Flickr

45423714052_6dfca24df6_b.jpgimg9948 by HughieDW, on Flickr

44561128635_65ebcd52f9_b.jpgimg9949 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The former kitchen area:

45423618592_4af840b920_b.jpgimg9950 by HughieDW, on Flickr

30535049667_b55cef725e_b.jpgimg9952 by HughieDW, on Flickr

More out-building dereliction:

45423466312_4ff9979c13_b.jpgIMG9958 by HughieDW, on Flickr

30534879667_5e25e4480e_b.jpgIMG9959 by HughieDW, on Flickr

45423366122_e2d91e2b55_b.jpgIMG9960 by HughieDW, on Flickr

44749741344_60d9bc0b92_b.jpgIMG9961 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Random bath and table:

44560751625_034185d3f2_b.jpgIMG9964 by HughieDW, on Flickr

43657365740_91de18803c_b.jpgIMG9967 by HughieDW, on Flickr

31600097668_4078a04481_b.jpgimg9969 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Yeah, right…

44749430854_46a2bdd648_b.jpgimg9971 by HughieDW, on Flickr
 
Nice set and write up mate as usual.shame it's in such a state now
 
Loved reading that. I should write more with mine!

What a shame though because the actual building is nice. The edging stones are superb and the walls, with a little pointing, could be made good too.
All through those images I couldn't help but think some 'disruptive children' had returned to attack the school..

Similar buildings up this way usually get burnt down if the council refuses permission. We've lost two manor houses and a very old farmhouse with that farmhouse being only last year.

Particularly liking how despite the building having little left to show it still made for a good report.
 
The lodge is in a sad state comparing to your first photo. Gone are the lovely gardens and the stables.

Yeah. That picture really brings home quite how far this place has fallen. So many of the outbuildings are now just shells and the gardens unrecognisable. Shame as it would have been a lovely family home.
 
When I saw your first pic I thought oooOooo HD has got himself a drone:biggrin-new: then I saw your real first pic, a very generous description of an out building...well it still has two sides kinda standing:nightmare:lol. Well you have managed to get around the place and get some decent shots but I don't know how the hell you did hahaha first floor is now ground floor says it all really, like you said HD, shame planning permission wasn't granted sooner, but then that was probably their plan.
 

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