Ruined childrens hospital & care home

[tumble112]

First of all I apologise for the qualty of these pictures (I'll never make a photographer), the weather turned nasty just after I arrived and I had driven a long way to get here so I have tried my best.

History bit first : This is Caldwell House, commisioned in 1773 by Baron Mure of Caldwell. It was designed by the famous architect Robert Adam and was to be the last of the 'castle' style houses he designed, a style he began in Devon in the 1760's.
The house remained in the Mure family until 1927, when Govan District Health Board converted the building into a hospital for mentally handicapped children. This was closed by Strathclyde Regional Council in 1985, after which the house became a private residence.
In 1995 the house was badly damaged by fire, which the police treated as suspicious.
In 2010 the building was bought by developers who stripped the remains of the roof and floors, leaving the shell you see now. They plan to convert the house into flats.

Sorry also for the amount of pictures, I explored three different sites on the estate.
More can be seen here https://www.flickr.com/photos/107793356@N06/sets/72157644161325649/


036 by tumble112, on Flickr

035 by tumble112, on Flickr

038 by tumble112, on Flickr

050 by tumble112, on Flickr

034 by tumble112, on Flickr

Remains of the lift shaft (lift is still inside)

031 by tumble112, on Flickr

044 by tumble112, on Flickr

Laundry/boiler room

026 by tumble112, on Flickr

I passed this house in the grounds, previous visitors have reported this house as being lived in as late as 2006.
It has been stripped out completely and lots of belongings dumped outside.


061 by tumble112, on Flickr

055 by tumble112, on Flickr

054 by tumble112, on Flickr

Finally there is another collection of buildings which were presumably built as an estate farm but which at some point have been converted into a care home. The place is knee deep in stuff in places and the rain was pouring in through what is left of the roof so again not the best pictures here. I have been told that this was used to store (or dump!) lots of items from the main house after the fire. I did find an awful lot of children's books and toys which gave the place a sad feel. By the dates on many of the things I found it is apparent that this facility remained open until the late 1990's.


073 by tumble112, on Flickr

072 by tumble112, on Flickr

094 by tumble112, on Flickr

093 by tumble112, on Flickr

064 by tumble112, on Flickr

Why wont anyone play with me?

068 by tumble112, on Flickr

083 by tumble112, on Flickr

086 by tumble112, on Flickr

089 by tumble112, on Flickr

If you've made it this far, well done and thanks for looking.

 

[krela]

That's a sorry site. I'm thinking the developer probably wants to tear it down rather than convert though!

 

[billygroat]

Glorious, what a beautiful building......

For some reason, the weather seems fitting

A multi-faceted site

Thanks for sharing!

 

[tumble112]

That's a sorry site. I'm thinking the developer probably wants to tear it down rather than convert though!

I think that would be the most likely outcome as the cost of refitting the house would surely wipe out any profit.

 

[Stealthstar79]

That would have been beautiful in it's day, such a shame!
Thanks for sharing

 

[Kezz44]

Looks like a nice explore, thanks.

 

[Dirus_Strictus]

That's a sorry site. I'm thinking the developer probably wants to tear it down rather than convert though!

There are major problems with the structural integrity of the 'shell' due to the fire. Many old structures can be restored following a major fire at reasonable costs - the proviso being that the building had not been altered/modernised over the years prior to the fire. Unfortunately this building had quite a bit of structural steel work inserted when the conversions took place - Photo 038 in Tumble's excellent series illustrates some of this and the crack in the lefthand stone column due to the expanding heated steels.

There are a number of similar structures around the UK, all purchased relatively cheaply with the intention of refurbishment to apartments etc. A read of the planning history and relevant structural surveys is usually very revealing and indicates why, in some cases, the developers cut their losses and walk away.

quote tumble - First of all I apologise for the qualty of these pictures (I'll never make a photographer) quote

Tumble, there is nothing, I repeat nothing wrong with this excellent set of photographs and I will say that you are already a 'photographer'! Just remember that 'photography' here is all about recording the location and placing the buildings into the context of the landscape and not about producing 'arty images' - thus photo 044, the view through the window is one I view with importance. All your work that I have seen clearly records what you have been exploring and allows me, along with your useful bit of history, to properly visualise this place. I have no need or desire to go and visit (which is how I personally view how good a report is) the report takes me there. As an 'armchair explorer' now, there are many who could learn from your example

 

[mockingbird]

Tumble1 this is actually rather nice, you can imagine in your mind how it once looked, that is what I like about places like this
Keep it up and glad the weather did not dampen your spirit once arriving!

 

[tumble112]

Thank you everyone for your kind feedback. Thanks Dirus Strictus, once again I have learned a good deal more about a location.
To mockingbird, no the weather didn't put me off at all, I was more concerned about my missus' reaction if I damaged her camera!

 

[steve2109]

Bet that looked great in its day, shame to see it like this

 

[UE-OMJ]

...Tumble, there is nothing, I repeat nothing wrong with this excellent set of photographs and I will say that you are already a 'photographer'! Just remember that 'photography' here is all about recording the location and placing the buildings into the context of the landscape and not about producing 'arty images' - thus photo 044, the view through the window is one I view with importance. All your work that I have seen clearly records what you have been exploring and allows me, along with your useful bit of history, to properly visualise this place. I have no need or desire to go and visit (which is how I personally view how good a report is) the report takes me there. As an 'armchair explorer' now, there are many who could learn from your example

I couldn't agree more!

 

[DirtyJigsaw]

Nice photos! This place is ruined but i bet it was well nice back in its hay day! Thanks for sharing

 

[tumble112]

Nice photos! This place is ruined but i bet it was well nice back in its hay day! Thanks for sharing

Thank you very much. I did a bit of looking around the web and found this picture of the house in 1954.


caldwell-ariel-view by tumble112, on Flickr

 

[flyboys90]

Judging from the state of the building its not even worth saving the facade,great images thanks for sharing.

 

[Dani1978]

I totally agree with everyone, especially Dirus, your photos are fantastic! I a specially like pic 038... the faces on the archway. The weather adds mood, it's as if the building knows its own demise is coming all to soon....

 

[Paulytwotanks]

What an interesting place that once was. Great to see the little turrets at the roof level have survived. I know it's unlikely but I do hope they integrate the fascade into a re-build. I would love to visit this if I lived nearer. Very much enjoyed your report.

 

[tumble112]

I totally agree with everyone, especially Dirus, your photos are fantastic! I a specially like pic 038... the faces on the archway. The weather adds mood, it's as if the building knows its own demise is coming all to soon....

That is a very good thought. Thanks.

 

[Onmyown]

Great shots mate, I think a few black and white ones would have gone down well.Thanks for sharing