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Whitchurch Hospital

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Whitchurch Psychiatric Hospital opened in 1908, after a long ten year construction. The site itself is set over 5 acres of ground, and could treat up to 750 patients. Some of these being permanent patients, whom would live out their lives on the site. Because of this the site was quite self-sufficient, having a bakers, butchers and two fields dedicated to crop growing and the raising of livestock. (Patients were often encouraged to take a role as part of their treatment). Patients were treated for a variety of psychological conditions, varying from Mania to Moral Imbecility (women having children out of wedlock), masturbatory insanity and many forms of Schizophrenia. The first medical superintendent was Dr Goodall, whom championed the idea that all mental illness was the result of physical issues, that caused changes to the brain. Finding these causes therein would result in a cure. For example, Mosquitoes were used to induce malaria, which raised the patients body temperature, pot
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Longlands School

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Longlands Secondary School was opened in 1912, and ran until 1990. It unfortunately closed due to a lack of students in the area. As many as 500 students attended at any one time. Many of the students in it's closing transferred to local school, High Park. After it's closure as a secondary school, the site was purchased by Stourbridge College, and was used as a separate Art's building up until its permanent closure in 2011. In the weeks after its closure previous students were invited back to visit the school, an estimate 1,000 previous students attended, some coming from as fair as Canada and Dubai to say goodbye. Many plans have been made for redevelopment. Twice now however redevelopment plans have fallen through and during this time the building has been heavily vandalized. Latest plans submitted were for a shared community space and new housing.
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Belvedere Golf Club

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June 23rd 2013 the Belvedere Golf club was shut down, making ten staff redundant. This was not a shock closure, as it was common knowledge the club was struggling due to dwindling custom. There is still a store and golf range further up the road from the old club that seems to do a good steady business. Apparently soon after the clubs closure, permission was granted almost immediately for a 82 bed care home. The only reason these plans have not gone ahead seems to be quoted as a 'lack of demand' in the local community for a care home. In March 2017 more building permission was granted for a new estate build, a total of 23 new homes on the grounds. These have yet to go ahead. In March 2014, police arrested seven men and one woman on the site for growing 1,500 cannabis plants, with intent to distribute. As you can see from some of the pictures, upstairs was totally stripped out for the plants, and some paraphernalia can still be found littered around the building. The whole b
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Netley Abbey

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A bit of a change for this post as I visited Netley Abbey with some friends, technically ruins instead of an abandoned and derelict building, a site accessible for all. I never planned to do a post on the Abbey, but found some of its history and lore fascinating. Netley Abbey is the most complete surviving Cistercian Monastery in Southern England. Peter Des Roches, Bishop of Winchester was the man responsible for the build of the Monastery in 1238. Ironically he passed away before the build even began. Work continued without him and King Henry the III became it's patron. Once completed it was home to fifteen monks and thirty lay brothers and servants. In 1536 Monastery life came to a halt, and the building was gifted by King Henry III to a Sir William Paulet, for his loyal service to the king. A powerful political figure, Sir Paulet set about transforming the Abbey into a Tudor Mansion Home. Many of the conversions he built were in red brick, but largely removed in the later 1
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Former Esso Research Centre

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When we visited the building, very little was known to us about the site. It was recommended by a friend who had been past the site many times and had thought from the Tudor beams on the tower, the site could possibly be an abandoned farm house of sorts. We later found that not to be the case! A little research online showed that the site was previously Esso Research Centre Abingdon (ERCA). Most of the site has been demolished, but for some reason this building has been left remaining. I believe the site was built around the 1950, and was Esso's main technical center for fuels and lubricants. The site was purchased with planning permission back in 2016 by Tesco, who had plans to turn the site into a Dot-Com warehouse. The permission was opposed at the time, but was accepted with some conditions. These included archaeological investigation, contamination clause and commencement within three years. As this was published back in 2016, it can be assumed this is no longer going ahe
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