Two Girls One Building

Winscombe Nursing Home had the capacity for 30 residents. Its closure caused a bit of an uproar, as the home consistently had good reports. Family of the residents were especially upset as residents were then transferred to a Nursing Home with less than satisfactory reports. The reason for its closure was said to be because of it's lack of residents, with only 18 in residence at the time of its closure. January 2018 Plans were submitted for the demolition and build of two, two storey apartments. A total of 14, 2 bedroom apartments and parking for 28 vehicles. A member of the public spoke out against the plans, and they were rejected due to the pressure on the surrounding area. The site was surprisingly easy to get on to, and we managed to enter the building easily. Unfortunately for us, even though the building was open, we managed to set off an alarm! A swift exit followed. Below are a few photos we managed to take, the whole place has been stripped completely and we did see s...

In 1936 colonial-style Air Ministry development houses were built in the Harwell area, constructed by a John Laing. These homes are now some of the oldest surviving properties of the former airbase. RAF Harwell became operational as a bomber station in 1937 and inherited by UKAEA in 1946. By the end of the 1980s UKAEA no longer needed houses to attract employees, and one by one the homes fell empty. There were plans for builds submitted in 2013, to demolish 13 homes and rebuild a massive 120 dwellings, with associated infrastructure, parking and landscaping. But these have been challenged a number of times by local residents, on the grounds of traffic, parking, impact on wildlife, loss of privacy and effecting existing community amenities. You can find the disputed plans here.  This is unfortunately one of our failed explores, as we were unable to actually enter any of the homes. This is not an explore I recommend at the moment as security is quite intense. But we do want to ...

Click here to read Part I After finishing our explore of the house, we began wandering in the large garden of the Nursing Home. We had heard from another Urban Explorer that the garden in particular held some secrets, and was well worth a wander. We didn't quite expect what we found though! There was another garden to the rear, hidden behind a tree line and a broken fence. Immediately we were greeted by a large arch in a stone wall, and noticed straight away someone had built a little make shift shrine from items assumably taken straight from the Nursing Home. We suspect someone was living in the area, as multiple areas were sectioned off in old outhouses. Someone had attempted to build a tree house, and there was even a bathtub with clothes all lined up along the side. It wasn't until I noticed one of the outhouses had a makeshift bed, with food that appeared quite fresh, that we decided to leave quickly. Anyone know what type of bones...

 Mr. and Mrs. Cooppen were multi-millionaires known for owning a number of care homes in Surrey and the surrounding areas. This particular care home, Merok Park Nursing home specialized in dementia, mental health conditions, psychical disabilities and sensory impairments. Merok Park was registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 29 adults, and at the time of the damning report that closed the nursing home in 2014, 25 adults were in residence. All reports before this time appear very positive, the staff and owners were friendly, helpful, considerate and open to changes needed to the care of its dependants. In all areas the home was considered satisfactory. However in 2013 hygiene conditions began to deteriorate, and this is noted in reports. Towards the end of it's running, the home was unhygenic, the mold was prevalent, the smell of urine was inescapable. Staff were stretched ever thinner, working over 50 hours a week, one member of staff working 84 ho...