# Selly Oak Hospital - Birmingham - April 2014 (Permission Visit)



## Derelict-UK (Jun 6, 2014)

*This was visited with the permission of University Hospitals Birmingham and Coleman & Company Ltd (demolition crew).*

Work has already started to reduce the site to a handful of original buildings, demolishing the rest and converting the few remaining into a new housing scheme.

I was given a guided chance to photograph as many buildings I could access (some are still in use as offices and some buildings are used for training) so I could provide a permanent archive of pictures for people to view what the site once looked like. The full set, over 300 images can be found here: www.photoaddiction.co.uk

There is a big history section on my website, but here are some extracts...



> Selly Oak Hospital on Raddlebarn Road (formerly called Workhouse Lane) first started life as King’s Norton Union Workhouse in 1872. The workhouse was built to accommodate 200 paupers by combining many smaller workhouses in the area and was built as part of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.
> .....
> Parliament Acts ruled that children and mentally ill inmates should be accommodated in separate infirmary blocks usually located next door to the workhouse.
> .....
> ...



Below are a couple of images from each building, a kind of 'best of'...

*Out-Patients Department*
(To be demolished)

1.






2 & 3.








4 & 5.








6.





- - - - - 

*Matron's House*
(To be demolished)

7.





8.





- - - - - 

*Diabetes & Dermatology *
The original entrance to the workhouse before West Lodge was built.
(To be retained)

9.





10.





- - - - - 

*West Lodge *
The Arc, 1902 entrance built for the King's Norton Union Workhouse
(To be retained)

11.





12.





- - - - - 

*Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (K Block)*
This was the original workhouse, it once contained a kitchen and canteen in the (now sports) hall at the rear. 
In 2002 it became the home of the MOD in rehabilitation and treatment of war zone casualties of places such as Afghanistan & Iraq.
(Front view to be retained, hall to be demolished)

13. This front facing view is to be retained





14.





15. Old canteen area of original workhouse (to be demolished), you can just peek one of the roof beams out above





16.





17.





18.





19.





- - - - - 

*Clinical Care Storage - used to be Critical Care Unit (E Block)*
During its workhouse days, K, E & J Block used to be attached to each other using a covered walkway.
(To be demolished)

20.





21.





- - - - - 

*Micro Biology*
(To be demolished)

22.





23.





- - - - - 

*Medical Engineering*
(To be demolished)

24.





25.





- - - - - 

*Pathology*
(To be demolished)

26.





27.





- - - - - 

*Woodlands Nurses Home*
(To be retained)

28.





29.





- - - - - 

*Doctors Residence*
(To be demolished)

30.





31.





- - - - - 

*Main Building A to D Wing*
This was the original workhouse infirmary that was built in 1897.
(The majority of this will be demolished with only the core retained)

32.





33.





34.






For the rest (over 300 in total) please visit www.photoaddiction.co.uk


Thank you.​


----------



## Onmyown (Jun 6, 2014)

Neat shots fella.


----------



## flyboys90 (Jun 7, 2014)

Superb collection of images here,not able to view the photos on your site ?


----------



## perjury saint (Jun 7, 2014)

*Top notch this is!! *


----------



## Derelict-UK (Jun 7, 2014)

flyboys90 said:


> Superb collection of images here,not able to view the photos on your site ?



If you are using Internet Explorer, try using Firefox or Chrome.

My site doesn't like some IE versions (Apple software you see).

Any further problems, let me know.


----------



## AgentTintin (Jun 8, 2014)

Fantastic! Loved the shots


----------



## krela (Jun 9, 2014)

Lovely buildings, thanks!


----------



## UrbanX (Jun 9, 2014)

Wow what an amazing documentary! Fantastic, thanks so much for sharing with us!


----------



## egodge (Jun 9, 2014)

Great report - thanks for sharing! Some lovely photo's - its brilliant that you were able to document the building before its demolition!


----------



## Derelict-UK (Jun 9, 2014)

Thanks all, it really was a good couple of days. Security were excellent too, would take me virtually wherever I wanted (unless the areas were being stripped of asbestos or had bad air in (such as basements)) and would hold back while I got the photos so they weren't in the way.

I love these kind of permission trips, get a great history of the site from a long standing security guard and get to take good pictures.


----------



## flyboys90 (Jun 9, 2014)

Derelict-UK said:


> If you are using Internet Explorer, try using Firefox or Chrome.
> 
> My site doesn't like some IE versions (Apple software you see).
> 
> Any further problems, let me know.



Still cant get the slide show no problem with the others ie Birmingham Fire Station.


----------



## Derelict-UK (Jun 9, 2014)

The history section has its slideshow disabled, the other galleries (they are a gallery per building) have it enabled, can you PM me a screenshot of what you are looking at? If you just click on an image in say the Doctors Residence gallery, does a larger image come up? If it does, just use the arrows to scroll through.


----------



## Potter (Jun 16, 2014)

Great stuff. Nice that parts will be retained.


----------



## BandageHead (Jul 8, 2014)

That's quite something! Well done for documenting this site!


----------



## Pilot (Jul 8, 2014)

A very valuable record - particularly the full set.


----------

