# Taxal Lodge Special School - Derbyshire



## NakedEye (Jan 26, 2013)

This building has been covered elsewhere however as the place is so huge i've done several visits to cover the entire site. I kept discovering new rooms the more I visited and hope my photos do it justice [it's not easy to choose a mere few from a couple of hundred!] A truly magnificent place well worth anyone's time and effort with quite a lot of items still left inside especially the children's school books and written work. Alarmingly there are also a lot of reports with personal information of the children still scattered around the building and in metal filing cabinets. Some history and current info.

T.L was built in 1904 and was the home of Lt .Col. H. Jodrell who subsequently passed away in 1950. The Lodge was then turned into a special school in various guises for children for the Local Education Authority. This Lodge replaced an earlier T. Lodge originally built further up the valley. It was a mixed boys/girls school for disruptive or emotionally disturbed children who stayed at the school during the week and were allowed home at the weekend (if they had one). The children with no home usually went to Taxal Edge which was more of a borstal near by. 
The Lodge closed it's doors finally in 2005 and was secured but obviously 'people' have been in - as is the norm - and taken out the fire places and other things. However there is still a personal sense to the building especially in the games room which has items still on the wall to do with depression etc...and also the wonderfully brightly painted bedrooms upstairs. 
Sadly there was a fire in 2012 which damaged a large portion of the outbuildings....including the gymnasium but the majority of the site is still in good shape albeit vandalised. 

On with the photographs....

The black gates infront of the grounds leading to the site






The front of the main building with discarded typewrite [one of many]






Again, the front exterior along with a part of the burnt out outer buildings





The rear of the main building





Exterior of one of the annexes which housed a kitchen and classrooms




Staircase in the above annexe which still has the best retro wallpaper!





The retro wallpaper





Annexe kitchen area





Annexe upstairs - filing cabinet still with some documents of the pupils





Educational papers, there are stacks of these on an adjacent shelf [personal details erased in ps]





A lone hanger in the annexe





Upstairs in the anexxe, looks as though this is now a drugs den, the only fire place left in the whole site though





Upstairs in the annnexe, the computer learning room






On to the main building, the staircase along with random typewrite again!





Inside the games room, a reminder of the troubles of some of the children at the school..none of these telephone numbers exist anymore, hence not being edited





The games and activites room sadly vandalised now





A typical incident report form, many of these are kay scattered on the floor downstairs, all personal details again erased





A cupboard in the main kitchen area, some remaining kitchenware





On to the upstairs rooms.....
The green bedroom - you'll see the individuality of the pupils with their different colored rooms!





The pale yellow bedroom





The bright yellow bedroom with magnificent ivy 





The bright yellow bedroom again, fullview





The magnificent orange corridor between the bedrooms, and to think I actually desaturate 20% on all photos!





The pink and white bedroom with fabulous curtains! [i love retro curtains in a room!]





From the corridor into the pink and white bedroom





View into the 2 orange bedrooms through the yellow corridor





The green bedroom





The yellow bathroom with wonderful net curtains....frozen in time....





Up to the second floor.....

The yellow corridor




Some outer buildings again...
Hidden away behind a metal sheet [security] is an art and woodwork room with the equipment still in fairly nice condition. The children's artwork still on the walls





The small gymnasium sadly caught in the fire in 2012





Storage room for P.E equipment next to the tennis court





Finally the rear staircase of the main building....the cracks are beginning to show....





A lot of photos but this building really is amazing, I'd love to see it restored. Planning applications have been submitted but generally any building plans have been rejected as they don't want increaed volumes in traffic arounf=d the area and also due to the wildlife which is in the immediate area, so it remains a ghost.....
Thanks for looking


----------



## urban phantom (Jan 26, 2013)

looks good this mate love the pictures thanks for sharing


----------



## UE-OMJ (Jan 26, 2013)

Very well done


----------



## PaulPowers (Jan 26, 2013)

You've made it look a lot better than it is 

That chair has moved as well


----------



## Silent Hill (Jan 27, 2013)

Retro heaven that mate. Curtains, colours and wallpaper are magic


----------



## Stealthstar79 (Jan 27, 2013)

Really good pics!
Looks a great mooch, might have to have a look myself.
Thanks for sharing


----------



## WiNgNuTz (Jan 27, 2013)

That looks like a stunning location, your pics are amazing! Must be easy to spend a whole day there exploring! Thanks for sharing!


----------



## scribble (Jan 27, 2013)

I think I'd have emotional difficulties if I had to live with those yellow walls! It looks a fascinating place. I'm always disturbed though when personal files are just left. Why didn't they take them away and destroy them?


----------



## Judderman62 (Jan 27, 2013)

it is avery nice mooch this place. Nice report and pics


----------



## sonyes (Jan 27, 2013)

Lovely pics, of what seems to be an excellent location......been meaning to do this one for ages! :O


----------



## NakedEye (Jan 27, 2013)

sonyes said:


> Lovely pics, of what seems to be an excellent location......been meaning to do this one for ages! :O



Thanks! I'd recommend to do it now, literally just walk right in!


----------



## steve2109 (Jan 27, 2013)

Stunning pictures and report, really enjoyed that one, looked cool


----------



## Mars Lander (Jan 27, 2013)

Great set of this place well done, nice to see its still standing and not burned down, the views out of the smashed up windows here are amazing


----------



## ZerO81 (Jan 28, 2013)

I hardly recognized the place! You have made it look great!


----------



## Stussy (Jan 29, 2013)

Looks a decent mooch and covered the site well, great set of pics!


----------



## Ramsgatonian (Jan 29, 2013)

Very nicely done!


----------



## NakedEye (Jan 29, 2013)

scribble said:


> I think I'd have emotional difficulties if I had to live with those yellow walls! It looks a fascinating place. I'm always disturbed though when personal files are just left. Why didn't they take them away and destroy them?



Well the personal papers by law have to be stored for 7 years [as in my job] before destroying, so someone has been naughty leaving them. This seems common place though for some reason


----------



## Judderman62 (Feb 13, 2013)

ZerO81 said:


> I hardly recognized the place! You have made it look great!



agree with m'learned friend here

bits I don't recognise too... hmmmm re-visit ?


----------



## NakedEye (Feb 14, 2013)

Judderman62 said:


> agree with m'learned friend here
> 
> bits I don't recognise too... hmmmm re-visit ?


b
go on you know you want to!!!! it won't be there forever!!! [actually it probably will]


----------

