# St Peters, County Durham. Field report.



## Samy2015 (Jan 20, 2015)

If you havent seen the video in the video thread, then here are the pictures from our trip to St peters, We live just up the road form it and had never known it was there (well we knew it was there but had no idea of its history) 

We an an interesting wander around, I hope you like the pics. The video can be found in the general stuff bit of the forum.











































































































































































































































































I hope you like the pics, they were taken on mobile phones,  xx


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## gingrove (Jan 20, 2015)

Nice set but what was the ap like a radar scanner on the phone?


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## Samy2015 (Jan 20, 2015)

Its a ghost radar, its not just the history that tempts Sam and I. We are into our supernatural too  xx


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## Mr beady (Jan 20, 2015)

I know phones are good but detecting things that don't exist ? nahh. Looks a good building with some features but a lot of repetition,


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## tumble112 (Jan 20, 2015)

That is an imposing building, nice job. Luke Evers certainly left his mark here.


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## Samy2015 (Jan 20, 2015)

Mr beady said:


> I know phones are good but detecting things that don't exist ? nahh. Looks a good building with some features but a lot of repetition,



The wonderful thing about being human is we are entitled to our opinions  hehe. I only answered a question. And yes its an amazing building, this was just us scouting out whether or not it is safe to return for a full investigation. Hopefully we will have more interior pics next time.

I have googled and have tried to find out if Luke Evers was anything to do witht he building whilst in operation or just s scrote running round with a can of spray paint. Unfortunatly due to the nature of its history there is little to be found on names for it xx


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## Mr beady (Jan 20, 2015)

I'm guessing it was a hospital? You don't mention it. A guess would be its just kids


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## Samy2015 (Jan 20, 2015)

Mr beady said:


> I'm guessing it was a hospital? You don't mention it. A guess would be its just kids



Built around 1900 by the Catholic church, Saint Peters was initially an orphanage for 300 boys and it functioned as such for almost 40 years. During the 1930s there was an appalling civil war in Spain and from the 17th. July 1936 to the 1st. of April 1939, the country became a cauldron of violence with many people forced out of their homes by bombing and the to and fro fighting of the opposing sides. The situation was made much worse by the interference of Hitler's Nazi Germany when he pledged men and material to support the Spanish Fascist Party led by General Jose Sanjurio. In response men flooded into Spain from all over the world to fight the fascists, or to fight WITH the fascists, and the war in Spain became what has been widely regarded as a dress rehearsal for World War II. In 1937 as a result of the Spanish Civil War Saint Peters took in 120 orphaned Basque children who's families had been torn apart by the fighting.

In 1940, shortly after the start of the Second World War, the orphanage had a change of purpose and became an approved school - better known as a Borstal in the language of the time - continuing in that role until 1984. Hence the title of "Saint Peters School"

After closing it's doors in 1984 the building was sold on the private market and for a period of a little over ten years it was used as a care home for the elderly. It is the poignant relics of that time which still litter the building in abundance today. Just short of one hundred years of occupation and at almost the year 2000, the care home wound down and closed. Initially the building was not particularly well secured and several arson attempts were made upon the site, not least in the gymnasium building at the back which is quite badly damaged and extremely smoke blackened. Two housing companies - Blackthorn Homes and Kebbell Homes - own Saint Peters in a consortium, and they have received a great deal of very bad publicity as a result of their reluctance to spend money on properly securing the building after their planning application for the conversion of Saint Peters to a residential development was turned down. An increasing number of petty vandalism attacks upon the building ever since has caused it to rapidly become an eyesore, and the fact that the interior is crumbling from the actions of water ingress has created a severe risk to local children who by their very nature will inevitably explore old buildings such as this. The police have refused to set aside man power to watch the building and so eventually the owners were pressured into boarding up all the potential points of entry at ground floor level, and on the front and sides of the building they have painted false windows on the boarding they have applied in order to create some degree of aesthetics. 

There is a history of abuse in this building, with some of our research bring up the name Jimmy Savil. There is a bit of a black out on info, which i feel is due to on going cases of historical abuse  x


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## flyboys90 (Jan 20, 2015)

Interesting building,thanks for sharing.


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## The Wombat (Jan 24, 2015)

Nice report, if a bit pic heavy
well done for getting out there


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## Samy2015 (Jan 25, 2015)

Well I initially posted a video report and was asked to upload the pictures from it too. So are you not supposed to post lots of pictures as I am finding it very hard to follow what is and is not the right way to do things on this forum :/


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## krela (Jan 25, 2015)

Try reading this comprehensive guide to posting location reports... 

[ame]http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=16286[/ame]

And also take notice of how everyone else does it.


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## HughieD (Jan 26, 2015)

Samy2015 said:


> Well I initially posted a video report and was asked to upload the pictures from it too. So are you not supposed to post lots of pictures as I am finding it very hard to follow what is and is not the right way to do things on this forum :/



That's a fair question. Personally I try and put up between 10 and 25 pix depending on the place. I tend to find that less is more for the bigger sites where you have taken a lot of pictures. 

Admittedly there is a very thin line between too many pictures and a 'comprehensive' report!


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## Samy2015 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thanks HughieD, I have read the field report rules. I was asked to upload the pics from the video several times, I stated all pics were in the video but still thought I would try and do as I had been asked as a new member (even though it was a bit time consuming to do). I will in future try and stick to those numbesr you suggest, A most helpful answer thankyou. Will learn as we go. Easier to do when you get straight answers  xxx


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## Jagdpanther (Jan 28, 2015)

Nice report - always wondered what it was like inside there! Been going past it regularly for years - even remember when it was still the approved school.
However as you know there has been a lot of stuff about this place in local press - usual shit about kids drinking in there etc and an 'accident waiting to happen'. Both press and police had been perusing urbexing forums for information about trespassing in St Peters. Therefore you might want to remove the photos showing your faces just in case!


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## Jagdpanther (Jan 28, 2015)

Nice report - always wondered what it was like inside there! Been going past it regularly for years - even remember when it was still the approved school.
However as you know there has been a lot of stuff about this place in local press - usual shit about kids drinking in there etc and an 'accident waiting to happen'. Both press and police had been perusing urbexing forums for information about trespassing in St Peters. Therefore you might want to remove the photos showing your faces just in case!


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## krela (Jan 28, 2015)

The pictures show nothing illegal, and it's kinda hard to trace someone by their face, so... not really.


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## smiler (Jan 28, 2015)

The history of the place that you added was helpful, I enjoyed looking, Thanks


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## Geordielad (Feb 4, 2015)

good report  well done


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