# St Mary's Asylum April 2009



## Gangeox (Apr 20, 2009)

Me, Neosea, Katputnik (good to meet ya mate) and 85Vintage, took a recent trip up north to see St Marys, it was a great day out, thanks goes to 85Vintage for the driving and Carlosthejackel for the help .

Built: 1912 Opened 1913 as the Pauper Asylum for Gateshead.
Architect: George Thomas Hine & Carter Pegg 
Became Gateshead County Borough Mental Hospital in 1920 
Then St Mary's Hospital from 1948 Closed 1995 
The asylum was requisitioned by the military for the duartion of World War I. At the end of the war the site was returned to Gateshead, who addded a nurse's home in 1927-8 and modified the isolation hospital to form a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. Further pressure on the County Durham mental hospital led to a union with the neighbouring county boroughs of West Hartlepool and South Shields during the 1930's. The joint funding and demand for further space provided impetus for major additions to the Stannington site which would be completed in 1939. Built in plain red brick, the new units provided ten further pairs of staff cottages, two additional blocks flanking the main building, male and female detached working chronic blocks and a large admission and treatment hospital with convalescent villas at the north of the site.
World War II led to the development of a hutted Emergency medical services hospital to the north of the admission unit, which was also requisitioned. The end of the war brought about the creation of the National health service, under which the hospital became known as St. Mary's - named after the Stannington parish church. The hutted emergency hospital was converted to house mental defectives. 

The pics:

























































Plenty more on my website over the next couple of days.


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## LiamCH (Apr 20, 2009)

Don't you mean pic? Where are the rest?


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## Gangeox (Apr 20, 2009)

LiamCH said:


> Don't you mean pic? Where are the rest?



There here now


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## Neosea (Apr 20, 2009)

'twas a good day out, great to meet you Kaputnik  


Hows the teeth Vintage?


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## jennyclare89 (Apr 20, 2009)

hey
the photos are great
im wanting to go here to take photos for my A-Level photography course

how do you get in? is it difficult?


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## lost (Apr 20, 2009)

Nice pics, you managed to capture some different angles on the place there.


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## BigLoada (Apr 20, 2009)

Some nice pictures there man. I've only ever been in the mortuary myself so its good to see what it looks like inside. If I'd known you were coming here I would have invited you guys for tea and cakes


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## Kaputnik (Apr 20, 2009)

Tea and cakes would have been very welcome, after a 7 hr explore, Bigloada!
Great to finally meet up with Neosea, and Gangeox, and catch up with 85vintage again,
Ill try not to repeat photo's that others have covered already, really enjoyed this visit, far less mindless vandalism, and more natural aging, decay, peeling paint, than previous asylums i have visited....

Push thru doors, near the cold storage area...





The water tower... we got as high as the top steel tank, but the incredibly thin, corroded top which you would have to cross to get out onto the very top just wasn't worth trying to walk across!





'Simplex' film reels in a small store room next to the projector room....





Time for peeling paint....




















Window in the upper backstage area of the main hall....





Skeletal mouse remains on a corridor window ledge....















Believe it or not, my bathroom looks pretty much like this, at the moment....










Phone in 'Snips', the hair salon....





Thanks for looking.


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## sheep21 (Apr 20, 2009)

how little vandalism was there?! great photos chaps, so much peeling paint. Love it!


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## Kaputnik (Apr 20, 2009)

sheep21 said:


> how little vandalism was there?!


A good deal less in the way of pointlessly smashed windows, lightshades, graffiti etc, than most asylums i have visited, but don't get me wrong, it's still had the attention of the scrap metal thieves, and all the damage that goes with that.
JennyClare89........
Details of access are best kept to private messages, which you won't be able to send/receive until you have made a few more posts or replies on the site. as anyone can view people's posts, giving out access details is not a good idea, and isn't allowed by the moderators anyway, I'm sure once you have your PM privelages, someone will be happy to give you some info, if you want to get some photographs for your A level course.


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## scrappy (Apr 21, 2009)

sheep21 said:


> how little vandalism was there?! great photos chaps, so much peeling paint. Love it!



there is hardly any! its in the middle of no where.

i was up that way the other day and security was all over so gave it a miss! but the curtain on the stage has fallen since i was last there!


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## Gangeox (Apr 21, 2009)

BigLoada said:


> Some nice pictures there man. I've only ever been in the mortuary myself so its good to see what it looks like inside. If I'd known you were coming here I would have invited you guys for tea and cakes



Thanks glad everyone like them, we may be coming up your way some time soon, so will hold you to that


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## carlosthejackal (Apr 21, 2009)

glad you guys had a good explore :0)
btw bigloada what kinda cake????
im a sucker for a bit of battenburg


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## Neosea (Apr 22, 2009)

Cool photo's guys. Just waiting on 85 Vintage (hint hint  )

Yumm Battenburg_!_ :icon_evil


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## Neosea (Apr 22, 2009)

Ok next lot...





























































Sorry for the photo over-load

More photos here


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## Gangeox (Apr 22, 2009)

Nice shots mate


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## Neosea (Apr 22, 2009)

Thanks mate.


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## sheep21 (Apr 23, 2009)

great shots there.

Nice to hear that the security are keeping the local kids from wrecking the joint.


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## Lightbuoy (Apr 23, 2009)

QUALITY photos from you all 

As has been said before, it's refreshing to see an Asylum is good condition. Reminds me of Mid-Wales but better!

Cheers for posting


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## 85 Vintage (Apr 26, 2009)

Good photo's guys, was a good day out. The disappointment of the day has got to be the climb into pigeon shit hell 



Neosea said:


> 'twas a good day out, great to meet you Kaputnik
> 
> 
> Hows the teeth Vintage?



Took me a while to remember what you getting at there 



Neosea said:


> Cool photo's guys. Just waiting on 85 Vintage (hint hint  )



Have been side tracked the last week or so, it involves 6 cylinders and considerably bigger fuel bill than the bus 

Will take my pics off the cam and get them uploaded tomorrow


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## Neosea (Apr 26, 2009)

85 Vintage said:


> Have been side tracked the last week or so, it involves 6 cylinders and considerably bigger fuel bill than the bus



Nice 



> Will take my pics off the cam and get them uploaded tomorrow



Cool, looking forward to them.


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## Krypton (Apr 26, 2009)

Can i have a flash earth link please?


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## Vintage (Apr 26, 2009)

love the piano pic. Is this the one near morpeth?


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## frantastic (Apr 26, 2009)

these are wicked pics...def going for a visit to this place soon!


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## orangeacid (Apr 26, 2009)

This would be an epic way to start off this years urbex season, just need to pass my test 

Amaaaazing photos guys, looks like an incredible place.


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## 85 Vintage (Apr 27, 2009)

Here we go...

Some came out a bit grainy but luckily they weren't that good a pic anyway. May also notice that the tripod is on the piss in some of the pics

Not sure if whether we were or not...































Was pitch black down unde rthe stores, quite happy with this pic as I'm not usually good at pics in the dark and only read the camera instructions as we all got out of the car 






The electrical boxes for the stage, was dark under here too





And in the meat store in the kitchens










Projectionist's area..





















Boiler room/workshop area






























An alternative take on a window plant





3 switch, got pics of 2'ers and 1'ers aswell





3rd time lucky after experimenting with the camera settings.





'Scuse the hand in left corner





Last randoms...



































About time for 1 of these I reckon





Quite a large amount of pics, but am really pleased with the day and got some good shots.

Rest are here.


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## Static (Apr 27, 2009)

Wow, this place looks amazing - would love to take a visit. Does anyone fancy PMing me with some info?


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## Neosea (Apr 27, 2009)

Great photos 85 Vintage! Well worth the wait.


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## Gangeox (Apr 27, 2009)

Nice ones like these alot.


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## Dharma Bum (May 7, 2009)

edit: ignore me


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## klempner69 (May 7, 2009)

*Very very good*

I like your shots very much,except for the skellington of the rat or whatever it was..


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## jonney (May 9, 2009)

I never get tired of looking at photo's of this place. Keep up the good work


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## Marley85 (Jun 2, 2009)

*Hello every one*

Hi guys. my mate and I went to have a look around here had a good long chat with the security guard top guy he had been working there since the place was open told us about how the people that had been sent there used to make things for the shop. The was also an other building there that was used as a quarantine area for the people that were contagious they knocked it down though when the place was closed down. theres a bit of usless info that now one needed to know lol !


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## BigLoada (Jun 2, 2009)

Marley85 said:


> Hi guys. my mate and I went to have a look around here had a good long chat with the security guard top guy he had been working there since the place was open told us about how the people that had been sent there used to make things for the shop. The was also an other building there that was used as a quarantine area for the people that were contagious they knocked it down though when the place was closed down. theres a bit of usless info that now one needed to know lol !



Was that the old Scottish guy? Yeah I met him once he is a really nice bloke once he realises you aint a thief etc. Spent ages having a crack with him!


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## jpjapers (Jun 28, 2009)

Anyone ever tried the organ??


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## Kaputnik (Jun 28, 2009)

jpjapers said:


> Anyone ever tried the organ??


Afraid it's hymn playing days are over, it's in rather a battered state.


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## james.s (Jun 28, 2009)

My god I want to go!
Where is it again?


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## Kaputnik (Jun 28, 2009)

Stannington, just north of Newcastle upon tyne, Northumberland, James.


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## freebird (Jun 29, 2009)

Excellent pics all of you! I love the look of the place and need to see it for myself sometime. Love that church ceiling!


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## Foxylady (Jun 29, 2009)

Some great photos there. Especially love the chapel and stained-glass window ones...and the peely paint, of course! 
Good stuff, guys.


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## Neosea (Jun 29, 2009)

Thanks for the compliments guys 'n' gal, I feel like another road trip coming on, how about it G, K 'n 85?


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## Kaputnik (Jun 29, 2009)

Sounds good to me, I think you've seen the entrance to one we need to do.... got any waders?


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## Neosea (Jun 29, 2009)

Kaputnik said:


> Sounds good to me, I think you've seen the entrance to one we need to do.... got any waders?



Sure I have waders, do PM with more details


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## Gangeox (Jun 29, 2009)

Neosea said:


> I feel like another road trip coming on, how about it G, K 'n 85?



Count me in Marra!!


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## Marley85 (Jun 29, 2009)

did you guys have any issues with security?


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## pollen101 (Jul 15, 2009)

Brilliant pics!!!!

Was there today,when I can upload pics on this pc I'll stick em on!Not as good as those tho!!!!Love em!And love this place!!!

Security bloke was v helpful too.........


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## Pincheck (Jul 16, 2009)

nice pictures the tower can be done but it needs care and I would recommend latex gloves and perhaps cover shoes for the amout of bird crap up there


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## gjmgjm (Aug 14, 2009)

BEAUTIFUL!!!....it's nice to see the vandals don't get everywhere!


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## Neosea (Aug 14, 2009)

Pincheck said:


> nice pictures the tower can be done but it needs care and I would recommend latex gloves and perhaps cover shoes for the amout of bird crap up there



Interesting photos Pincheck, sorry I didn't see them earlier


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## Neosea (Aug 14, 2009)

gjmgjm said:


> BEAUTIFUL!!!....it's nice to see the vandals don't get everywhere!



Yes it is good.


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## Runner (Aug 24, 2009)

Just come across this thread - some cracking pics guys - really well done!

Top of my "to do" list, great to see a building that hasn't been trashed - "allowed to decay naturally" - nice.
Love that main hall and I'm wondering what lamb sweetbreads taste like (not those ones obviously!)


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## Neosea (Aug 24, 2009)

Runner said:


> Just come across this thread - some cracking pics guys - really well done!
> 
> Top of my "to do" list, great to see a building that hasn't been trashed - "allowed to decay naturally" - nice.
> Love that main hall and I'm wondering what lamb sweetbreads taste like (not those ones obviously!)



Thanks for your comments Runner. It's worth a look


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