# Severalls Mental Hospital, Colchester - Essex (April 2014)



## upright_ninja (Apr 30, 2014)

Well... I thought it was about time I ventured over to the mighty Severalls to see what all the fuss is about! So, after agreeing that a sparrow-fart early start was in order, off we trotted! Access was up to the usual Sevs standard but we did it with a bit of perseverance, ignoring the inbuilt brain fault telling us "how difficult a climb can it be?"....! Once inside we headed round in the comfort of the buildings and, following the corridors, ventured around maybe half of the site until... Graham the Security guard put an end to our joviality! To be fair, he is one of the good guys and politely escorted us off site, telling us of the plethora of 'urbexers' he's had the pleasure of meeting. So, despite our stealthy prowess... we were rumbled! Unfortunate, as we were getting into our stride and had managed to see a bag full of the delights inside. Perhaps another day to finish the job!

Here's a bit of history:

Situated just north of Colchester (The oldest recorded town in Britain, apparently), Severall's Asylum was built in 1910 and opened it's doors for the treatment of patient's with mental health issues by 1913. The hospital, owned by Essex County Council, was the second one built in Essex to help accommodate patients in addition to Warley Hospital near Brentwood. It's design was the combined effort of F Whitmore and W.H. Town in the Edwardian 'Art & Crafts' style of facing red brickwork and large sash, bay windows giving it a simple, yet elegant look. Being connected by a huge network of corridors, the staff were able to navigate to all parts of the complex and the functional buildings housed everything from in-patient accommodation, wards and isolation units, to kitchens, laundry and workshop facilities to keep the hospital pretty much self sufficient.
The hospital faithfully served Colchester and the wider community for nearly ninety years and survived two World Wars despite being bombed in 1942 by the German Luftwaffe who mistook the hospital for a factory, resulting in the tragic deaths of 38 patients. Many more were wounded. The hospital finally succumbed to the 'Mental Health & Care in the Community Act', closing it's doors for the last time in 1997. 

Numerous planning applications have been submitted since the hospital's closure but haven't seen any development or restoration work commence. Speaking to Graham the security bloke today confirmed that the demolition of the entire site is imminent, but, this has been mentioned countless times over the last fifteen years or so and could just be a usual ploy to discourage further breaches. 

I'd like to think we'll get another chance to see all we missed today but if these rumours are indeed true, the end of Severall's could be on the horizon. 

Here are some of the 177 shots I took today. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them and I'm glad I got the chance to cross this one off the list! Apologies for this being a bit image-heavy and all in mono... erm... I'm not sorry really!






























































































































































A truly magnificent place and such a shame to see it in a state of disrepair... but then again, it wouldn't hold the same appeal if it was normal! 


Thanks for having a look... and thanks again to my urbex buddy for joining me and not pointing and laughing at this middle-aged loser trying to scale fences designed for a Russian gymnast!


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## Stealthstar79 (Apr 30, 2014)

That's a great post, fantastic pic's and write up!
Thanks..


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## UrbanX (May 1, 2014)

I've not met Graham yet, he must be new!  
Glad you managed to grab these before you got caught! Fantastic shots, thanks for sharing!


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## DirtyJigsaw (May 1, 2014)

Nice set of photos there mate. Sevs is a great place, a revisit is in order!!


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## fluffy5518 (May 1, 2014)

Crackin write up with really good shots !! Really enjoyed this thread !! Shame you got rumbled but nice to know that not all security staff are power crazed jobsworths !!


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## flyboys90 (May 1, 2014)

Superb images,thanks for sharing.


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## perth45 (May 1, 2014)

fantastic pictures.....


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## Onmyown (May 3, 2014)

Some great shots there fella, love the mono.


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## Scaramanger (May 22, 2014)

Yes fine photo's indeed


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## Desolate Nation (May 25, 2014)

Cracking set of images,cant beat a bit of Sevs


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