# Severalls Asylum, Colchester Oct 08



## urbtography (Oct 12, 2008)

Ok here we go again  Another severalls report, the weather was beautiful for this visit, lovely sun beating down brilliant for photography and wandering around, so what did we do, speant a large chunk of our time underground . Ill try to give as much info on each picture as i can, also updates on the condition of diff buildings. Hey to the 3 fellow explorers we met there, you said you had a map of the tunnels?? Where did you get that from, lucky buggers . On with the pics.






This is the view that greats you as you walk through the main entrance of ivy villa, fire damage has totally destroyed the second floor, bringing the balcony down to meet you.





And here are parts of said balcony from the second floor, under all this mess there is an entrance to some crawl space underneath ivy villa, i didnt fancy my chances at trying to get down there though.





A room off to the side of the entrance, you can see the ceiling joists have started to fall inwards, theyll probably have to demo this place soon for "safety" .
I can remember exploring ivy villa when i was younger, before it was burnt, all i can remember is the entrance hall looked so grand and amazing.





Youve seen the amazing severalls self supporting sinks, now meet the newest addition, self supporting fireplaces. You have to walk under this to get from the main hall to the left hand wing, needless to say i was glancing upwards for any sign of movement as i hurried underneath 





The left hand side wing of ivy villa, the end door are totally gone, also mini fires have been started along the sides of the walls.





An example of the heat of the fire in the left wing, at least i think this is fire damage, either that or a really weak chav had a go at it.





Whats left of the stairs in ivy villa, looking back now it was a very silly idea to wander into this building, theres nothing really left supporting it 





The kitchen of ivy villa i assume, looks like someone had a very bad wok fire incident, what use are those metal shutters when the evil is already inside the building 





Front view of what little is left of ivy villa, you can see straight into the second floor. Its such a heartbreak to see such a beautiful building abused in such a way 





Left hand wing of Ivy villa.





Right hand wing of Ivy villa.





View of fire damage to orchard villa, looking from the side nearest Ivy villa. I suppose the fire damage here is minimal, it could be a lot worse, inside mini fires have been started in corners and agaisnt the wooden divides in an attempt to torch the place.





All that remains of Orchard cottage??? I have no idea how i didnt realise this place was flat until now. Trees are starting to grow up through the house base so its been down a long time 





Patio area at rear of Firs villa, the glass here has actually sustained minimal damage, its a really nice area round there esp when its sunny, i can imagine having a picnic round there lol.





Gamma block has been secured now.


Now we jump to inside the fence.





Stairs inside the nurses block(old), needless to say we found a different staircase to use to go downstairs. This is on the top floor on the easterly side.





Beautiful tiles and sunshine in the nurses block.





An example of the mindless destruction that chavs will cause, in the nurses block. Also a kind of mirror shot 





External walkway leading away from the nurses block in the direction of the sewing room. The plant life has started to use the walkways as well, sometimes forcing you to find alternative routes.





I spot this wooden reel everytime i visit severalls so i thought it was about time it became famous , maybe it should become a trackable item. Last spotted on the nurses home side of the laundry building.





We now jump to the projectionists booth, i didnt go inside as i didnt like the look of the access but my lighter friend (kichi) went inside, he might be able to post some pictures hopefully.





Now in a corridor next to the hall, the slates have been removed from the corridor roof causing rain to get inside thus causing the plaster to come off the ceiling, made for a really nice effect with the sunlight. The slathe? i think thats what its called, the wooden slats, looking really nice with the sunlight streaming through them.





We also explored the tunnels, i have no idea where we were at this point as the tunnels strip you of all sense of direction which is quite fun when you find another exit point because its a suprise where you end up. We eventually popped out in engineering.





Everyone seems to have a chair shot in their explores so heres mine, a nice chair hidden away in the tunnels.





We also found this cabinet in the tunnels, it was full of odd pipe attachtments/converters. Also on the floor around it was various tins of jointing compound. Was a nice find considering the usual stripped out state of severalls, its almost as if they just forgot this cabinet.





Someone never got the chance to finish running their cable? This random cable spool deep down in the tunnels, did someone just give up running a cable? And before anyone says omg a yellow glow its a ghost, its kichi with a powerful torch in the distance lol.





A nice arty shot of the water tower after we stumbled out of the dark tunnels.





A long exposure of the base of the water tower i think it shows the architecture off quite nicely, you can see where the water level has dropped quite a bit. The 0W and 0N confused me a bit until i twigged they stand for compass points and floor number 





A nice suprise laying on the floor as you walk from the tower to engineering, ward names on the back of the doors laid on the floor. I can only assume they needed some scrap wood to reinforce the doors and this was to hand at the time. Cavall, Jenner, Kent, Bures, ....., Kirby, Byron, Rose, Dene.





And to finish off a nice arty shot of a stop button in the boiler house.

Hope this report wasnt too long or i didnt babble on too much, hope you enjoy reading, expect a lot more severalls reports in the future 


Kichi's Projectionist Booth Pictures:


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## timeteamtom (Oct 12, 2008)

Great write up and pics! Enjoyed that cheers.


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## KiChiMi (Oct 12, 2008)

Getting to the projectionists booth was..'interesting', to say the least 

I dont think it had been in use for many years even before severalls was closed


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## bobkeyte (Oct 13, 2008)

*good report*

well detailed report 
i will be trying to get underground next time i go
where is the best way to get underground?


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## MD (Oct 13, 2008)

nice report 
good write up too


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## odeon master (Oct 13, 2008)

great to see the projector booth here, it looks very similar to the one at cane hill. the condition too, as the main hall there is a burned ruin too

THE ODEON


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## chelle (Oct 13, 2008)

*Great stuff*

Nice to see some different angles and places..yeah,love the projection room too.


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## Lightbuoy (Oct 14, 2008)

Another excellent report 

As Chelle / Stu says, liking the different angles / views.
Some of the best pics of Sevs I think I've seen  In particular I'm LOVING that "stop" button! 

Lb:jimlad:


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## Lightbuoy (Oct 14, 2008)

KiChiMi said:


> Getting to the projectionists booth was..'interesting', to say the least
> 
> I dont think it had been in use for many years even before severalls was closed



Ah, it's not so bad (as long as you've got indestructable arms & legs!) 

You've taken some good shots -top effort buddy! 
There's something really surreal about this Projection Room -the fact this survives, whilst the Hall was first burnt down, then the remaining shell taken down 

Lb:jimlad:


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## KiChiMi (Oct 14, 2008)

bobkeyte said:


> well detailed report
> i will be trying to get underground next time i go
> where is the best way to get underground?



You could dig a hole?


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## bobkeyte (Oct 14, 2008)

KiChiMi said:


> You could dig a hole?


yer could do lol
but i was just wondering if it was a drain or something you have to get down


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## KiChiMi (Oct 14, 2008)

bobkeyte said:


> yer could do lol
> but i was just wondering if it was a drain or something you have to get down



There's tons of them around, look under staircases in the main buildings because there are sometimes steps down in to them. From what i've seen a lot of the tunnels run underneath the corridors so stay close to those.


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