# Blackburn Royal Infirmary - VERY IMAGE INTENSIVE!



## TeeJF

What is it with Whittingham Asylum and us? We got up at Stupid-o-clock this morning and drove over to Goosenargh only to find that they've erected a fc*k off galvanised steel fence around every bit of the asylum we tried to gain access through INCLUDING the quiet way in more than half a mile away over at the back!

OK... every urb-exer should have a fall back site - for us it was Blackburn Royal Infirmary. Despite it being very close to home we've not been there before today, treatment trips and patient visits excepted, so it definitely merited a look see. 

They've already demolished a serious part of the site and reduced it to mounds of brick dust but several wards and a couple of operating theatres are still intact in the main block together with the rotunda and the residents accomodation. Sadly it's been badly chavved already and I think lots of stuff has been nicked... it doesn't help that there's a pikey encampment less than 300 yards away across the road either.

So... I'm not going to bore you with shed loads of detail, I'll just show you our piccies instead.



*The view of the main block from the demolished area...*









*The hospital name and coat of arms...*








*Detail of the coat of arms... why are they both sticking their tongues out?* 








*We entered on the first floor via this childrens ward...*








*Many of the rooms are still clearly labelled with their original purpose...*








*Murals for the children are all over the place on this ward...*








*The extensive chavving means that this sort of pretty frosted glass is rare to find...*








*The coat of arms of Blackburn is inlaid into floor here and corridors radiate off in two directions. In the past there were a further two corridors originating from this point but they have been demolished leaving only boarded up archways.*








*The Blackburn coat of arms and motto...*








*At this low level within the building it is still very dry but it is badly trashed...*








*Stainless steel light fitting in the main entrance corridor...*








*The in bound stores were brought through this loading area... note the "orb"... wooooooooo, I think we've got a ghosty, better get Derek Acorah across to scam a few gullible punters sharpish!*








*Sluice off the side of a ward. Some knobby's calling card is painted in the form of this skull all over the hospital. I can't see the point personally...*








*High intensity anglepoise lamp in a treatment room...*








*A vain attempt at an arty shot...* 








*A rather jolly resident in one of the two operating theatres...*








*Theatre air conditioning control panel...*








*Medical gas monitoring in the theatre...*








*I think the area beyond the door is the prep area for the theatre. Gas and vacumn lines hang from the roof of the theatre itself with quik-lok type bayonet connectors on the ends...*








*Yes I know... everyone does this shot!*








*A second peadiatric ward at the opposite end to the first one...*








*For the footy fans amongst you, that's Blackburn Rovers ground in the middle distance and beyond it is the hill upon which Darwen's famous Jubilee Tower resides...*








*Hospital catering...*








*A stray Crimbo decoration and an interesting set of instructions. I tried to find out what HPPF is but all I could find on the net was a reference to Equine Hoof Fluid! Any offers peeps?*








*The staff clearly inputted a lot of time and effort to make the children's surroundings as pleasant as possible...*








*A bed space on one of the wards...*







*Daft as it sounds I didn't spot these disposable spoons until I started checking the pix prior to posting!*








*The rotunda roof is beginning to deteriorate badly now...*








*Things got a little surreal about now when I suddenly recognised this ward as the one I received treatment on for a bad eye infection back in 1996.*








*I've been in here before too...* 








*In the Day Room - is it a Parker Knoll?*








*Back in '96 my bed was in the first space immediately to the left of this door...* 








*More signage...*








*Oddly enough we didn't see anyone working in this room...*








*Despite the decay these murals still give a jolly feel to the peadiatric wards... this is Peter Pan and Tinkerbell if my memory serves me correctly?*








*..and isn't this Christopher Robin? He looks just like Harry Potter to me!!*








*Bath time...*








*...with the help of Mr. Soapy!* 








*This charming inlay is set into the floor of a children's play room just off the ward...*








*This is the top floor which has offices on one wing and resident's accomodation on the opposite wing...*








*This area looks at first glance to be in quite good condition however it is very deceptive. Every room was soaking wet and all the celings were down or coming down. A quick glance outside shows the reason why - there are slates missing all over the place.*








*The view from the top floor down to the first floor wards...*








*...and finally, a fire escape which links all the floors. The internal staircases are gone, presumably with the demolition of the areas attached to this block. Now the two fire escapes at either end of the building provide the only route between floors.*








*So... a bad day at the office where Whittingham was concerned turned into a fun ex just 4 miles from home! 
*

*We hope you enjoyed our photos.​*


*Best wishes from M and TJ... *​


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## podman

that is trashed - great pics and comments

re HPPF - could be 

human plasma protein fraction n. 
A sterile solution of selected proteins removed by fractionation from the blood plasma of adult human donors and used to augment blood volume.


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## player62

great set of photos - when I'm in the area this season watching Sunderland give Blackburn a beating i may well drop in!


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## King Al

Good stuff TeeJF, I thought this one was gone! cool pics


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## TeeJF

podman said:


> HPPF - could be
> 
> human plasma protein fraction



Nothing to do with horses then! Thought I'd found a sideline someone was operating!


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## TeeJF

player62 said:


> great set of photos - when I'm in the area this season watching Sunderland give Blackburn a beating i may well drop in!



Don't take too long then or there will be nothing left. You are within about half a mile tops of this site when you are at Ewood Park. 

Cheers...


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## Em_Ux

Some lovely features here.

It seems such a waste really.

I enjoyed your report...thanks!


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## BahrainPete

Great stuff & good descriptions - thanks


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## inceptionwave

Great report and photo's, such a shame that it is being demolished.


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## LulaTaHula

We had the exact same problem at Whittingham today - grrrr! Another asylum that still eludes me...

Well done on the back-up site. Love the rotunda roof!


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## johno23

Good find,report and pics

Its amazing how we suddenly no longer need all these hospitals,asylums etc despite the population now being much larger than it once was when they were built.

I just hope that the shiny arsed NHS accountants rue the day they embarked on this course of action for short term gain,grrrr,rant suppressed.


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## TeeJF

johno23 said:


> Its amazing how we suddenly no longer need all these hospitals,asylums etc despite the population now being much larger



In the case of this hospital it kind of made sense because they centralised two hospitals with what should have been adjacent (for requirements of compatability etc) facilities rather than them staying seperated with a consequential stream of ambulances travelling back and forth the 2 miles or so between them... having said that they tore down a charming old Victorian building and threw up (one might say literally after being there) a mass of charmless concrete and pre-fabs. 

Having been treated at both hospitals I can't begin to compare what there is now with back then... the eye ward I was on had lovely decor which is even now still just about apparent despite the dereliction, was peaceful and quiet, clean and efficient, and above all staffed by pleasant, happy nurses. But the new hospital is dirty, inefficient, noisy and has an appalling atmosphere with surly unhelpful staff. 

Says it all really!


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## toxic frog

Well done! I really enjoyed that  Its such a shame these wonderful building are trashed by the chavs, natures damage on its own is bad enough!


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## Flaxington

What type of fence has been errected around Whit ? Is it palisade?

Last time I went there they had meshed up the windows.


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## TeeJF

Flaxington said:


> What type of fence has been errected around Whit ? Is it palisade?
> 
> Last time I went there they had meshed up the windows.



I just realised I completely misunderstood your question! Duh!

They have put metal plating over all the ground floor windows and erected a permanent 8 foot high galvanised fence around the exterior at every point we approached INCLUDING the back access road almost half a mile away. They are pretty serious about keeping people out now.


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## Darksider

That's a real gem of a site. Thanks for the photos.


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## TeeJF

Darksider said:


> Thanks for the photos.




You're most welcome...


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## Pincheck

Nice stuff mate would not worry about Whittingham there will be a way in as for Blackburn its a shame it has gone so far. Was lucky to see it before the demo work began in Ernest even though we where in the building at the same time the demo crew turned up to start didn't stop us from wandering around we just had to avoid them !


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## TeeJF

Pincheck said:


> Nice stuff mate would not worry about Whittingham there will be a way in as for Blackburn its a shame it has gone so far. Was lucky to see it before the demo work began in Ernest even though we where in the building at the same time the demo crew turned up to start didn't stop us from wandering around we just had to avoid them !



Just got to find it! Glad you enjoyed BRI as it was. We got boarded in on a recent explore in Brum, it kind of interupts your flow of camera based creativeness dontcha think when you are afraid you'll run into someone round the next corner! 

Thanks for your kind comments.

M and TJ


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## Pincheck

TeeJF said:


> Just got to find it! Glad you enjoyed BRI as it was. We got boarded in on a recent explore in Brum, it kind of interupts your flow of camera based creativeness dontcha think when you are afraid you'll run into someone round the next corner!
> 
> Thanks for your kind comments.
> 
> M and TJ



No it just makes you a little more careful i did get separated when i wandered in the Old nursing section there with pharmacy and was wondering about trying to find them with out bumping into the demo crew was nerve racking when peaking round corners till we seen each other peaking round corners but you just have to go in some places as they have some one 24/7 or are live makes things interesting at times


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## devonian42

T,

Some nice pictures in this posting.

And thanks for the opportunity to allow my signature to speak for itself. As.....


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## TeeJF

devonian42 said:


> T,
> 
> Some nice pictures in this posting.
> 
> And thanks for the opportunity to allow my signature to speak for itself. As.....



Thank you. Please tell me you didn't paint those silly skulls everywhere though...


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