# Whitehall Farm, Surrey - April 2017



## Brewtal (Apr 20, 2017)

Well I’ve gone and broken a bloody rib so I am signed off work for a while and no exploring for some time. On the plus side I have some time to finish editing and can actually post up some stuff. I think I have about 12 reports worth of pics untouched!

I will start with this one, as I believe it has only been posted the one time in 2008.

I first discovered this place about 4 years ago, I had been at a beer festival and was getting the train home and spotted this on the way back. I managed to find it on a map and went back in the car for a quick mooch. Fast forward 4 years and I am out and about in the car again. After one successful explore I decided to visit another 3 places I knew about only to find they were all building sites! Because I was in the area I decided to swing by and see if it was still here and luckily it was!

History:

I have not been able to find out much. The house is dated 1855. The farm got some media attention in 2007 during the Foot and Mouth outbreak. The 2007 outbreak was first identified at the nearby Milton Park Farm owned by the same family. In September 2007 800 pigs and 40 cattle we culled at Whitedown Farm as a precaution to stop the latest outbreak. It is thought the outbreak was caused at one of two nearby research facilities in Pirbright, Merial Animal Health which produces vaccines and the Institute of Animal Health which identifies and monitors outbreaks. According to the HSE, Merial was producing 12000 litres of the virus at the time, whilst the Institute of Animal Health worked at a millilitre scale. The offending strain, O1BFS, can only have come from this site as both facilities were using it. The nearest other possible source for this strain would have come from a lab in Belgium.

A faulty pipe carrying treated effluent from the Merial facility to a sterilisation tank on the IAH site which contains sodium hydroxide was identified by the HSE as the likely cause of the outbreak. Both sites had been arguing about who should foot the bill for the upgrade of the ageing pipe work and ironically IAH had advertised for a plumber position just days before the outbreak. It is though heavy rains in July overwhelmed the drainage system washing the virus through poorly sealed drain covers to the outside world, contaminated mud was picked up by vehicles on the site and transferred to land near the originating outbreak farm 12 miles away. 

The Explore:

A very easy one overall. A public footpath runs through the middle. In the outbuildings I was ankle deep in festering cow shit which is always nice. The house has suffered some really serious damage from a fire, definitely some of the most dangerous floors I have ever stepped on. Still a nice little solo mooch on a lovely warm and sunny day!



















































































And finally.......




Some Concorde wallpaper! 

Overall it was a nice little wander. Not the most amazing place but still an odd feeling standing in rooms that were once engulfed in flames.

Thanks for looking!


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## krela (Apr 20, 2017)

Ah man broken rib sucks, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of your reports. Hope it heals soon.


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## Gromr (Apr 20, 2017)

Hope you heal up soon, it really does suck! Glad to see some more reports though, liking this farm, especially that wacky wallpaper!

At least you have time to find and plan the next explores, something to keep you busy


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## Brewtal (Apr 20, 2017)

krela said:


> Ah man broken rib sucks, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of your reports. Hope it heals soon.



Thanks mate. Yeah a broken anything in my line of work is bad news, it's all heavy lifting!


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## Brewtal (Apr 20, 2017)

Gromr123 said:


> Hope you heal up soon, it really does suck! Glad to see some more reports though, liking this farm, especially that wacky wallpaper!
> 
> At least you have time to find and plan the next explores, something to keep you busy



Cheers mate. Hope to be up and about again from some exploring with you soon. One thing I do not need is to add to the list I already have! Just hope I'm healed in time for my holiday!


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## smiler (Apr 20, 2017)

Seems a lot of have suffered from a busted rib, and they're right it sucks, you're welcome to all the heavy lifting, I liked your report and pics, Thanks


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## White Rabbitt (Jun 19, 2017)

Aw hope you get better soon! This place had had more than one fire, the kitchen being the most recent and there wasn't a hole in that ceiling either so couldn't see the concord wallpaper from downstairs. Lol. I used to go upstairs in here back in the day, i know quite a bit about this place and have had my fair share of memories from it.  Nice to see it again, lovely shots hun. X


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## Priority 7 (Jun 20, 2017)

krela said:


> Ah man broken rib sucks, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of your reports. Hope it heals soon.



Actually sucking, can be quite painful  Nice set Brewtal, hope you are on the mend


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## muppix (Jun 22, 2017)

Priority 7 said:


> Actually sucking, can be quite painful



Still, £20 is £20 ... =)












Seems like the old kitchen range is finally gone then ...


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## zender126 (Jun 22, 2017)

Ouch, any rib trouble is painful!

I need to find me some of that concorde wallpaper.....


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## Sam Haltin (Jun 23, 2017)

Ouch, I had bruised ribs once on the left side, couldn't sleep on that side, couldn't reach for anything with my left hand or take a deep breath so I know what your'e going through. This place looks like its about to fall in itself. Get well soon.


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