# Whittingham mental hospital, Preston, October 11



## Sshhhh... (Nov 6, 2011)

Whittingham mental asylum, Preston, October 11

My first post,please dont shout at me if i get it wrong I thought i would post my Whittingham mental hospital pics, im no professional photographer so go easy.
Its not an easy place to visit and it is a bit of a mess inside but amonst the debris and as long as youve weaved your way around the perilous floorboards without a hitch, you can find a few aesthetically(had to google that so i spelt it right!)pleasing gems.Anyway a bit of history from wikipedia. 

Whittingham Hospital, whose grounds adjoin the village of Goosnargh, grew to be the largest mental hospital in the country,and pioneered the use of electroencephalograms (EEGs). During its time it had its own church, farms, railway, telephone exchange, post office, reservoirs, gas works, brewery, orchestra, brass band, ballroom and butchers.
In 1866, the three Lancashire lunatic asylums at Prestwich, Rainhill and Lancaster were deemed to be full. The buildingof Whittingham Asylum began in 1869, originally to accommodate 1000 patients. It was built from brick made from clay dug onsite from a pit which later became a fish pond.
The hospital officially opened on 1 April 1873. The large site included an Anglican church, a Catholic chapel, a recreation hall (also used as a ballroom) and several farms.
The Whittingham Hospital Railway was a two-mile (3 km) private branch to Grimsargh, built in 1887, to provide coal andother goods. It also provided free transport for staff and passengers. It eventually closed in on 30 June 1957.
By 1923, the hospital was known as “Whittingham Mental Hospital”. By 1939, the number of patients was 3533, with a staff of 548, making it the largest mental hospital in the country.
By 1948, it had incorporated Ribchester Hospital, and became known as “Whittingham Hospital”.
The Mental Health Act of 1960 deemed large institutions like Whittingham to be out of favour. Allegations of cruelty topatients led to a public inquiry.
During the 1970s and 1980s, new drugs and therapies were introduced. Long-stay patients were returned to the community ordispersed to smaller units around Preston. The hospital eventually closed in 1995. 
The site subsequently became known as “Guild Park”. In 1999, Guild Lodge was opened on the edge of Guild Park, supplying secure mental services, followed the next year by rehabilitation cottages close by.
It is planned to build 650 new homes on the site and to preserve some of the hospital buildings as apartments. However, the plan will not proceed until a date for the construction of the Broughton bypass is known.but in the mean time some of the smaller outer buildings are currently be ripped down.

Youve probably all skipped that bit, after seeing the same one a million times





No dont go in!!AAArrhh by Sshhush, on Flickr




Take your pick by Sshhush, on Flickr
The doors to cell like rooms, extremely depressing to think that people stayed in these



Whos gazed out of this window..... by Sshhush, on Flickr
At least some had a good view



The Krypton factor by Sshhush, on Flickr
Bit dodgy in places



Devastation by Sshhush, on Flickr



Ballroom by Sshhush, on Flickr
Not the best of pics,i know,very noisy. It was getting dark and didnt have my tripod. I just think the architecture is stunning.



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Looking through the glass by Sshhush, on Flickr 



Mother nature reclaims by Sshhush, on Flickr
With the rain comes the moss, then soon our man-made structure will be no more




Park your bum on this by Sshhush, on Flickr
Plenty of bottoms have parked on this, i bet..hmm, prob the stuff that comes with bottoms aswell!



Through the roof by [urlhttp://farm7.static.flickr.com/

[url=http://www.flickr.com/people/[email protected]/]Sshhush[/url], on Flickr=http://www.flickr.com/people/[email protected]/]Sshhush[/url], on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/6312260693/][img]http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6055/6312260693_af34ea0551_b.jpg
Arch by Sshhush, on Flickr
Beautiful arched doorway



Through window to door by Sshhush, on Flickr



Stage 2 by Sshhush, on Flickr
Nasty graffiti abounds



Watch your step by Sshhush, on Flickr
Had to test the floorboards before putting full weight on



Dressing room by Sshhush, on Flickr
Room just off the side of the stage



Corridor 2 by Sshhush, on Flickr




broken glass by Sshhush, on Flickr




In need of a sweep! by Sshhush, on Flickr




Cosy seat by Sshhush, on Flickr




Door to dementia by Sshhush, on Flickr




Beautiful window by Sshhush, on Flickr
Gorgeous church type window



Outside 1 by Sshhush, on Flickr
The outside pics are another part of the asylum, didnt have time to take any near where we visited



Outside 3 by Sshhush, on Flickr



outside 2 by Sshhush, on Flickr

I think work may be starting soon to demolish parts of Whittingham as a fellow urbexer told me workmen were there to cut down the surrounding trees, im assuming to make way for the demolishing team. Im just glad i had the chance to look at this building, even though it was in a state of bad decay, its inner beauty from its glory days still shone through.

Thanks for lookingx


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## Priority 7 (Nov 6, 2011)

Nice shots and good first report mate....


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 6, 2011)

Priority 7 said:


> Nice shots and good first report mate....



Thankyou Havent posted on forums before. Took me ages!! haha


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## klempner69 (Nov 6, 2011)

I think you have done a sterling job for a first report with excellant history and very good pics too.This place is on my final tour hit list of next year.Thanks and welcome to DP


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 6, 2011)

klempner69 said:


> I think you have done a sterling job for a first report with excellant history and very good pics too.This place is on my final tour hit list of next year.Thanks and welcome to DP



Thanks a lot, i look forward to doing more


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## King Al (Nov 6, 2011)

Nice first report Sshhhh , its a real shame the old place is so trashed


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## TeeJF (Nov 6, 2011)

I never tire of that place. Great pix, thank you.


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## Lightbuoy (Nov 6, 2011)

Great effort -off to a good start!


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 6, 2011)

Lightbuoy said:


> Great effort -off to a good start!



Much appreciated, thankyou


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 6, 2011)

TeeJF said:


> I never tire of that place. Great pix, thank you.



Thankyou guys


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## robbie1003 (Nov 6, 2011)

yup, great first post, something i have yet to do. been here myself, amazeing place, unfortunatly couldnt find access to inside but spent ages in grounds before we got cought by security and escorted out.


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 6, 2011)

robbie1003 said:


> yup, great first post, something i have yet to do. been here myself, amazeing place, unfortunatly couldnt find access to inside but spent ages in grounds before we got cought by security and escorted out.



Thankyou. Second time lucky for me


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## Foxylady (Nov 6, 2011)

Stunning pic of the broken glass. Excellent first report. Good stuff.


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 6, 2011)

Foxylady said:


> Stunning pic of the broken glass. Excellent first report. Good stuff.



Thankyou!


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## Em_Ux (Nov 7, 2011)

A great first report!

Look forward to seeing more from you


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## RichardH (Nov 7, 2011)

Good report, and some excellent compositions.



Sshhhh... said:


> The doors to cell like rooms, extremely depressing to think that people stayed in these



In many ways they cells. Some of the inmates, particularly in earlier times, would have been incarcerated for such mental illnesses as: being poor; having a baby out of wedlock; having a baby _in_ wedlock and then being cast out by your husband; being uneducated; being unable to get a job; and perhaps the most dreadful of all mental illnesses: being a little bit eccentric without benefit of a large bank balance.

These days of course, the pendulum has swung the opposite way and some people are left out in the world to fend for themselves when they really aren't capable of even semi-independent living, and then we are outraged and shocked by their behaviour when they have a breakdown from the pressure of it all (he said, from experience).


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## krela (Nov 7, 2011)

Great stuff. Don't forget your tripod next time though.


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 7, 2011)

Em_Ux said:


> A great first report!
> 
> Look forward to seeing more from you



Thankyou very much. Theres plenty to come, been a busy bee over the last few months and hopefully will be again soon!


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 7, 2011)

krela said:


> Great stuff. Don't forget your tripod next time though.



Haha, no, definitely not! The difference its makes is notable


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## krela (Nov 7, 2011)

Sshhhh... said:


> Haha, no, definitely not! The difference its makes is notable



Definitely. It's very hard to get the exposure right without a tripod, it just get's noisy. Nothing wrong with that, it does the job. But tripod is better.


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 7, 2011)

RichardH said:


> Good report, and some excellent compositions.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks and yeah we used to be rather barbaric and i suppose still are in some ways. I hope youve recovered from your experience


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 7, 2011)

krela said:


> Definitely. It's very hard to get the exposure right without a tripod, it just get's noisy. Nothing wrong with that, it does the job. But tripod is better.



Yeah it does do the job but noise in a picture just spoils it. I was debating whether or not to put mine fuzzy ones in but the ballroom was so grand, i had to show, even if it meant me cringing slightly!


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## krela (Nov 7, 2011)

Sshhhh... said:


> Yeah it does do the job but noise in a picture just spoils it. I was debating whether or not to put mine fuzzy ones in but the ballroom was so grand, i had to show, even if it meant me cringing slightly!



It's okay, it's more a case of if you've got a tripod use it. You might as well. You get used to carrying it around and not getting wedged in doorways eventually.


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 7, 2011)

krela said:


> It's okay, it's more a case of if you've got a tripod use it. You might as well. You get used to carrying it around and not getting wedged in doorways eventually.



Or getting covered in bruises!! haha


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## tom83 (Nov 7, 2011)

I was there about 2 years ago, and I cant believe how badly its deteriorated in a relatively short space of time.

Some fantastic pictures in there, Great first report.


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## phill.d (Nov 8, 2011)

Hey not bad at all for a first report! 

That place has seriously deteriorated looking at your photos, It was bad way back in 2007, but it looks a death trap now 
I've not seen many reports come out of that place for a while.
Nice one, thanks for posting!


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 8, 2011)

tom83 said:


> I was there about 2 years ago, and I cant believe how badly its deteriorated in a relatively short space of time.
> 
> Some fantastic pictures in there, Great first report.



ThanksYeah its a shame to see these building in such a bad state


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 8, 2011)

phill.d said:


> Hey not bad at all for a first report!
> 
> That place has seriously deteriorated looking at your photos, It was bad way back in 2007, but it looks a death trap now
> I've not seen many reports come out of that place for a while.
> Nice one, thanks for posting!



Thanks it is in a sorry state im afraid:


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