# The Grove Hospital, Shardlow - more oldies



## kyberhai (Nov 11, 2008)

Trawling through my copious backcatalogue I came across one location which doesn't seem to have had *any* coverage on this site.

These photos are from March last year when I took a tour of the grounds. Sadly the only interior I could access was a low underground area full of pipes and not having my torch with me I couldn't see if that would permit me full access to the insides.

The main hospital buildings were constructed in 1816 as a workhouse. It was converted into a hospital in 1970 and closed for the last time at the end of 2005. I believe it has since become the site of a housing development.

I swear I had a few more pictures from this shoot but meh, guess my memory's playing tricks on me. So here's what I has.

Main entrance:




Gratuitous industrial shot:




Tight alley:




No entry:




Signs of neglect:




Far too well-preserved for demolition:




Sexy roof details:





On a final spooky note then I dug this old article up - wasn't any of you folks was it?


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## Foxylady (Nov 13, 2008)

I must admit that I'm not a fan of hospitals/asylums...the inside, that is, but I like the outside architecture of some of them. I really like the dutch influence as shown as shown in your 6th pic, Ky. Good photos.


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## kyberhai (Nov 14, 2008)

Thanks Foxy 

Dutch you think? Fascinating what ends up where... Ever watch any of Jonathan Meades' TV shows?


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## Foxylady (Nov 15, 2008)

kyberhai said:


> Dutch you think? Fascinating what ends up where... Ever watch any of Jonathan Meades' TV shows?



No, I don't have TV, but I've noticed that some places have this Dutch influence. Topsham, just outside Exeter, has loads of buildings like this, and it was a port call for many Dutch ships 200-odd years ago (in fact many of them were built using bricks that the Dutch ships used for ballast). Amsterdam and other major cities in Holland are knee-deep in this kind of architecture...great place...must go back there sometime!


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## Kaputnik (Nov 15, 2008)

Foxy, I'm sure i read something along those lines relating to how some buildings here, ended up with mediteranean type tiled roofs, and it was to do with the tiles being brought over by ships as ballast, then offloaded when here, and finding their way onto buildings.


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## Foxylady (Nov 15, 2008)

Kaputnik said:


> Foxy, I'm sure i read something along those lines relating to how some buildings here, ended up with mediteranean type tiled roofs, and it was to do with the tiles being brought over by ships as ballast, then offloaded when here, and finding their way onto buildings.



It's interesting, isn't it! Something I always meant to look into more fully. Exeter itself has some ballast-brick walls remaining. It fascinates me how architecture moves around too, influenced from other cultures.


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## krela (Nov 15, 2008)

Dutch gables are definitely an architectural influence rather than anything to do with building materials though.

There's a beautiful dutch influenced building next to temple meads station in Bristol.


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## kyberhai (Nov 16, 2008)

Foxylady said:


> No, I don't have TV, but I've noticed that some places have this Dutch influence. Topsham, just outside Exeter, has loads of buildings like this, and it was a port call for many Dutch ships 200-odd years ago (in fact many of them were built using bricks that the Dutch ships used for ballast). Amsterdam and other major cities in Holland are knee-deep in this kind of architecture...great place...must go back there sometime!


Yeah, I know a lot of Lincolnshire has strong ties with the Netherlands. As fascinated as you seem to be by the history of these cultural exchanges then I think you'd find Mr Meades' work to be essential viewing. Thankfully you can do this via youtube (and other services) too. Have a poke around here. (I'd point you to 'Double Dutch pt.1' in particular)


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## odeon master (Nov 16, 2008)

i'm afraid its too late. the whole site was cleared last year and now has a housing development built over the site.
it was a strange place this, i saw it in use only 3 years ago. it suddenly closed and within a month a large metal fence was erected round the site. within the same year the site was completely demolished and is now redeveloped . it all happened so fast. i really wanted to get in here but as i said, it was cleared very quickly.
apparently it was haunted according to the local paper !
glad you managed to capture a few pics of it, well done


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## Foxylady (Nov 16, 2008)

kyberhai said:


> Have a poke around here. (I'd point you to 'Double Dutch pt.1' in particular)



Cheers for that, Kyberhai.


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## kyberhai (Nov 17, 2008)

odeon master said:


> i'm afraid its too late. the whole site was cleared last year and now has a housing development built over the site.
> it was a strange place this, i saw it in use only 3 years ago. it suddenly closed and within a month a large metal fence was erected round the site. within the same year the site was completely demolished and is now redeveloped . it all happened so fast. i really wanted to get in here but as i said, it was cleared very quickly.
> apparently it was haunted according to the local paper !
> glad you managed to capture a few pics of it, well done


Oh, sounds like I was quite lucky in my timing then. I just happened to spot it on my way out to Shardlow one day and the feeling I got was that nothing was happening in a hurry. Ridiculous that it was leveled when (at least some of) the buildings were plainly in pretty good shape.

And yeah, the haunting report was what I linked to at the end of my first post


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