# Houghton Grange - January to March 2016



## jsp77 (Mar 23, 2016)

I have visited this site a few times between January through to March a few times solo and once with my girlfriend, i have seen how things have changed over the few visits, in the 3 months more and more has been vandalised. Luckily for me each time i went back i got to see more as other areas became accessible. The first trip saw me almost giving up, just as i entered the site i bangged my head on the way in, i received a cut just above my eye with blood oozing out. A few minutes passed and it had stopped bleeding, so off i went. I was amazed at just how big the site was.

The Houghton Poultry Research Station at Houghton, Cambridgeshire was established in 1948. Houghton became the Institute for Animal Health, being funded by BBSRC. Houghton closed in 1992.

On with the photos.

First i ventured into the block to the left of the house, being careful to stay out of the cameras view.

























I then headed to Lab X, i felt a funny feeling inside here, all the perspex windows were concaved, as if there was a vacuum inside the lab, it felt like nothing was to escape. There were 3 doors that you had to go through before you got inside the individual lab, with a shower in between and various gauges, timers and air locks. Also lots of vents/filters and ducting above.













This shows the double secure doors with shower in between.




After that i had a wander around the main site exploring some of the other labs.










I came across a lab that had recently become accessible and was surprised at how clean it was, it even smelt like it had just been freshly cleaned.







My girlfriend found this dated 11/2/91 some sort of experiment was carried out on 36 x 25day old animals.







Even had the soap, paper towels and bin bag.




A few other labs.










This site is to the left of the main site.







A short walk across the field was another site, this was more run down.










Finally the rear of the main house.




thanks for looking.


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## degenerate (Mar 24, 2016)

Great shots for a depressing sounding place.


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## krela (Mar 24, 2016)

Great report of an unpleasant place. Thanks.


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## Mikeymutt (Mar 24, 2016)

You got some great shots from here mate.nice to see you got in the side labs.the decay in here is lovely.


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## flyboys90 (Mar 24, 2016)

First class shots, but I shiver at the thought of it,s past history.


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## jsp77 (Mar 24, 2016)

Thanks Mikey, thought I was going to be busted in the side lab, heard voices and I hid behind a door not knowing what to expect, lol it turned out to be a few kids.


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## jsp77 (Mar 24, 2016)

flyboys90 said:


> First class shots, but I shiver at the thought of it,s past history.



Thanks Flyboys, Who knows what went on in the Lab X and the rest of the place come to think of it.


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## Rubex (Mar 24, 2016)

Fantastic photos of this place jsp77  you should have popped in for a coffee! I'm only 2 minutes away from here lol


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## HughieD (Mar 24, 2016)

Excellent! Very comprehensive report there JSP.


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## TheNarrator (Mar 24, 2016)

Brilliant report. That poisonous gas photo is fantastic!!


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## Bones out (Mar 24, 2016)

Drive past this once a week. Glad for the rather excellent snaps, saves me dodging cameras and getting my shoes dirty. . Boy I'm getting to be a lazy one.


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## deklufc (Mar 24, 2016)

Fantastic set of photos great report.


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## smiler (Mar 24, 2016)

Rubex said:


> Fantastic photos of this place jsp77  you should have popped in for a coffee! I'm only 2 minutes away from here lol



Irish of course,

You got some great shots jsp, like the other comments I too shudder at the history of this site, Thanks


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## jsp77 (Mar 24, 2016)

Rubex said:


> Fantastic photos of this place jsp77  you should have popped in for a coffee! I'm only 2 minutes away from here lol



I may have to take you up on that, if i'm ever about in your neck of the woods lol.


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## mockingbird (Mar 25, 2016)

you certainly made this appealing excellent work!


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## OctopusExplores (Mar 27, 2016)

Be aware of the cameras!


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## jsp77 (Mar 27, 2016)

OctopusExplores said:


> Be aware of the cameras!



And why's that? it's all part of the fun.


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## SlimJim (Mar 27, 2016)

Fun indeed. Most cameras/camera setups have their blind spots


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## jsp77 (Mar 27, 2016)

SlimJim said:


> Fun indeed. Most cameras/camera setups have their blind spots



I was watching yours and Prickly_Buzz's vids last night, i did chuckle when the alarms went off, excellent.


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## OctopusExplores (Mar 29, 2016)

I bet on yr last photo a camera spoke to u!?
XD


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## krela (Mar 29, 2016)

We don't concern ourselves with the details of security on this forum, thanks.


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## Seven (Mar 30, 2016)

I lived about 15minutes from this place for 8years and never did go take a look, I've read about a lot of people being caught here and it really put me off,(also I'm kind of a chicken about these kind of places and didn't want to go alone), I really regret not taking the opportunity to now tho, maybe I'll get round to it one day


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## J_a_t_33 (Apr 1, 2016)

Very enjoyable read, thanks man


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## The Wombat (Apr 2, 2016)

We visited early last year; but you've seen loads more than we could
Top work mate


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## Dirus_Strictus (Apr 3, 2016)

krela said:


> Great report of an unpleasant place. Thanks.



Sadly a very necessary evil at the time. If this work had not been done, in a world that was becoming more and more dependant on factory/production line rearing of animals and fowl for the food chain, then human kind could have been in a dire situation today from cross over illnesses. Pathogens that appear quite normally in farm animals and fowl (domestic and wild) have the ability to decimate mankind and because they can easily mutate, are still a serious concern today with containment so difficult - due to air travel etc. In those early days laboratory workers and scientist were literally in the dark about how these pathogens moved from one species to another - containment, by having negative pressure, individual air conditioning to each lab, showering on entry and exit and even incineration of lab wear after single use, all appeared on the containment method lists. The spread of a mutating avian flu out Asia is probably one of the most serious health issues we have today. If we, as a species are going to consume meat farmed on a production line basis, the health and well being of these animals is paramount. Sadly we are always in a catch up race with Mother Nature, hence the need for properly regulated scientific research - However; having a science based education and working in and around the environment for most of my working life, I have no doubt that Mother Nature is going to give Mankind a hefty boot up the backside one day. How we fend off the boot could have interesting implications!

The lab and pathogen security set up remind me of the unit I started work in in the early 60's - we were involved in looking at potential airborne fumigants. These by their very nature were not only very toxic to the pests involved, but also to the operatives applying them. A fairly common sight back then, but because of the pace of scientific 'discovery' many facilities were modified/altered to meet the demands of ongoing research and more importantly the advances in the science of containing dangerous pathogens.

Thanks for the interesting report and the memory recall!


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## BikinGlynn (Apr 3, 2016)

Nice report, my one attempt at a visit here ended swiftly resulting in no pics, lets just say contrary to some reports the cameras are still monitored!


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## Lone Wanderer (Apr 9, 2016)

Yer I got collared here pretty quickly to, never did go back again, sure I will eventually


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## OctopusExplores (Apr 17, 2016)

thx for this


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