Cane Hill Summer '08

[mr_bones]

As i'm sure most of you are aware, the former Cane Hill hospital site has been under the rule of Squibbs demolition company since June this year. Prior to demolition, the site had deteriorated to a very sorry state and rendered much of the building to a dangerous and in some places inaccessible state. The visits i have made since demolition began have left me with mixed feelings, it is very sad to see the place go but in some strange way it is also very different to experience the site as a hive of activity for the first time since the early 90's.

Preparation work has also uncovered some interesting nooks and crannies that i hadn't previously seen - be it through fire damage or barricaded entrances.

I have also included some comparison shots - not old ones from early visits, but simply pre-demolition and during.

Explored with a number of very decent explorers, some old faces, some new!

Here are the photos taken in gloomy weather to mark a gloomy era!


View from where Ruskin ward was, looking towards shaftesbury\salter,and Turner

Before

During

View from Faraday towards Guy and Hill\ Harvard

Before

During

View from 'Guy' looking out towards the tower and chimney

Before

During

The rest speak for themselves

And finally the front entrance.

Cheers for looking

 

[slidingloopz]

ah yep, i miss that place and agree it's a fairly odd experience to see it disappear like this so suddenly... great selection of pics there.

btw, did you manage to find tunnellads' canoe anywhere?!

 

[chelle]

Nice shots Marlon

Great stuff mate,we did see the canoe.That dentist chair gave me the collywobbles.As for the chapel..unmissable.
Stu

 

[silverstealth]

Liking the "then and now shots" I see you did the obstacle course to the top of the tower..

 

[lilli]

I see the art room has now gone since my last visit Slowly all the pieces we used to see on an explore to Cane Hill are evaporating!

Oh and the canoe is in Finance!

 

[Valan]

Good work Son! and ta for sticking up on Nycto too

Well I'm booked up and ready! though its a little depressing to see the end is nigh, same with a few places I've visited recently...

 

[Simon]

I see the art room has now gone since my last visit Slowly all the pieces we used to see on an explore to Cane Hill are evaporating!

Oh and the canoe is in Finance!

Whilst the single storey extension to the art room has been demolished, the older part of the building where the patients' art was stored is still there. You could see the artwork by looking over from the upper floors of the staircases of Ward 'D' - it was still all over the floor.

However, this was true of a couple of weeks ago. And given the rate Squibb is devouring Cane Hill, I wouldn't hold out much hope that it's still there now.

All the best,
Simon

 

[shadowman]

Its good to see the demolition company is saving all the bricks for re-use, this way the building fabric will live on for another 200 years or so.

 

[slidingloopz]

are you sure it was the right one?! some of you don't know what I am talking about surely... was it a very small, brown looking affair?

 

[mr_bones]

Thankyou all for your comments. @ slidingloopz - that bloody canoe is going to bug me, need to check out Lillimouses tipoff!

Liking the "then and now shots" I see you did the obstacle course to the top of the tower..

Thanks, they aren't lined up but i only had the idea AFTER i had taken them!

The tower is great - a satisfying challenge with a rewarding view!

 

[chelle]

Canoe

Hi Marlon,we saw a canoe in a place that resembled a kind of post-office..it cant have been far from admin as i recall,
regards
Stu

 

[lilli]

are you sure it was the right one?! some of you don't know what I am talking about surely... was it a very small, brown looking affair?

How many canoes can there be in an asylum!

 

[chelle]

Pure class!

How many canoes can there be in an asylum!

Pure class Lilli,
Guess this is why it was an asylum..anything is possible really..I remember an old saying,"you dont have to be mad to be in here,but it does help"
regards
Stu

 

[mr_bones]

Thanks for the pointer Stu

Classy photo Lilli - cheers for that!

 

[odeon master]

great pictures mr. bones, i enjoyed them very much.
look out for the vid of me and mr. ben on the baby grand piano in that ward block
will hopefully get it up here soon.

THE ODEON

 

[ukmayhem]

really gutted i never got to explore this place, was one of the main things that got me into exploring.

 

[King Al]

Cheers for the update Mr B. I went for a wander around the perimeter the other day, has any one else seen the "japanese knot weed" infestation? there is a little section cornered off of the perimeter fence with warning signs???

 

[smileysal]

Excellent pics Mr B, It's such a shame their demolishing it at the speed they seem to be. Like the before and during pics. Hope they're taking the equipment out of the buildings before they're demolished them? even if they're old, they could go to a museum somewhere, or if they're sort of newer, they maybe could be used somewhere else.

Love seeing pics of the chapel, never tire of seeing pics from here. Cheers mate, excellent pics as always,

Sal

 

[Lightbuoy]

Great pics Mr B!

How quirky is this -in pic eight, looks like they built ontop of a corridor?!!!

Lb:jimlad: