History:
The modern Briggens House is believed to have been constructed around 1720. It was noted for its pastoral parkland and large walled kitchen garden.
In WW2 the house was requisitioned for use by the special operations executive as a place to produce forged documents for secret agents, but it continued to function as a residence despite (or perhaps because, to avoid suspicion?) of this use.
It continued use as a private residence until 1979, when it was converted into a hotel and conference center, with an adjoining golf course. The hotel went out of business in 2006, leaving the building disused for four years.
In 2010 the property opened as a wedding venue, but without proper planning permission. It was shut, and it remains unoccupied to this day.
Explore:
This was a very uncertain explore for me. The last posting of this location on 28 Days Later was in 2012, which is not a great sign for ease of access or continued existence. Furthermore, the urbex map I used to find the place had a comment from just a few weeks before saying "24 hr police dogs, cameras, motions sensors, flood lights - don't bother visiting." However, the property is lined by a public walking path, so I figured at worst it would be a nice walk in the countryside if there was no way in or security on site.
The signs at the entrance confirmed that CCTV and dogs were allegedly on patrol. I had never seen the exact wording on the sign before ("police dogs in training" rather than "guard dogs"), so I was unsure what the pros and cons were. Would police be less likely to care about the site itself than private security? Would the dogs be training as guard dogs or something else? I continued on to the footpath itself, even though the front gate would have been easy to hop.
To my surprise, the public footpath adjoined the driveway with a standard cattle-pedestrian gate. Figuring at worst the drive was part of the public footpath and further fencing lay ahead, or at best the property was a simple walk-in, I entered through the pedestrian gate. As I approached the property, I saw there was no further fencing, and in fact the front door was wide open!
I did spot CCTV pointed vaguely at the entrance, but it looked evadible. I tried to hug close to the building, but was spotted. It was a motion-sensor CCTV camera, and it did light up and blare a siren at me.
Unsure whether or not the camera was actually connected to any monitoring equipment or if anyone would be monitoring it anyway, I figured I had some time for a quick explore before anyone bothered to show up on a Sunday. There's some beautiful architecture remaining in the interior.
Additionally, what I can only describe as photoshoot props. Were these left from the wedding venue days? Or perhaps someone had snuck in a hot pink piano and filmed a music video?
After about 30 minutes my hyperactive imagination was getting to the best of me. I swear I heard a voice as if coming through a scratchy walkie-talkie outside saying "moving towards the light," and thought security had arrived or something. After a second I thought of how crazy I was being, given they wouldn't set up some kind of stealth mission to catch one guy with a camera. And then I realized I was even crazier when I peeked out and didn't see any cars in the driveway. While it was almost certainly my imagination given I was on high alert from the CCTV alarm I like to think I may have run into a ghost from the hotel's past.
On the way back I noticed a tree-house like structure on the edge of the property. The ladder to climb up had been taken down, but it looks like something fun for anyone who likes climbing!
The modern Briggens House is believed to have been constructed around 1720. It was noted for its pastoral parkland and large walled kitchen garden.
In WW2 the house was requisitioned for use by the special operations executive as a place to produce forged documents for secret agents, but it continued to function as a residence despite (or perhaps because, to avoid suspicion?) of this use.
It continued use as a private residence until 1979, when it was converted into a hotel and conference center, with an adjoining golf course. The hotel went out of business in 2006, leaving the building disused for four years.
In 2010 the property opened as a wedding venue, but without proper planning permission. It was shut, and it remains unoccupied to this day.
Explore:
This was a very uncertain explore for me. The last posting of this location on 28 Days Later was in 2012, which is not a great sign for ease of access or continued existence. Furthermore, the urbex map I used to find the place had a comment from just a few weeks before saying "24 hr police dogs, cameras, motions sensors, flood lights - don't bother visiting." However, the property is lined by a public walking path, so I figured at worst it would be a nice walk in the countryside if there was no way in or security on site.
The signs at the entrance confirmed that CCTV and dogs were allegedly on patrol. I had never seen the exact wording on the sign before ("police dogs in training" rather than "guard dogs"), so I was unsure what the pros and cons were. Would police be less likely to care about the site itself than private security? Would the dogs be training as guard dogs or something else? I continued on to the footpath itself, even though the front gate would have been easy to hop.
To my surprise, the public footpath adjoined the driveway with a standard cattle-pedestrian gate. Figuring at worst the drive was part of the public footpath and further fencing lay ahead, or at best the property was a simple walk-in, I entered through the pedestrian gate. As I approached the property, I saw there was no further fencing, and in fact the front door was wide open!
I did spot CCTV pointed vaguely at the entrance, but it looked evadible. I tried to hug close to the building, but was spotted. It was a motion-sensor CCTV camera, and it did light up and blare a siren at me.
Unsure whether or not the camera was actually connected to any monitoring equipment or if anyone would be monitoring it anyway, I figured I had some time for a quick explore before anyone bothered to show up on a Sunday. There's some beautiful architecture remaining in the interior.
Additionally, what I can only describe as photoshoot props. Were these left from the wedding venue days? Or perhaps someone had snuck in a hot pink piano and filmed a music video?
After about 30 minutes my hyperactive imagination was getting to the best of me. I swear I heard a voice as if coming through a scratchy walkie-talkie outside saying "moving towards the light," and thought security had arrived or something. After a second I thought of how crazy I was being, given they wouldn't set up some kind of stealth mission to catch one guy with a camera. And then I realized I was even crazier when I peeked out and didn't see any cars in the driveway. While it was almost certainly my imagination given I was on high alert from the CCTV alarm I like to think I may have run into a ghost from the hotel's past.
On the way back I noticed a tree-house like structure on the edge of the property. The ladder to climb up had been taken down, but it looks like something fun for anyone who likes climbing!
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