Although far from my first explore this is my first report on 28dl based on 3 visits to this site.
The original Cabin Hill was a small dwelling built in 1786 which was subsequently replaced by a larger building in 1861. This was bought in 1903 by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Robert McMordie QC who then added a number of extensions. McMordie died at Cabin Hill in 1914 and the property was leased to the Rt Hon Sir James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, between 1920 and 1922.
Several of the first Northern Irish cabinet meetings were accommodated there before it was sold to Campbell College in 1924, and housed its prep school from 1929. I believe Campbell also made several extensions to the site including the newer school buildings and 'sutton hall'.
However ongoing allegations of sexual abuse between fellow pupils led to the school's closure in 2004. These were covered up by the headmaster at the time and along with a growing number of pupils, these factors contributed to the relocation of the prep school to a new, larger building that no longer carried the tarnished name of Cabin Hill.
Around 10% of pupils boarded at the all boys school right until its closure in 04; Its hard to imagine children of primary school age being forced to stay away from home which in many cases was across the water in the likes of England (as we found letters from these boys to their parents in the locker room). As with campbell tradition the boys wore stripped blazers even in prep and were subject to a broad curriculum which was one of the best that money could buy.
On both our first and second visits we were able to make our way into the older part of the school which is a grade II listed building. We carefully removed and replaced the wooden boards covering already broken windows. This part of the school remains mostly stripped but virtually untouched apart from when the contractors were called in to remove some dry rot at the beginning of this year i believe. We were greated by a naturally lit conservatory in the main entrance with guilded radiators and an ornately tiled floor. As we made our way further into the building we were surprised to find a grand wooden staircase adorned with acorns. Other notable features including a piano, sickbay artwork, pool table in the common room and letters from the boys to their relatives in the locker room. Some small parts of the building such as the basement we could not get into as the doors were well sealed.
The newer school buildings were open to both vandals and the elements yet still made an interesting explore. School supplies still remain including old film, macs, projectors and clay in bags that we were amazed to find is still soft. There is also an observer type AD1542 telephone which i believe was used by the RAF during the war. School books and records still lie strewn about the place and upon seeing a familiar name and asking a few questions i found to my shock that a cousin of mine used to go there.
We didn't go into the technology block attached by a first floor corridor to the old building or the art block as it was too close to the occupied house at the gateway.
To our dismay on our third visit yesterday we discovered a couple of rooms had been burnt out and that vandals had destroyed the newer buildings even further. We also came across a group of 4 17/18 year olds who we initially assumed were in to explore too but later found them ripping down artwork and we suspect had tried to set fire to the sports hall as we found it filled with smoke although thankfully not fire
. The old building is now completely inaccessible by the ground floor as they have stepped up security and covered the windows and doors with thick steel plates. Although annoying to explorers at least vandals now shouldn't been able to destroy it.
(Information gathered from news articles and Cabin Hills Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cabinhillbelfast/ )
The majority of photos are on my Facebook as I couldn't fit them all in https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007089494754
Old building with new steel plates
Old building before being completely sealed
Conservatory
Timetable
Loved this
One of the dormitories
View of Stormont from upper school
Kitchens
The Marley bell
Grand staircase
Pool table in common room
Artwork and measure in sickbay
Scary guardian of the school
'Beware of polish on floor'
Apologies for the lengthy write up and my poor photography skills; I just hope I've been able to do this place justice as it was one of the most interesting explores we have came across so far. Any recommendations of where to try next would be greatly appreciated, have been to the likes of Hilden mill, Cairndhu house and the RUC club in Carrick. Thanks for looking
Many thanks to @EscapeUrbex for the initial report
The original Cabin Hill was a small dwelling built in 1786 which was subsequently replaced by a larger building in 1861. This was bought in 1903 by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Robert McMordie QC who then added a number of extensions. McMordie died at Cabin Hill in 1914 and the property was leased to the Rt Hon Sir James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, between 1920 and 1922.
Several of the first Northern Irish cabinet meetings were accommodated there before it was sold to Campbell College in 1924, and housed its prep school from 1929. I believe Campbell also made several extensions to the site including the newer school buildings and 'sutton hall'.
However ongoing allegations of sexual abuse between fellow pupils led to the school's closure in 2004. These were covered up by the headmaster at the time and along with a growing number of pupils, these factors contributed to the relocation of the prep school to a new, larger building that no longer carried the tarnished name of Cabin Hill.
Around 10% of pupils boarded at the all boys school right until its closure in 04; Its hard to imagine children of primary school age being forced to stay away from home which in many cases was across the water in the likes of England (as we found letters from these boys to their parents in the locker room). As with campbell tradition the boys wore stripped blazers even in prep and were subject to a broad curriculum which was one of the best that money could buy.
On both our first and second visits we were able to make our way into the older part of the school which is a grade II listed building. We carefully removed and replaced the wooden boards covering already broken windows. This part of the school remains mostly stripped but virtually untouched apart from when the contractors were called in to remove some dry rot at the beginning of this year i believe. We were greated by a naturally lit conservatory in the main entrance with guilded radiators and an ornately tiled floor. As we made our way further into the building we were surprised to find a grand wooden staircase adorned with acorns. Other notable features including a piano, sickbay artwork, pool table in the common room and letters from the boys to their relatives in the locker room. Some small parts of the building such as the basement we could not get into as the doors were well sealed.
The newer school buildings were open to both vandals and the elements yet still made an interesting explore. School supplies still remain including old film, macs, projectors and clay in bags that we were amazed to find is still soft. There is also an observer type AD1542 telephone which i believe was used by the RAF during the war. School books and records still lie strewn about the place and upon seeing a familiar name and asking a few questions i found to my shock that a cousin of mine used to go there.
We didn't go into the technology block attached by a first floor corridor to the old building or the art block as it was too close to the occupied house at the gateway.
To our dismay on our third visit yesterday we discovered a couple of rooms had been burnt out and that vandals had destroyed the newer buildings even further. We also came across a group of 4 17/18 year olds who we initially assumed were in to explore too but later found them ripping down artwork and we suspect had tried to set fire to the sports hall as we found it filled with smoke although thankfully not fire
. The old building is now completely inaccessible by the ground floor as they have stepped up security and covered the windows and doors with thick steel plates. Although annoying to explorers at least vandals now shouldn't been able to destroy it.(Information gathered from news articles and Cabin Hills Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cabinhillbelfast/ )
The majority of photos are on my Facebook as I couldn't fit them all in https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007089494754
Old building with new steel plates
Old building before being completely sealed
Conservatory
Timetable
Loved this
One of the dormitories
View of Stormont from upper school
Kitchens
The Marley bell
Grand staircase
Scary guardian of the school
'Beware of polish on floor'
Apologies for the lengthy write up and my poor photography skills; I just hope I've been able to do this place justice as it was one of the most interesting explores we have came across so far. Any recommendations of where to try next would be greatly appreciated, have been to the likes of Hilden mill, Cairndhu house and the RUC club in Carrick. Thanks for looking
Many thanks to @EscapeUrbex for the initial report
