Hello once again lads, I return from yet another absence, something I really need to stop doing. I have stuff from October that I still haven't wrote the reports for, plus other places I've been since then. Guess that's what I get for being a procrastinator.
This place has been done to death nowadays, but it is one of the biggest places I have been so far. Chances are it will likely remain that way for quite some time.
I bring you:
CAMBRIDGE MILITARY HOSPITAL
THE HISTORY: This site has sure stood the test of time. Named after the Duke of Cambridge, the hospital opened in July 1879, serving as Aldershot Garrison's largest military hospital at the time. It grew bigger over the years, with two new wards added at each end of the hospital's main corridor in 1893, the Louise Margaret maternity hospital opening on the same site grounds in 1897, as well as various other new buildings, renovations and alterations from 1931 onwards, leading to today's rather mixed-up architecture.
This hospital was the first base hospital in the country to receive casualties from the western front in WW1, it was also the first place where plastic surgery was performed in the entire of the British Empire - With a plastic unit starting in the hospital in late 1915. The supply of portable operating theatres to front-line medical units was also reportedly pioneered from this hospital.
The hospital began admitting civilians after WW2, as it's military importance began to fall. Eventually, with the old Victorian building being costly to run, the hospital closed in February 1996. After 117 years of operation.
In 2013-14, roughly 75 tonnes of Asbestos was removed from the site's buildings, in preparations to turn the hospital into housing. As of 2019, this work has now started.
THE LOCATION: This hospital sits rather proudly on a hill at the former Stanhope Lines. It's easy enough to spot, at night or during the day. However, the highly residential surroundings make things pretty tricky.
As much as the main building has mostly been stripped out, the sheer size of everything blew us away. The building just screams Victorian construction in your face, with massive square-pane windows, huge open wards, the insanely long main corridor with it's overhead arches and numerous other features (the brickwork is something to see). What makes things even more interesting is the more modern parts that have been incorporated into the old building, all with their own differences.
The main building, as much as it has been stripped to almost nothing inside, isn't nearly as vandalised as I expected - Instead seeing a fair amount of natural decay, having closed over 20 years ago.
At the time we went, construction equipment had been put up in the building we gained entry through, but once we reached the main corridor, the equipment didn't go any further.
The site grounds look like they've seen better days, from the outside, the building is heavily fenced, boarded and overgrown.
THE EXPLORE: A fair amount of planning went into this. As well as a large amount of luck. Whilst most people were shut in at home, we were out in the middle of Storm Dennis, driving along empty motorways (nearly aquaplaning off them as well) and getting ourselves soaked for this. It took us a long time to find a way through the perimeter fence, and an even longer time to find a way through the new corrugated iron fence that lines the site. From where we got in, it looked a little hopeless, but a walk around the site was all it took, and in we went. We spent almost 5 hours inside the building, getting home at 5 in the morning.
That wasn't the end though, a week later, we returned to check out another building on the site. It was a smaller building that was far less decayed, but completely torn up. The initial outlook wasn't so good this time, the main building was now inaccessible, with barring on the windows where we gained entry. A security van was making rounds and even the residents were keeping an eye out, but we still managed to get in, leaving after an hour.
All I can say is, this place is likely a no-go for any future explorers, as construction works enter full-swing.
THE PHOTOS:
This will be picture heavy lads, unfortunately some of these aren't the best quality, we all had our cameras on us for this, of differing qualities.
The building where we entered gave us a slightly wrong impression of what was to come, and also made us incredibly paranoid, I think you can tell why.
A google maps birds-eye view of the site and the building where we entered, now pretty much inaccessible.
We came into this. Portable lighting, tarp everywhere, even cement that looked like it hadn't set.
This room had been marked as unsafe. The paper on the door noted of an Asbestos hazard. The floors don't look too good either.
Looking back into the building we'd came from, this and another corridor link the north building to the rest of the hospital.
The main corridor:
The front building where we entered didn't really prepare us for this. As we walked out into it from where we'd just been, we were astounded. Our torches could barely make the end of it, and we all have some pretty powerful torches. Later on, we'd go on to mount a tripod at the west end of the corridor and take numerous photos, including the light-painting at the start of this report.
The first photo snapped when we walked into the corridor, note that workbench on the left, this corridor is slowly being rigged with portable lighting.
One of the photos we took from the west end.
The wards:
The original wards in this hospital are large, imposing rooms with huge square-paned windows either side. Some are in better conditions than others though, some are more decayed than others, some have ceiling reinforcements, a couple even had no floors.
You could see down to the basement in this ward.
The west end:
The first part of the hospital we decided to look at was the west end of it. Where there are far more modern add-ons. We made so many good finds here, an operating theatre, intact electronics, a room without it's ceiling and even a safe. I also nearly went through the floor 3 times.
The theatre.
Some kind of air filtering system?
Who nicked the ceiling? This is located right next to the theatre.
Another room near the theatre. Possibly a post-operation care room? Also, the fans in the wall still spin.
Some kind of staff kitchen. A lot of intact stuff here.
We didn't go up to the first floor much. Not much of the first floor is linked together, there's boarding and fences blocking off rooms and corridors and the floors are... Questionable at best. It was upstairs here where we found the safe.
The basement:
After spending hours down the west end of the building, we went back to the middle of the building and headed into the basement. There's a ton of reinforcements down here, which isn't re-assuring. In the basement, you can find maintenance tunnels where electrical cables and various pipes would have been - Jesus they are claustrophobic, and I'm only 5ft 8.
The stairs down into the basement.
Piping remaining in the tunnel, on the left you can see valves. These may have been gas pipes?
The east end:
Unfortunately, we rushed around this part of the hospital, after realising it was 3AM. This end of the hospital has far less modern add-ons, but is still just as easy to get lost in. We made a few good finds here too.
One of the stairways in the east end. The centre of this stairwell has a metre deep trench that's blocked by the board here. Could've been for a lift?
Some murals in one of the rooms. Graffiti? Or actually painted when the hospital was in service? Also, that scaffolding is in place of the original floor.
After looking around the east end, it was time for us to get out, we were tired and pretty hungry too. This explore was, and still is, something to be remembered by us. This building left us in awe multiple times, and we likely won't be able to find anything that beats it for a very long time.
And finally, the standard goon squad photo that says "we've been here":
But, that day wasn't the end...
This place has been done to death nowadays, but it is one of the biggest places I have been so far. Chances are it will likely remain that way for quite some time.
I bring you:
CAMBRIDGE MILITARY HOSPITAL
This hospital was the first base hospital in the country to receive casualties from the western front in WW1, it was also the first place where plastic surgery was performed in the entire of the British Empire - With a plastic unit starting in the hospital in late 1915. The supply of portable operating theatres to front-line medical units was also reportedly pioneered from this hospital.
The hospital began admitting civilians after WW2, as it's military importance began to fall. Eventually, with the old Victorian building being costly to run, the hospital closed in February 1996. After 117 years of operation.
In 2013-14, roughly 75 tonnes of Asbestos was removed from the site's buildings, in preparations to turn the hospital into housing. As of 2019, this work has now started.
THE LOCATION: This hospital sits rather proudly on a hill at the former Stanhope Lines. It's easy enough to spot, at night or during the day. However, the highly residential surroundings make things pretty tricky.
As much as the main building has mostly been stripped out, the sheer size of everything blew us away. The building just screams Victorian construction in your face, with massive square-pane windows, huge open wards, the insanely long main corridor with it's overhead arches and numerous other features (the brickwork is something to see). What makes things even more interesting is the more modern parts that have been incorporated into the old building, all with their own differences.
The main building, as much as it has been stripped to almost nothing inside, isn't nearly as vandalised as I expected - Instead seeing a fair amount of natural decay, having closed over 20 years ago.
At the time we went, construction equipment had been put up in the building we gained entry through, but once we reached the main corridor, the equipment didn't go any further.
The site grounds look like they've seen better days, from the outside, the building is heavily fenced, boarded and overgrown.
THE EXPLORE: A fair amount of planning went into this. As well as a large amount of luck. Whilst most people were shut in at home, we were out in the middle of Storm Dennis, driving along empty motorways (nearly aquaplaning off them as well) and getting ourselves soaked for this. It took us a long time to find a way through the perimeter fence, and an even longer time to find a way through the new corrugated iron fence that lines the site. From where we got in, it looked a little hopeless, but a walk around the site was all it took, and in we went. We spent almost 5 hours inside the building, getting home at 5 in the morning.
That wasn't the end though, a week later, we returned to check out another building on the site. It was a smaller building that was far less decayed, but completely torn up. The initial outlook wasn't so good this time, the main building was now inaccessible, with barring on the windows where we gained entry. A security van was making rounds and even the residents were keeping an eye out, but we still managed to get in, leaving after an hour.
All I can say is, this place is likely a no-go for any future explorers, as construction works enter full-swing.
THE PHOTOS:
This will be picture heavy lads, unfortunately some of these aren't the best quality, we all had our cameras on us for this, of differing qualities.
The building where we entered gave us a slightly wrong impression of what was to come, and also made us incredibly paranoid, I think you can tell why.
A google maps birds-eye view of the site and the building where we entered, now pretty much inaccessible.
We came into this. Portable lighting, tarp everywhere, even cement that looked like it hadn't set.
This room had been marked as unsafe. The paper on the door noted of an Asbestos hazard. The floors don't look too good either.
Looking back into the building we'd came from, this and another corridor link the north building to the rest of the hospital.
The main corridor:
The front building where we entered didn't really prepare us for this. As we walked out into it from where we'd just been, we were astounded. Our torches could barely make the end of it, and we all have some pretty powerful torches. Later on, we'd go on to mount a tripod at the west end of the corridor and take numerous photos, including the light-painting at the start of this report.
The first photo snapped when we walked into the corridor, note that workbench on the left, this corridor is slowly being rigged with portable lighting.
One of the photos we took from the west end.
The wards:
The original wards in this hospital are large, imposing rooms with huge square-paned windows either side. Some are in better conditions than others though, some are more decayed than others, some have ceiling reinforcements, a couple even had no floors.
You could see down to the basement in this ward.
The west end:
The first part of the hospital we decided to look at was the west end of it. Where there are far more modern add-ons. We made so many good finds here, an operating theatre, intact electronics, a room without it's ceiling and even a safe. I also nearly went through the floor 3 times.
The theatre.
Some kind of air filtering system?
Who nicked the ceiling? This is located right next to the theatre.
Another room near the theatre. Possibly a post-operation care room? Also, the fans in the wall still spin.
Some kind of staff kitchen. A lot of intact stuff here.
We didn't go up to the first floor much. Not much of the first floor is linked together, there's boarding and fences blocking off rooms and corridors and the floors are... Questionable at best. It was upstairs here where we found the safe.
The basement:
After spending hours down the west end of the building, we went back to the middle of the building and headed into the basement. There's a ton of reinforcements down here, which isn't re-assuring. In the basement, you can find maintenance tunnels where electrical cables and various pipes would have been - Jesus they are claustrophobic, and I'm only 5ft 8.
The stairs down into the basement.
Piping remaining in the tunnel, on the left you can see valves. These may have been gas pipes?
The east end:
Unfortunately, we rushed around this part of the hospital, after realising it was 3AM. This end of the hospital has far less modern add-ons, but is still just as easy to get lost in. We made a few good finds here too.
One of the stairways in the east end. The centre of this stairwell has a metre deep trench that's blocked by the board here. Could've been for a lift?
Some murals in one of the rooms. Graffiti? Or actually painted when the hospital was in service? Also, that scaffolding is in place of the original floor.
After looking around the east end, it was time for us to get out, we were tired and pretty hungry too. This explore was, and still is, something to be remembered by us. This building left us in awe multiple times, and we likely won't be able to find anything that beats it for a very long time.
And finally, the standard goon squad photo that says "we've been here":
But, that day wasn't the end...
