For my first proper explore, Harold Wood Hospital is amazingly epic; very atmospheric although sadly it has been stripped quite badly. Explored with livexplores and littleorangegoldfish.
Since anyloans posted up a thread in the Lead or Rumour info section, and Troglodyte visited in October I can say that Harold Wood has been seriously locked down and we almost didn't make it in...but with a bit of perserverance we found ourselves dashing across the snow to take cover in the nearest building, extremely happy to be inside.....as quite stupidly we had no back up plan
We walked around the smaller buildings and still managed to make it into the Operating Theaters On our way out, we swung by the mortuary but there is a pretty hench chain on the front door and the back entrance was completely boarded up. So sadly, no mortuary visit for us.
I can't wait to go back though, as it is a huge site. But judging by how much it was locked down it may not be around for much longer which is a shame considering the history:
"The hospital was opened in 1909 by West Ham County Borough council, as the Grange convalescent home for children, which operated with the nearby Plaistow fever hospital. The Grange had been a private house, built in 1884 by John Compton, owner of the Gubbins estate. The convalescent home was maintained by the county borough until the Second World War, as an emergency hospital. After the war it became a permanent hospital, and in the 1960s was significantly enlarged.
The hospital later became part of the Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust. It was closed on 13 December 2006 with patients and functions relocated to Queen's Hospital and to King George Hospital. The site vacated by the hospital has been earmarked for a 470-home housing development" : Wikipedia
(apologies for any similar photos)
Thanks for looking
Since anyloans posted up a thread in the Lead or Rumour info section, and Troglodyte visited in October I can say that Harold Wood has been seriously locked down and we almost didn't make it in...but with a bit of perserverance we found ourselves dashing across the snow to take cover in the nearest building, extremely happy to be inside.....as quite stupidly we had no back up plan
We walked around the smaller buildings and still managed to make it into the Operating Theaters On our way out, we swung by the mortuary but there is a pretty hench chain on the front door and the back entrance was completely boarded up. So sadly, no mortuary visit for us.
I can't wait to go back though, as it is a huge site. But judging by how much it was locked down it may not be around for much longer which is a shame considering the history:
"The hospital was opened in 1909 by West Ham County Borough council, as the Grange convalescent home for children, which operated with the nearby Plaistow fever hospital. The Grange had been a private house, built in 1884 by John Compton, owner of the Gubbins estate. The convalescent home was maintained by the county borough until the Second World War, as an emergency hospital. After the war it became a permanent hospital, and in the 1960s was significantly enlarged.
The hospital later became part of the Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust. It was closed on 13 December 2006 with patients and functions relocated to Queen's Hospital and to King George Hospital. The site vacated by the hospital has been earmarked for a 470-home housing development" : Wikipedia
(apologies for any similar photos)
Thanks for looking