If you’ve ever heard of Olive Mount it’s probably in connection with the ‘Olive Mount Cutting’ which Stephenson was forced to dig in 1830 to get the first trains through a small hill on the outskirts of Liverpool.
This site is on that small hill and has four buildings, a Georgian house (left), a Victorian villa (middle), a former school (Millstead School, second from right) and a former nursing home (Hesketh House, far right).
They’re all alarmed, although the alarms don’t always work, and have been opening and closing since I put the only interesting building, the big house, in leads and rumours a couple of years ago.
This house was the only one I hadn’t been in but it looked like it might have a good staircase judging by the glass dome on the roof, visible in the satellite view.
Then young @Shaun and accomplice recently found that the alarm is now dead and it does indeed have a nice staircase:
So as soon as the latest lockdown was over and the weather improved I trotted along to see for myself.
Potted history. The main house was originally built (ca 1790) for a merchant and subsequently had various owners before ‘cottage houses’ for orphaned children were built in its grounds (ca 1900).
These was modelled on the cottage houses in Fazakerley in Liverpool, the place with the nice hall and clocktower (which is still derelict).
The main house became a children’s hospital in the 1940s, then from 1991 on was used by the NHS as offices.
The small villa was originally for the superintendent of the cottage houses, and was also last used as NHS offices.
Both of these seem to have been empty since about 2015.
First the modern buildings. I haven’t bothered to find any history for these since they’re of no interest, but here’s what was inside anyway.
Millstead School.
Hesketh House.
I used to have some pictures of the small villa, but they’re on a dead hard drive which isn’t worth reviving.
From memory there wasn’t much to see, just empty rooms.
The main house is called Olive Mount Children’s Hospital in the listing, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1293027.
Locals walk their dogs in the grounds which have recently started to be used for fly-tipping.
This house is also empty - the fireplaces which would have been the focal points of the grand downstairs rooms have all gone, leaving only a few small plain ones upstairs.
Apart from the staircase, the best bits were the extensive unmodernised basement and attic rooms.
Starting in the basement, the writing on a door and signage on some brick shelving looks like it may date from the orphanage period - one of the shelf signs says, slightly mysteriously, ’CREEDS’.
Empty ground floor rooms.
Some from around the entrance hall.
The staircase - locals have smashed a few pains in the glass dome so water is now dripping down.
Up to the attic and then to the roof.
Phone picture looking towards town, with the cathedrals visible in the distance.
This site is on that small hill and has four buildings, a Georgian house (left), a Victorian villa (middle), a former school (Millstead School, second from right) and a former nursing home (Hesketh House, far right).
They’re all alarmed, although the alarms don’t always work, and have been opening and closing since I put the only interesting building, the big house, in leads and rumours a couple of years ago.
This house was the only one I hadn’t been in but it looked like it might have a good staircase judging by the glass dome on the roof, visible in the satellite view.
Then young @Shaun and accomplice recently found that the alarm is now dead and it does indeed have a nice staircase:
So as soon as the latest lockdown was over and the weather improved I trotted along to see for myself.
Potted history. The main house was originally built (ca 1790) for a merchant and subsequently had various owners before ‘cottage houses’ for orphaned children were built in its grounds (ca 1900).
These was modelled on the cottage houses in Fazakerley in Liverpool, the place with the nice hall and clocktower (which is still derelict).
The main house became a children’s hospital in the 1940s, then from 1991 on was used by the NHS as offices.
The small villa was originally for the superintendent of the cottage houses, and was also last used as NHS offices.
Both of these seem to have been empty since about 2015.
First the modern buildings. I haven’t bothered to find any history for these since they’re of no interest, but here’s what was inside anyway.
Millstead School.
Hesketh House.
I used to have some pictures of the small villa, but they’re on a dead hard drive which isn’t worth reviving.
From memory there wasn’t much to see, just empty rooms.
The main house is called Olive Mount Children’s Hospital in the listing, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1293027.
Locals walk their dogs in the grounds which have recently started to be used for fly-tipping.
This house is also empty - the fireplaces which would have been the focal points of the grand downstairs rooms have all gone, leaving only a few small plain ones upstairs.
Apart from the staircase, the best bits were the extensive unmodernised basement and attic rooms.
Starting in the basement, the writing on a door and signage on some brick shelving looks like it may date from the orphanage period - one of the shelf signs says, slightly mysteriously, ’CREEDS’.
Empty ground floor rooms.
Some from around the entrance hall.
The staircase - locals have smashed a few pains in the glass dome so water is now dripping down.
Up to the attic and then to the roof.
Phone picture looking towards town, with the cathedrals visible in the distance.
