Report - Some of Whitchurch Psychiatric Hospital's Finer Details (circa March 2018)

[bodbeast]

the flappy doors that you noticed are for getting through doors with out opening them with trolleys etc there have been no padded cells in any mental hospital since the 1950s with the advent medication cheers

 

[Samalefic]

Great stuff. I was down there right before it closed for some occy therapy. The gymnasium in there was ancient and a little terrifying. Like some kind of schoolkids nightmare...

 

[EJ9]

I'm guessing it was you whom we bumped into! If so great report man!

 

[Will Knot]

Very nice report that

 

[Olkka]

I'm guessing it was you whom we bumped into! If so great report man!

Ayy, you must be the 3 local lads I met by the canteen as soon as I arrived

 

[Cloth Head]

Very nice report, very nicely done.

 

[Olkka]

Very nice report, very nicely done.

Cheers Clotho mate
I was up in Aberdeen for work earlier this week, and took yesterday fully off just to visit Sunnyside, haha, so I might do a similar deal report for that one soon. I saw you visited recently too, it's a cracker ay!

 

[EJ9]

Ayy, you must be the 3 local lads I met by the canteen as soon as I arrived

Yees! That would be us! Been waiting for your report!

 

[Fuzzball]

Really enjoyed reading your report, especially the annotations for each picture, they all help to not only illustrate how it all looks, but also how it all feels and what its character is like. Makes all the more real and I can vicariously explore the place all the better! Thanks!

I really would love to see this place, as I have completely missed the boat - asylum and mental-hospital wise (with the exception of the dull, yet weirdly compelling Harperbury). Might drive past in the next few days.

 

[Olkka]

Cheers Fuzz! Yeah get stuck in mate, it's definitely doable. Takes some Tom Clancy-ing to lower the risk of getting nabbed to comfy levels but it's super rewarding.
I basically missed the boat on 90% of asylums too, but if you want another really quality asylum experience before it's too late get yourself to Sunnyside Royal Hospital up in Scotland, it's really stunning. If you fly to Aberdeen and then get a train to Montrose you can do it in a day for under 100 quid and there's no security variable in play

 

[Fuzzball]

No problemo Olkka! Its the really detailed reports that really stoke the imagination. And shame to hear your similar urbex missed-opportunity woes, too.
The grounds of Whitty look very well kept still, which definitely gives the impression of good security. Tending to the grounds and to any minor repairs is something I'm surprised more sites like this don't do, because it's a brilliant way of deterring people from having a nose or doing nefarious stuff like nicking copper. Neat grass but no chain-fence puts me off from entering more than a big chain-fence with messy grass. I can imagine that there might even be some entry-level parkour to access some of the wards too, perhaps, if the corridor network becomes more secured?

It's a mix of emotions wanting to explore these epic places - you hope to gain access fairly easily without getting caught but simultaneously worry that if that is indeed the case then the place will be trashed by idiots and ruined, I get what you mean about thinking the security isn't good enough. Seems like that's the case with Sunnyside too! It does look excellent though, the full package! Some seriously quintessential 20th atmospheric hospital interiors there, and in a wonderfully remote location too. I prefer the external architecture of Whitty I must say, but the interiors of Sunnyside. My big-three explores on my to-do list are Whitchurch, Sunnyside and Montrose. I think those three might be the most well-preserved and sprawling classic examples left at this time.

 

[tumbles]

No problemo Olkka! Its the really detailed reports that really stoke the imagination. And shame to hear your similar urbex missed-opportunity woes, too.
The grounds of Whitty look very well kept still, which definitely gives the impression of good security. Tending to the grounds and to any minor repairs is something I'm surprised more sites like this don't do, because it's a brilliant way of deterring people from having a nose or doing nefarious stuff like nicking copper. Neat grass but no chain-fence puts me off from entering more than a big chain-fence with messy grass. I can imagine that there might even be some entry-level parkour to access some of the wards too, perhaps, if the corridor network becomes more secured?

It's a mix of emotions wanting to explore these epic places - you hope to gain access fairly easily without getting caught but simultaneously worry that if that is indeed the case then the place will be trashed by idiots and ruined, I get what you mean about thinking the security isn't good enough. Seems like that's the case with Sunnyside too! It does look excellent though, the full package! Some seriously quintessential 20th atmospheric hospital interiors there, and in a wonderfully remote location too. I prefer the external architecture of Whitty I must say, but the interiors of Sunnyside. My big-three explores on my to-do list are Whitchurch, Sunnyside and Montrose. I think those three might be the most well-preserved and sprawling classic examples left at this time.

Maybe talking openly about security or lack of possibly doesn’t help the situation as they will get trashed sadly if more people are alerted to the status. Not rounding on either of you in particular and ultimately we’ve got to accept that this will happen but maybe sometimes best not to be so open about the finer details of it to at least help these places. Last thing I want to see is another burnt down main hall!

 

[Fuzzball]

Maybe talking openly about security or lack of possibly doesn’t help the situation as they will get trashed sadly if more people are alerted to the status. Not rounding on either of you in particular and ultimately we’ve got to accept that this will happen but maybe sometimes best not to be so open about the finer details of it to at least help these places. Last thing I want to see is another burnt down main hall!

I share yours and others' concerns, and sharing too much information must always something to consider when posting photos and an account of your own explore. Nobody would want to see a step-by-step guide to accessing places, this forum is not a Haynes Urbex manual afterall (although I'm wondering what one would be like if it hit the shops!) *shudders*

In this case, I wouldn't say that any particularly sensitive info has been conveyed in the "finer points" of the OP though. There's no here's-how-you-access information provided at all. If you asked me to gain access to Whitchurch by reading the post and my reply I'd still have no specific pointers to use for assisting to access the place or conclusive evidence of no security. Same with talk on Sunnyside. In particular, the OP says "it hasn't really been abandoned yet" and my reply says "The grounds of Whitty look very well kept still, which definitely gives the impression of good security". This leaves the supposed lack of security question open-ended. I feel that the original post and my reply give an impression of: "well it's accessible and easier than expected, which is a bit worrying, but then again, the grass always looks cut and the exteriors look tidy, so perhaps the place is better secured than we think". Yes it opens that question up for debate but it can also provide caution for anyone stumbling on this post who wants a clear answer as to would they get caught trying to smash the place up.

I would argue that the existence of this publicly accessible forum itself already demonstrates which abandoned places may not have the best security. If someone has posted a report containing dozen of snaps of a location, then it's obvious that A: they got in and B: they didn't get caught for a long period of time. If there are then several posts on the same location then, once again, its obvious to anyone that a place can be accessed. If a place wasn't accessible then it wouldn't be on this site. When an explore is published on this site a trade-off has occured: The poster wants to share the experience of a place which soon might be never seen again and without such records their histories might be lost, and the trade-off is that it is one more piece of evidence to the wider world that a place is indeed accessible (but perhaps much harder than they might think?)

Ultimately though, an abandoned site (especially massive hospital ones) will be well-known to any locals, and that includes the metal thieves and the arsonists. Much like murders are often perpetrated by a person a victim knows, I would wager that most property damage is caused by people local to that site who can monitor the site over many days to suss the security out before acting, and who know the surrounding area as well so they can melt away into the background when the police arrive. They would know about an abandoned site without even knowing that this forum exists, potentially. Of course, now there's Youtube and Google Maps to assist with both new urbexers seeking out locations AND also idiots who wish to trash and steal from the place (and post irritating clickbait videos). I wonder if the easy access to such sources have perhaps sped up the disintegration of abandoned buildings? Would you say that might be case Tumbles?

I think the info provided in this report and pretty much every other report that i've seen on 28 Days Later is pretty benign. There are tunnel plans and floor plans provided with some reports, which you could argue might be used by people to damage the site, but then if the info is publicly accessible anyway then there's no point shielding the urbex community from them especially as this forum is specifically set up to document and respect these places.

I get where you are coming from though absolutely Tumbles, and I'm sure many members will be agreeing with your views, although I don't in this insistence feel that Olkka and I revealed anything serious or concrete. I probably won't mention parkour again though. I am new to posting on this site after lurking for a long time, so I'll be keeping on eye on what I do post if I publish a report and what I say in post replies while I get up-to-speed on etiquette, so thanks for the heads-up. I have a lot of respect for this community, the forum and for keeping urban exploration a respectful pastime for people who care about history, exploring and documenting stuff.

As for main halls, yes these are the often the crown jewels of a hospital and they are often the first to go! Do you know (or anyone else) know what happened to Harperbury's main hall? I was very happy to see it hadn't been burnt down as yep I understand the place is being demo'd now though?

 

[Hydref Coch]

What's the building like for getting into and what's it like for security?

 

[Olkka]

Finding out when you get there is all part of the fun