Background
The Carnarvon Road site of the South East Essex College was the main campus for students before it closed in 2004, replaced by a newer and more modern building located on Luker Road, Southend.
I studied at the college between 1997-1999 with my studies split between Carnarvon Road and the (now demolished) London Road site. I remember it being a pleasant place to work, located not far from the town centre and with amazing views.
The site remains empty whilst a decision is made on its future. Plans for redevelopment have been met by resistance over the years from local residents, including the proposal to turn into flats HERE.
It certainly appears builders are active within the site, as equipment is present inside although it’s not clear what they are actually doing.
The Visit
Firstly, acknowledgement to Boomstick84 who has visited the building previously and joined me on this trip – his first report can be found Here.
Armed with previous intel of the site, we confidently made our way to the entry point, only to find the builders had sealed it up. We continued to search for a way in (regrettably disturbing the sleep of a local ‘resident’ in the process) and were almost at the point of giving up when we found what we were looking for. We were in!!
This is a massive site with 5 floors to explore plus a basement (which annoyingly took forever to find but was worth a look) - unfortunately we couldn’t get on the roof this time round. We headed straight up to the 5th floor (where I studied) then systematically worked our way down.
We pretty much had the run of the place for several hours with a few creepy moments (the acoustics in this place are strange) with noises coming in from everywhere. At one point we were convinced someone was coming up the stairs but no one there! A heart stopping moment happened whilst on the ground floor - when a random person grabbed our attention from the other side of a window, apparently thinking we were builders and said he was looking for a job. Really??? At this point we called it a day and made our way out. A fantastic explore overall.
Inside, the light ranged from ok to pitch black – so excuse some of the poor exposure on photos. Taken with a Nikon SLR but I’m a total amateur…
The Rear Entrance
Rear Building
5th Floor Art Dept
Random whiteboard
Computer monitors
Messy play?
Corridor on 5th Floor
Corridor
Not looking her best
Seecafe
Seecafe interior
Vending machines
Menu fit for students
Random coursework folder
Female toilet
Dead computers
2004 UCAS
Desks
Footie anyone?
No comment!
Remember these?
Can't see us!
Carnarvon Restaurant (bar area)
Expresso?
Inside kids daycare centre (Little Tigers)
Card reader for photocopier (you had to buy a card with credits)
Study Centre
Study Centre (first floor)
Reception
Going up? (Lifts, open on ground floor)
Corridor views
Old Sony TV?
2003-2004 calendar
Old tapes
The Carnarvon Road site of the South East Essex College was the main campus for students before it closed in 2004, replaced by a newer and more modern building located on Luker Road, Southend.
I studied at the college between 1997-1999 with my studies split between Carnarvon Road and the (now demolished) London Road site. I remember it being a pleasant place to work, located not far from the town centre and with amazing views.
The site remains empty whilst a decision is made on its future. Plans for redevelopment have been met by resistance over the years from local residents, including the proposal to turn into flats HERE.
It certainly appears builders are active within the site, as equipment is present inside although it’s not clear what they are actually doing.
The Visit
Firstly, acknowledgement to Boomstick84 who has visited the building previously and joined me on this trip – his first report can be found Here.
Armed with previous intel of the site, we confidently made our way to the entry point, only to find the builders had sealed it up. We continued to search for a way in (regrettably disturbing the sleep of a local ‘resident’ in the process) and were almost at the point of giving up when we found what we were looking for. We were in!!
This is a massive site with 5 floors to explore plus a basement (which annoyingly took forever to find but was worth a look) - unfortunately we couldn’t get on the roof this time round. We headed straight up to the 5th floor (where I studied) then systematically worked our way down.
We pretty much had the run of the place for several hours with a few creepy moments (the acoustics in this place are strange) with noises coming in from everywhere. At one point we were convinced someone was coming up the stairs but no one there! A heart stopping moment happened whilst on the ground floor - when a random person grabbed our attention from the other side of a window, apparently thinking we were builders and said he was looking for a job. Really??? At this point we called it a day and made our way out. A fantastic explore overall.
Inside, the light ranged from ok to pitch black – so excuse some of the poor exposure on photos. Taken with a Nikon SLR but I’m a total amateur…
The Rear Entrance
Rear Building
5th Floor Art Dept
Random whiteboard
Computer monitors
Messy play?
Corridor on 5th Floor
Corridor
Not looking her best
Seecafe
Seecafe interior
Vending machines
Menu fit for students
Random coursework folder
Female toilet
Dead computers
2004 UCAS
Desks
Footie anyone?
No comment!
Remember these?
Can't see us!
Carnarvon Restaurant (bar area)
Expresso?
Inside kids daycare centre (Little Tigers)
Card reader for photocopier (you had to buy a card with credits)
Study Centre
Study Centre (first floor)
Reception
Going up? (Lifts, open on ground floor)
Corridor views
Old Sony TV?
2003-2004 calendar
Old tapes
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