Hello everyone.:hello
I've been looking through some reports on this place for a while, and finally went to see it as the demolition process seems to be running on full power.
The buildings were originally built in 1848-49 as a workhouse, for the Board of Guardians of the City of London Union.
The palatial design was by architect Richard Tress and cost over £55,000 to construct, boasted central heating, a dining- hall measuring 100 feet by 50 feet, Siberian marble pillars, and a chapel with stained glass windows and a new organ. It became an infirmary for the CLU in 1874, and in 1912 the Bow Institution for the long-term sick. In 1936 it became a psychiatric unit, under the St Clement's name again. It became part of the London Hospital in 1968 and went through various organisational changes until closure in 2005. Services were transferred to a new Adult Mental Health Facility at Mile End Hospital in October 2005.
Following its closure the site was transferred from the NHS to English Partnerships, then to the Homes and Communities Agency, and eventually the Greater London Authority, who in 2011 took the site to market so that it could be sold and redeveloped. In June 2012 it was announced that St Clements would become the United Kingdom's first urban Community Land Trust, with the East London Community Land Trust working in partnership with Linden Homes (Galliford Try) and Peabody Housing Trust to bring the scheme forward.
In August 2013 St Clement's was reopened to the public for the first time as the site of Shuffle Festival, a community festival showing films curated by Danny Boyle. There was also an art exhibition, music, live projections and a 'Day of the Mind' - an alternative fête day with installations by artists and scientists exploring ideas about mental health. The Day of the Mind was free to the public and supported by the Wellcome Trust. The Arts Council and Canary Wharf Group also provided support for the festival. In December 2013 Shuffle returned as the Winter Shuffle, with an extended programme of art, film, storytelling, theatre, music and science from 5–15 December.
Currently, the place is in a process of demolition.
It was a solo UE. I've made a couple circles before getting in - to analyse the scale of the site.
Once I was in, I tried to find a place to slip into the main building as soon as possible, as the site definitely did not look safe security-wise. I got into an itchy moment when noticed something dog-like approaching me from round the corner, the creature happened to be a fox, pffff:laugh
All the middle part of the site is completely demolished, although the piles of concrete and earth are a good cover to stay unnoticed.
The first door I walked into got me into a well-like garden with some doors leading to technical facilities.
I was hoping to find an entry point into the underground level, but this was all to be found.
Basically, nothing interesting apart from those suspicious cells, and a hole in the ground in one of the rooms, but I decided not to get in there (yet)
I continued to round the building and finally got in - to a ground floor.
Found some workers' gear on the ground floor, god knows what they need it for, but the work if focused below ground.
The whole building is pretty much corridors with empty rooms (some of them more, some of them less) with signs indicating their previous purpose.
Many rooms have this "Danger! asbestos" tape on them, just a tiny reminder of zombie films.:laugh
One door really caught my eye for a while. A door with a tape-made black cross on it.
The problem with this door is, that it isn't actually leading anywhere - you just face a concrete sealing.
According to the building plan, it is not leading to a balcony or stairs, anyway I can't get the point of sealing a fire exit.
I've seen a couple sealed doors in the building, not counting the wooden sealings on some of the windows.
At this point, a very unlucky thing has happened - my torch died.
And that could mean only one thing - no basement exploration for today.
A bit upset I inspected the patients-only area on the ground floor and moved to the upper levels
These are the patients' "rooms", I bet I would go absolutely mental if placed in one of those.
By the way, the wall colours would sometimes leave me a bit confused as an architect, some of the walls were painted yellow, purple, red - these colours are known for triggering psychotic activity and can lead to seizures or schizophrenic panic attacks.
I counted 3 staircases in the eastern side of the building alone, interesting structure.
Finally I headed for the clock tower via a narrow staircase right in the centre of the building, starting at the 1'nd floor, and right before leaving tried to step into the basement with my phone LED "torch" (It was a joke trying to explore anything with it), the basement looked quite massive.
I feel like I need to explore the basement and the second building, before the whole site is demolished.
There has to be something interesting!
HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS REPORT
I've been looking through some reports on this place for a while, and finally went to see it as the demolition process seems to be running on full power.
Here's a brief history of the site taken from a well-known encyclopedia.
The buildings were originally built in 1848-49 as a workhouse, for the Board of Guardians of the City of London Union.
The palatial design was by architect Richard Tress and cost over £55,000 to construct, boasted central heating, a dining- hall measuring 100 feet by 50 feet, Siberian marble pillars, and a chapel with stained glass windows and a new organ. It became an infirmary for the CLU in 1874, and in 1912 the Bow Institution for the long-term sick. In 1936 it became a psychiatric unit, under the St Clement's name again. It became part of the London Hospital in 1968 and went through various organisational changes until closure in 2005. Services were transferred to a new Adult Mental Health Facility at Mile End Hospital in October 2005.
Following its closure the site was transferred from the NHS to English Partnerships, then to the Homes and Communities Agency, and eventually the Greater London Authority, who in 2011 took the site to market so that it could be sold and redeveloped. In June 2012 it was announced that St Clements would become the United Kingdom's first urban Community Land Trust, with the East London Community Land Trust working in partnership with Linden Homes (Galliford Try) and Peabody Housing Trust to bring the scheme forward.
In August 2013 St Clement's was reopened to the public for the first time as the site of Shuffle Festival, a community festival showing films curated by Danny Boyle. There was also an art exhibition, music, live projections and a 'Day of the Mind' - an alternative fête day with installations by artists and scientists exploring ideas about mental health. The Day of the Mind was free to the public and supported by the Wellcome Trust. The Arts Council and Canary Wharf Group also provided support for the festival. In December 2013 Shuffle returned as the Winter Shuffle, with an extended programme of art, film, storytelling, theatre, music and science from 5–15 December.
Currently, the place is in a process of demolition.
The Exploration
Basically I went to make a short research on a, in some ways classic, 19th century Victorian site.It was a solo UE. I've made a couple circles before getting in - to analyse the scale of the site.
Once I was in, I tried to find a place to slip into the main building as soon as possible, as the site definitely did not look safe security-wise. I got into an itchy moment when noticed something dog-like approaching me from round the corner, the creature happened to be a fox, pffff:laugh
All the middle part of the site is completely demolished, although the piles of concrete and earth are a good cover to stay unnoticed.
The first door I walked into got me into a well-like garden with some doors leading to technical facilities.
I was hoping to find an entry point into the underground level, but this was all to be found.
Basically, nothing interesting apart from those suspicious cells, and a hole in the ground in one of the rooms, but I decided not to get in there (yet)
I continued to round the building and finally got in - to a ground floor.
Found some workers' gear on the ground floor, god knows what they need it for, but the work if focused below ground.
The whole building is pretty much corridors with empty rooms (some of them more, some of them less) with signs indicating their previous purpose.
Many rooms have this "Danger! asbestos" tape on them, just a tiny reminder of zombie films.:laugh
One door really caught my eye for a while. A door with a tape-made black cross on it.
The problem with this door is, that it isn't actually leading anywhere - you just face a concrete sealing.
According to the building plan, it is not leading to a balcony or stairs, anyway I can't get the point of sealing a fire exit.
I've seen a couple sealed doors in the building, not counting the wooden sealings on some of the windows.
At this point, a very unlucky thing has happened - my torch died.
And that could mean only one thing - no basement exploration for today.
A bit upset I inspected the patients-only area on the ground floor and moved to the upper levels
These are the patients' "rooms", I bet I would go absolutely mental if placed in one of those.
By the way, the wall colours would sometimes leave me a bit confused as an architect, some of the walls were painted yellow, purple, red - these colours are known for triggering psychotic activity and can lead to seizures or schizophrenic panic attacks.
I counted 3 staircases in the eastern side of the building alone, interesting structure.
Finally I headed for the clock tower via a narrow staircase right in the centre of the building, starting at the 1'nd floor, and right before leaving tried to step into the basement with my phone LED "torch" (It was a joke trying to explore anything with it), the basement looked quite massive.
I feel like I need to explore the basement and the second building, before the whole site is demolished.
There has to be something interesting!
HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS REPORT
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