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Severalls Hospital AKA The Second Essex County Lunatic Asylum - 2015 | Oblivion State Urban Exploration

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Severalls Hospital AKA The Second Essex County Lunatic Asylum - 2015

SpiderMonkey

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Monkeyboy here! This one I've wanted to do for a while, for some reason I just never go there. When the opportunity arose I was BUZZING to get here, some people have done it many times, seen it all, etc, but this has always been a 'want' for me. Probably the best remaining asylum in the UK as all of the epics like Cane Hill and West Park, etc are history.

Here's some copied history on the place as I'm sure you've read it all before:

Severalls Hospital in Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom was a psychiatric hospital built in 1910 to the design of architect Frank Whitmore. It opened in May 1913.

The 300-acre (120 ha) site housed some 2000 patients and was based on the "Echelon plan" - a specific arrangement of wards, offices and services within easy reach of each other by a network of interconnecting corridors. This meant that staff were able to operate around the site without the need to go outside in bad weather. Unlike modern British hospitals, patients in Severalls were separated according to their gender. Villas were constructed around the main hospital building as accommodation blocks between 1910 and 1935. Most of the buildings are in the Queen Anne style, with few architectural embellishments, typical of the Edwardian period. The most ornate buildings are the Administration Building, Larch House and Severalls House (originally the Medical Superintendent's residence).

Closure

The hospital closed as a psychiatric hospital in the early 1990s following the closure of other psychiatric institutions. However, a small section remained open until 20 March 1997 for the treatment of elderly patients suffering from the effects of serious stroke, etc., as a temporary building for nearby Colchester General Hospital which was in the process of building an entire new building for these patients. A few of the satellite villas as of 2013 are still operational as research facilities on the edge of the site. This includes "Chestnut Villa" (originally Children's Villa), which provides laboratory services, and "Willow House" (originally Male Acute Ward), and Severalls House (originally the Medical Superintendent's residence). "Rivendell", a more modern building is still in use at the entrance to the site. Apart from Chestnut Villa, all remaining Buildings still in use are owned and run by North Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust.

Since 1997 the remaining structures have changed little. Architecturally, the site remains an excellent example of a specific asylum plan. However, the buildings have suffered greatly from vandalism. In 2005 the main hall was subjected to an arson attack and in 2007 the charred building was demolished for safety reasons. The five boilers were removed from the Central Boiler House in 2007.

In 2008, the sale of the hospital site, including its extensive grounds, collapsed due to the slow-down in the building industry.

Photos:

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And of course:

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mookster

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Great stuff, maybe one day I will make it to Sevs.

I can remember seeing photos of the 'Dub' radiator in the 8th photo with very little decay in that room years ago.

 

AndyK!

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Ohhhh nice! Some awesome shots there mate, looks ace!

 

Lenston

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Some great snaps there mate (y)

 

Urbexbandoned

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Really nice set of shots there mate, one of my favourite places and being local to me I like to get there when I can. Loving the corridor shots and the room with the chair is looking better and better. Decay is getting worse and your pics really show the best of it. Thanks for sharing (y)

:comp

 

MrT

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Non stop editing looks good ;) love to re visit here. Loving number 1 shot man.

 

Perjury Saint

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Blimey! You didn't fuck around kidda! ACE set that... (y)

 

Dubbed Navigator

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Nice bit of processing on those, make the place look nicer than some of the houses i have seen on zoopla :)

Yes, maybe I was looking at jaywick...

 

skeleton key

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Its certainly a classic and wont be there forever so glad you took the time and save on regret.

Very cool set there (y)

 

Lavino

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Very nice cracking set of pics there

 

Nelly

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Great set. The decay in the corridor ceilings is really setting in. Got some great memories of Sevs. Nice one!!

 

hamtagger

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Bloody ace that mate. Love this place, looking more and more peely every time I see it :) :)

 
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