This is one of those places that I had just never managed to get round to exploring, having passed it about a million times, I thought it would be a good laugh to go and have a look. So about 7 of us headed of in the small Hours from Norfolk and rocked up for a day of Fun.
The entry was something like I had never experienced before, loads of reports over the years of scaling fences, digging under fences, and we just walk straight with my camera bag still on. PERFECT OR WHAT HEY....
Well roll on 6 hours of noisy exploring later (we had expected to last and hour), that was due to the younger members of the party and a older one with a gopro on a selfi stick spinning round and round for ages making funny videos.. We had seen all that we wanted too, and had made the decision to head on to site number 2 for the day down in Kent. So leaving the morgue and who should we bump into, yep the grounds-keeper on his tractor, who was rather chuffed with his catch as he gloated to Michael on the phone. So we walked up to the security gate and started with the usual bits and bobbs as you do, only to be told that they apparently Knew we had smashed the fence down to get in, and the police were getting called. So we let them do just that as we knew we had nothing to do with that, In the end all the police came to do was to check that we had given all the correct details so that The site owners could take civil proceedings against us all for trespass (somehow don't think they will prove that the criminal damage had anything to do with us)
So after I got a mega bollocking of the OTT copper for giving my child a happy childhood and taking her exploring, a threat of social services and her now being banned from exploring in Essex :crazy We all made the decision we would not return to sevs for a few weeks at least
, we thought it might be a good idea as they had made it 100% clear that we will be going to court for trespass. As of yet nothing. But never say never. Apparently it is out of the onsite's security's hands and is in managements hands now, as they are sick and tired of the fence getting trashed all the time.
All in, it was a fab day, something I have always wanted to see, my Daughter saw it too and had a amazing day until the police showed up and Terminator cop gets out of his Car.
History
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).
Psychiatric experiments
Psychiatrists were free to experiment with new treatments on patients seemingly at will, using practices now considered unsuitable such as electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) and the use of frontal lobotomy. The use of these treatments peaked in the 1950s. In her book Madness in Its Place: Narratives of Severalls Hospital, 1913-1997,[1] Diana Gittins notes that often women were admitted by their own family, sometimes as the result of bearing illegitimate children or because they had been raped. As they would not always (or were unable to) carry out daily tasks, they were considered to be insane and some were even subjected to ECT and lobotomy. A change in management during the 1960s (and likely a change in social acceptance) saw reforms introduced including the creation of art and music therapy programs and the widespread use of drugs and medication.
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 (NEPFT).
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.
Met this Guy in there
The entry was something like I had never experienced before, loads of reports over the years of scaling fences, digging under fences, and we just walk straight with my camera bag still on. PERFECT OR WHAT HEY....
Well roll on 6 hours of noisy exploring later (we had expected to last and hour), that was due to the younger members of the party and a older one with a gopro on a selfi stick spinning round and round for ages making funny videos.. We had seen all that we wanted too, and had made the decision to head on to site number 2 for the day down in Kent. So leaving the morgue and who should we bump into, yep the grounds-keeper on his tractor, who was rather chuffed with his catch as he gloated to Michael on the phone. So we walked up to the security gate and started with the usual bits and bobbs as you do, only to be told that they apparently Knew we had smashed the fence down to get in, and the police were getting called. So we let them do just that as we knew we had nothing to do with that, In the end all the police came to do was to check that we had given all the correct details so that The site owners could take civil proceedings against us all for trespass (somehow don't think they will prove that the criminal damage had anything to do with us)
So after I got a mega bollocking of the OTT copper for giving my child a happy childhood and taking her exploring, a threat of social services and her now being banned from exploring in Essex :crazy We all made the decision we would not return to sevs for a few weeks at least
, we thought it might be a good idea as they had made it 100% clear that we will be going to court for trespass. As of yet nothing. But never say never. Apparently it is out of the onsite's security's hands and is in managements hands now, as they are sick and tired of the fence getting trashed all the time.All in, it was a fab day, something I have always wanted to see, my Daughter saw it too and had a amazing day until the police showed up and Terminator cop gets out of his Car.
History
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).
Psychiatric experiments
Psychiatrists were free to experiment with new treatments on patients seemingly at will, using practices now considered unsuitable such as electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) and the use of frontal lobotomy. The use of these treatments peaked in the 1950s. In her book Madness in Its Place: Narratives of Severalls Hospital, 1913-1997,[1] Diana Gittins notes that often women were admitted by their own family, sometimes as the result of bearing illegitimate children or because they had been raped. As they would not always (or were unable to) carry out daily tasks, they were considered to be insane and some were even subjected to ECT and lobotomy. A change in management during the 1960s (and likely a change in social acceptance) saw reforms introduced including the creation of art and music therapy programs and the widespread use of drugs and medication.
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 (NEPFT).
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.
Met this Guy in there
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