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Having seen a mention of newly closed areas here in November I popped back to see what new treasures I could find. Lucky I did as they've been clearing it out very fast. Staff records and financial ledgers dating back to the 1800s were of particular note. Leather bound books labelled with each of the different names the hospital has been given over the past 150 years. One of the nicest rooms of old stuff I've ever come across. Sadly all of these and other items were removed within days. I'm hopeful they've been preserved rather than thrown away as they left a few soggy bits behind that would've been the first thing you would bin. The patient records were kept in another basement area. It had already been cleared out by the time I got there but a few records remain. As you venture further to the left of the main entrance (pictured below) you can access the hospital's admin department which is very much still active. These aren't just offices for the hospital itself, but for the NHS Trust Headquarters, so it's an area that is best avoided - especially on week days. Why they haven't secured it is beyond me. I'm not sure what the plans are for the rest of the buildings here but I expect more closures to come in the future so it's worth keeping an eye on, and definitely worth keeping out of public view.
Main entrance hall with the active admin block to the left
Inside the main entrance
Committee room. This had been emptied two days later. Interestingly it had a padded door which you can't see in the pic. Not sure why it was necessary
A nice large space upstairs which has been turned into offices with these partitions. Unsure what purpose it may have served in the past
A storage space with a low ceiling, perhaps only 5ft high
A patient bathroom that I hadn't seen before
Kitchens - all completely emptied
A nice underground storage space beneath the kitchens
This spiral staircase went down to the vault where staff records and financial ledgers were kept
So much nice stuff in there but the majority has now been removed
This is what it looks like now
Only these soggy records remain
Underneath the main entrance was this basement area. It was locked up on every visit until my last trip, by which point it had been cleared.
Empty shelves where patient records would have been stored
Although the full records have been removed, lots of these mental health admission cards have been left
A quick google of this guy's name came up with some interesting results: http://www.blackkalendar.nl/c/9245/John Thomas Batten
- 'Widowed' is an interesting way of putting it. He battered his wife to death with a steel pipe
An old death certificate from 1899 lying under some rubble on a shelf.
And a cheeky peek inside the NHS Trust HQ offices. This doesn't appear to be closing any time soon and is very much in use during the week.
Finally a few recent pics of the more familiar abandoned section
View through the window of the ballroom
Secure Ward
A comprehensive history of the site can be found here https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/springfield.html
Cheers
Main entrance hall with the active admin block to the left
Inside the main entrance
Committee room. This had been emptied two days later. Interestingly it had a padded door which you can't see in the pic. Not sure why it was necessary
A nice large space upstairs which has been turned into offices with these partitions. Unsure what purpose it may have served in the past
A storage space with a low ceiling, perhaps only 5ft high
A patient bathroom that I hadn't seen before
Kitchens - all completely emptied
A nice underground storage space beneath the kitchens
This spiral staircase went down to the vault where staff records and financial ledgers were kept
So much nice stuff in there but the majority has now been removed
This is what it looks like now
Only these soggy records remain
Underneath the main entrance was this basement area. It was locked up on every visit until my last trip, by which point it had been cleared.
Empty shelves where patient records would have been stored
Although the full records have been removed, lots of these mental health admission cards have been left
A quick google of this guy's name came up with some interesting results: http://www.blackkalendar.nl/c/9245/John Thomas Batten
- 'Widowed' is an interesting way of putting it. He battered his wife to death with a steel pipe
An old death certificate from 1899 lying under some rubble on a shelf.
And a cheeky peek inside the NHS Trust HQ offices. This doesn't appear to be closing any time soon and is very much in use during the week.
Finally a few recent pics of the more familiar abandoned section
View through the window of the ballroom
Secure Ward
A comprehensive history of the site can be found here https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/springfield.html
Cheers
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