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Visited with Revelation_space back in July 2010, This is a very very decayed site but I still quite enjoyed the wander around it. Spent about 5 hours here before we accidentally knocked a board down and alerted security to where we were, made a sharp exit after that.
some history on the place:
"The Baldovan Institution was founded in 1852, mainly through the benevolence of Sir John and Lady Jane Ogilvy and from voluntary contributions and fees. It was established on the north bank of the Dighty as an orphanage, hospital and place of education and training for ‘imbecile’ children, accomodating 30 children. As such it was the first hospital of its kind in Scotland and the second in Britain. The Orphanage opened on 30th November 1854 and the Asylum opened on 6th January 1855.
In 1856 its name was changed to Baldovan Asylum and it expanded its operations after it received its licence under the Lunacy Act of 1858, which legalised its function as a home for children. It was found that contact with 'imbeciles' had a detrimental effect upon the orphans and so in 1867 the Orphanage moved to other premises and the Baldovan Asylum concentrated its efforts on the care and education of mentally handicapped children. By 1879 the number of children accommodated at the Asylum had increased to 70 and the site where the Administrative block now stands was acquired. By 1904 the Main Building wards were built and occupied by 160 children.
The Mental Deficiency (Scotland) Act was passed in 1913, providing state supervision of mental defectives, which led to an increased demand for accommodation at Institutions like Baldovan. Between 1904 and 1932 further developments included another ward, staff residency, school facilities, a large Recreation Hall as well as occupational therapy and training in domestic, farm and garden work.
In 1925 the Baldovan Institution Confirmation Act sanctioned the trustees to form an Incorporation with the counties of Aberdeen, Forfar (Angus), Kincardine and Perth to undertake the management of the hospital with provision for children of all four counties.
In 1948 the running of the Hospital was transferred to the National Health Service. Subsequent developments included a change of name in 1959 to Strathmartine Hospital and major building works in 1963-1965, which saw the demolition of the original premises and the creation of new and improved facilities, including three new single storey wards and a swimming pool. Two new 25 bed wards were opened in 1980."
And now on to the photo's
The view presented on entering the site was rather bleak to say the least.
and the first building we entered had the remains of a Renault Megane for some strange reason(there was also the fibreglass shell of a Reliant Kitten in the next room)
The building that this was in looked like it may of been used as storage at some point but was rather empty, This part of the site burnt down a few weeks later.
Moving on we had a look in the building that contained this oil tank, a little nervously as below the rusty walkway was a massive pool of oil at the bottom of the building where the tank had been leaking!
From there we moved on to the main building and had a look around.
One of many fire damaged parts on the site.
This corridor is a good example of how bad this site was, I imagine it's even worse now. The walls looked like they were melting!
Even though it was mostly empty there were still some magazines and newspapers left in the wards.
after spending a while in that building we moved on to some of the other ones on the site, although they were even emptier than the main building.
It was after this point we managed to knock a board off trying to access one of the smaller buildings. Didnt think much of it until seeing a guy in a high vis vest heading towards us, called it a day after that!
Unfortunately we missed out the swimming pool so a return visit may be in order especially as planning is in to flatten the site and build houses there.
some history on the place:
"The Baldovan Institution was founded in 1852, mainly through the benevolence of Sir John and Lady Jane Ogilvy and from voluntary contributions and fees. It was established on the north bank of the Dighty as an orphanage, hospital and place of education and training for ‘imbecile’ children, accomodating 30 children. As such it was the first hospital of its kind in Scotland and the second in Britain. The Orphanage opened on 30th November 1854 and the Asylum opened on 6th January 1855.
In 1856 its name was changed to Baldovan Asylum and it expanded its operations after it received its licence under the Lunacy Act of 1858, which legalised its function as a home for children. It was found that contact with 'imbeciles' had a detrimental effect upon the orphans and so in 1867 the Orphanage moved to other premises and the Baldovan Asylum concentrated its efforts on the care and education of mentally handicapped children. By 1879 the number of children accommodated at the Asylum had increased to 70 and the site where the Administrative block now stands was acquired. By 1904 the Main Building wards were built and occupied by 160 children.
The Mental Deficiency (Scotland) Act was passed in 1913, providing state supervision of mental defectives, which led to an increased demand for accommodation at Institutions like Baldovan. Between 1904 and 1932 further developments included another ward, staff residency, school facilities, a large Recreation Hall as well as occupational therapy and training in domestic, farm and garden work.
In 1925 the Baldovan Institution Confirmation Act sanctioned the trustees to form an Incorporation with the counties of Aberdeen, Forfar (Angus), Kincardine and Perth to undertake the management of the hospital with provision for children of all four counties.
In 1948 the running of the Hospital was transferred to the National Health Service. Subsequent developments included a change of name in 1959 to Strathmartine Hospital and major building works in 1963-1965, which saw the demolition of the original premises and the creation of new and improved facilities, including three new single storey wards and a swimming pool. Two new 25 bed wards were opened in 1980."
And now on to the photo's
The view presented on entering the site was rather bleak to say the least.
and the first building we entered had the remains of a Renault Megane for some strange reason(there was also the fibreglass shell of a Reliant Kitten in the next room)
The building that this was in looked like it may of been used as storage at some point but was rather empty, This part of the site burnt down a few weeks later.
Moving on we had a look in the building that contained this oil tank, a little nervously as below the rusty walkway was a massive pool of oil at the bottom of the building where the tank had been leaking!
From there we moved on to the main building and had a look around.
One of many fire damaged parts on the site.
This corridor is a good example of how bad this site was, I imagine it's even worse now. The walls looked like they were melting!
Even though it was mostly empty there were still some magazines and newspapers left in the wards.
after spending a while in that building we moved on to some of the other ones on the site, although they were even emptier than the main building.
It was after this point we managed to knock a board off trying to access one of the smaller buildings. Didnt think much of it until seeing a guy in a high vis vest heading towards us, called it a day after that!
Unfortunately we missed out the swimming pool so a return visit may be in order especially as planning is in to flatten the site and build houses there.
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