I wont beat about the bush with this one too much. Whitchurch has been on the UE radar forever, one of its wards has been closed and boarded up ever since i started exploring although despite a couple of half hearted attempts i've never made it inside.
Closure of the rest of the hospital was always on the cards and in April this year the last patients finally moved out. I didn't rush down there straight away, parts of the site are still used for admin work and i was expecting much the same situation as at Goodmayes, a live hospital with a few closed bits to hunt out.. In reality when i arrived for my first attempt it was much more a case of a closed hospital with a few live bits dotted about to avoid.
Instead of patients roaming the grounds this time i found hoards of kids tugging at windows and smoking in the airing shelters. Finding a way into my first ward wasn't too taxing and luckily the door was unlocked to access the corridor network. The ward was reasonably modern and so pristine i wasn't too sure if i was climbing into someone's office at first but the vegetation growing through the windows gave away that it had been ot of use a fair while.
I'd been in the corridoors before when the site was still fully open. For a hospital that was open barely a few months ago theres an awful lot of old signage and nice original features to see.
..
Nearly everything off the corridors is locked up with key code or padlocks but after a bit of lateral thinking i managed to see one of the highlights, the main hall..
The hall is a real gem. We always knew this really as there was a few photos floating about the net before hand. The architectural embellishments in there are amazing. It's not quite as good as Goodmayes but gives the others a run for their money that's for sure.
The main issues here yet again was the modern toot that had been dumped inside. This time it was a pair of mocked up rooms of the new hospital buildings that have presumably been built somewhere to replace this site
Alas there was also no access to either under the stage or the projection room but i didn't manage to find my way into the kitchens which appeared to be having their contents packed and removed.
Whilst in the hall i had heard the security bod patrolling the corridors and with no other routes immediately apparent i chose to cut my losses and move on to the next explore.. I did however return again a few weeks later for another go. This time i was more interested in getting to see the industrial side of the hospital. I guess you could say i failed there as as soon as i got close Mr Security appeared again and started eyeing me up a bit too sharpy for my liking. What i did find my way into however was the mortuary
Overall a bit disappointing really, the main entrance had all the promise with its abandoned fake flowers but heading into the chapel of rest i found it full of shelving housing medical records, the only thing remaining was the nice floor. Behind there was a second room split into two which retained the viewing window used to identify bodies. The most annoying part however was the third room that was totally bricked up. I'm not sure if anyone has made it in there? I'd like to think a nice intact slab or even a fridge or two could be lurking but im not holding out too much hope.
Last part i tried was the chapel. To my amazement the door was unlocked but after stepping inside i was again frustrated to find that it only gave access to a small section used to store the hospitals bowls club equipment (they happened to be playing at the time and hadn't locked the door!) The main door through into the chapel itself was technically unlocked i think but it was blocked by so much junk i didn't fancy my chances of getting it all moved and the place explored before Joyce and Gladys had finished their game!
So there you go a quick look at Whitchurch. It's early days here for sure. I'm pretty sure i wont have been the only person mooching about in there by now, indeed the amount of bust locks and crowbar marks all over the place on my second visit is a dead giveaway that some of you have been round
Closure of the rest of the hospital was always on the cards and in April this year the last patients finally moved out. I didn't rush down there straight away, parts of the site are still used for admin work and i was expecting much the same situation as at Goodmayes, a live hospital with a few closed bits to hunt out.. In reality when i arrived for my first attempt it was much more a case of a closed hospital with a few live bits dotted about to avoid.
Instead of patients roaming the grounds this time i found hoards of kids tugging at windows and smoking in the airing shelters. Finding a way into my first ward wasn't too taxing and luckily the door was unlocked to access the corridor network. The ward was reasonably modern and so pristine i wasn't too sure if i was climbing into someone's office at first but the vegetation growing through the windows gave away that it had been ot of use a fair while.
I'd been in the corridoors before when the site was still fully open. For a hospital that was open barely a few months ago theres an awful lot of old signage and nice original features to see.
Nearly everything off the corridors is locked up with key code or padlocks but after a bit of lateral thinking i managed to see one of the highlights, the main hall..
The hall is a real gem. We always knew this really as there was a few photos floating about the net before hand. The architectural embellishments in there are amazing. It's not quite as good as Goodmayes but gives the others a run for their money that's for sure.
The main issues here yet again was the modern toot that had been dumped inside. This time it was a pair of mocked up rooms of the new hospital buildings that have presumably been built somewhere to replace this site
Alas there was also no access to either under the stage or the projection room but i didn't manage to find my way into the kitchens which appeared to be having their contents packed and removed.
Whilst in the hall i had heard the security bod patrolling the corridors and with no other routes immediately apparent i chose to cut my losses and move on to the next explore.. I did however return again a few weeks later for another go. This time i was more interested in getting to see the industrial side of the hospital. I guess you could say i failed there as as soon as i got close Mr Security appeared again and started eyeing me up a bit too sharpy for my liking. What i did find my way into however was the mortuary
Overall a bit disappointing really, the main entrance had all the promise with its abandoned fake flowers but heading into the chapel of rest i found it full of shelving housing medical records, the only thing remaining was the nice floor. Behind there was a second room split into two which retained the viewing window used to identify bodies. The most annoying part however was the third room that was totally bricked up. I'm not sure if anyone has made it in there? I'd like to think a nice intact slab or even a fridge or two could be lurking but im not holding out too much hope.
Last part i tried was the chapel. To my amazement the door was unlocked but after stepping inside i was again frustrated to find that it only gave access to a small section used to store the hospitals bowls club equipment (they happened to be playing at the time and hadn't locked the door!) The main door through into the chapel itself was technically unlocked i think but it was blocked by so much junk i didn't fancy my chances of getting it all moved and the place explored before Joyce and Gladys had finished their game!
So there you go a quick look at Whitchurch. It's early days here for sure. I'm pretty sure i wont have been the only person mooching about in there by now, indeed the amount of bust locks and crowbar marks all over the place on my second visit is a dead giveaway that some of you have been round
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