**HISTORY**
In 1953, Louis Harold Gray established the Gray Cancer Institute at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood, northwest London. The Gray Cancer Institute was the first facility in the world to study radiobiology, or the action of ionizing radiation on living things, with a focus on the effects of such radiation on health. Gray was a physicist who worked primarily on the effects of radiation on biological systems. As a hospital physicist who joined Mount Vernon in 1933, Gray created an early neutron generator there in 1937 and used it to research the biological effects of neutrons on the human body. In a brand-new, purpose-built building at the hospital, he established what was initially known as the British Empire Cancer Campaign Research Unit in Radiobiology in 1953. It was renamed the Gray Laboratory of the Cancer Research Campaign in 1970, and later, in 2001, it took the name Gray Cancer Institute. Using a method called pulse radiolysis that was developed at the Institute, researchers Ed Hart and Jack Boag discovered the "hydrated electron" (also known as the "solvated electron") in 1962. This method causes molecules to dissociate from one another using high energy ionizing radiation pulses. This finding opened a brand-new field of study that is still active today. It is crucial for knowing how radiation affects biological tissue since it will help researchers create more potent cancer treatments. This discovery set off a brand-new line of inquiry that is still going strong today. It is crucial to understanding how radiation impacts biological tissue because it will help us create more potent cancer therapies. Among his many other contributions to the area, Louis Harold Gray defined the absorbed dose, a new unit of radiation dosage that was later given the term Gray in his honour.
The Gray Cancer Institute housed a unique 4 MeV heavy ion Van De Graff accelerator and conducted research particularly on the "oxygen effect" on the radiosensitivity of tumours. It moved to a new building in Oxford, rebranded it, and became an entirely owned subsidiary of Oxford University in 2006. It changed its name to the Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology in 2008 and moved to a new location in Oxford in 2006. It has been severely reinforced with steel grates covering every window and door on every floor since shutdown and appears to have been abandoned. Next to the lab is the Grade II* listed hospital chapel, which was constructed in the Arts and Crafts style in 1905. It was first used as a chapel before being transformed into the Fowler Scott Cancer Research Library in 1988 and then into the lecture hall for the Gray Cancer Institute. Both buildings have been vacant since 2008, but they are both well secured and maintained.
In 1953, Louis Harold Gray established the Gray Cancer Institute at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood, northwest London. The Gray Cancer Institute was the first facility in the world to study radiobiology, or the action of ionizing radiation on living things, with a focus on the effects of such radiation on health. Gray was a physicist who worked primarily on the effects of radiation on biological systems. As a hospital physicist who joined Mount Vernon in 1933, Gray created an early neutron generator there in 1937 and used it to research the biological effects of neutrons on the human body. In a brand-new, purpose-built building at the hospital, he established what was initially known as the British Empire Cancer Campaign Research Unit in Radiobiology in 1953. It was renamed the Gray Laboratory of the Cancer Research Campaign in 1970, and later, in 2001, it took the name Gray Cancer Institute. Using a method called pulse radiolysis that was developed at the Institute, researchers Ed Hart and Jack Boag discovered the "hydrated electron" (also known as the "solvated electron") in 1962. This method causes molecules to dissociate from one another using high energy ionizing radiation pulses. This finding opened a brand-new field of study that is still active today. It is crucial for knowing how radiation affects biological tissue since it will help researchers create more potent cancer treatments. This discovery set off a brand-new line of inquiry that is still going strong today. It is crucial to understanding how radiation impacts biological tissue because it will help us create more potent cancer therapies. Among his many other contributions to the area, Louis Harold Gray defined the absorbed dose, a new unit of radiation dosage that was later given the term Gray in his honour.
The Gray Cancer Institute housed a unique 4 MeV heavy ion Van De Graff accelerator and conducted research particularly on the "oxygen effect" on the radiosensitivity of tumours. It moved to a new building in Oxford, rebranded it, and became an entirely owned subsidiary of Oxford University in 2006. It changed its name to the Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology in 2008 and moved to a new location in Oxford in 2006. It has been severely reinforced with steel grates covering every window and door on every floor since shutdown and appears to have been abandoned. Next to the lab is the Grade II* listed hospital chapel, which was constructed in the Arts and Crafts style in 1905. It was first used as a chapel before being transformed into the Fowler Scott Cancer Research Library in 1988 and then into the lecture hall for the Gray Cancer Institute. Both buildings have been vacant since 2008, but they are both well secured and maintained.
**THE EXPLORATION**
When the four of us entered the first area we were hit by a rather pungent smell of what seemed to be gas, but I am unsure as it was very localised. We appeared to be in a storeroom of some kind which then led to underneath the building. A lot of old machinery was down here, and it was quite cluttered, we found some very old tech and a lot of random materials. The area ended abruptly with a pile of loose rubble and there appeared no way forward.
After a bit more exploration we made it inside again. The top floor of the facility seemed to be mainly based around research and by guess the ground floor was something to do with experimentation and the lower ground floor was engineering. The further down you went the more of a mess it became. The top floor had a lot of reading material on cancer research, as well as a lot of biology and chemistry labs.
Moving down to the next floor we encountered a lot more destruction as many wires were hanging from the ceiling as well as a lot of debris being on the floor. We found, a server room, what appeared to be an X-ray room, a cold and a hot room, as well as several labs and what seemed to be completely barren isolation rooms which I am personally unsure what they were used for (experimentation maybe? or patients?).
The lower ground floor interested me the most as there were machines everywhere, a lot of old pumps, pipes, a forklift, an old, rusted bandsaw, all the old electrical boxes, a gamma counter, and what I believe to be a large Van de Graaff.
The whole exploration took about 2 hours as we didn’t want to stay after dark. Access was awkward but was fun and I definitely would recommend the explore but be mindful due to the location and potential security, and some areas were a bit wet. We definitely missed a couple rooms due to us rushing but you could easily spend half a day here if you wanted to properly explore, I think.
When the four of us entered the first area we were hit by a rather pungent smell of what seemed to be gas, but I am unsure as it was very localised. We appeared to be in a storeroom of some kind which then led to underneath the building. A lot of old machinery was down here, and it was quite cluttered, we found some very old tech and a lot of random materials. The area ended abruptly with a pile of loose rubble and there appeared no way forward.
After a bit more exploration we made it inside again. The top floor of the facility seemed to be mainly based around research and by guess the ground floor was something to do with experimentation and the lower ground floor was engineering. The further down you went the more of a mess it became. The top floor had a lot of reading material on cancer research, as well as a lot of biology and chemistry labs.
Moving down to the next floor we encountered a lot more destruction as many wires were hanging from the ceiling as well as a lot of debris being on the floor. We found, a server room, what appeared to be an X-ray room, a cold and a hot room, as well as several labs and what seemed to be completely barren isolation rooms which I am personally unsure what they were used for (experimentation maybe? or patients?).
The lower ground floor interested me the most as there were machines everywhere, a lot of old pumps, pipes, a forklift, an old, rusted bandsaw, all the old electrical boxes, a gamma counter, and what I believe to be a large Van de Graaff.
The whole exploration took about 2 hours as we didn’t want to stay after dark. Access was awkward but was fun and I definitely would recommend the explore but be mindful due to the location and potential security, and some areas were a bit wet. We definitely missed a couple rooms due to us rushing but you could easily spend half a day here if you wanted to properly explore, I think.
**PHOTOS**
Random thrown machinery in the basement
The end of the intial exploration
A storage cupboard
Lots of books left behind
One of the labs
A corridor
A corridor Pt.2
Unsure if that was a curtain or...
A corridor pt.3
A workshop
Server room
What i believe to be the Van de Graaff
Boilers and generators
Gamma counter, bruce banner would love this.
Skylight above the stairs
Someone really dosen't like sinks
