Well what can I say about today.I went out to recci a site that we have been watching and bingo we found a way in. What a great start to the day - due to the access point though been very visible we decided today was not the right time. We decided we'd have a nice little chill out and go to Murphy's machinery and get a few shots. I hadn't got 10 paces toward the building when a car pulled up behind me and slowed down.Busted on one of the easiest access explores in the country. Just so everyone knows the owner drives a gold volvo so if you see it parked up he's there. My son begged me to go up to High Royds and have a look........this is what we found.
The former psychiatric hospital was originally opened in 1888 as the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Designed by J Vickers, it was built on a 300 acre estate, south to the village of Menston in Yorkshire. During the 155 years it was open, it served those deemed mentally ill. Many success stories come from High Royds Hospital, as do the stories of abuse and horror. The High Royds cemetery bears testament to all those who lived their last days behind bars, and the decades they spent there.
West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Opening on 8th October 1888 under the name West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, 30 females were transferred from the overcrowded Wadsley Asylum in Sheffield. The first woman in this group to be admitted was Elizabeth Johnson, and she remained there until her death 16 years later, when she was buried in the asylum cemetery. A further 31 females were subsequently transferred several weeks later, once again, from the severely overcrowded Wadsley Asylum. The first male admitted to West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum arrived 7th November that same year, named Charles Pett, aged 39.
The main purpose of the asylum upon its opening was to contain and restrain patients. There was no known treatment for insanity, and so the asylum functioned more like a warehouse than a hospital. Patients often spent decades in the asylum, forgotten about by loved ones and left to live out their days imprisoned. The vast majority of patients from the early 20th century eventually died in the asylum, and were buried in the adjoining cemetery.
Life in the asylum was often empty and repetitive, leaving the patients wondering aimlessly with very little care. Security was paramount in High Royds, along with many other British asylums in the late 19th century, and high walls were built to separate the mad from the sane. Records show that although many mentally ill people were housed in High Royds, the vast majority of patients had a wide range of illness which did not require such prolonged visits in the asylum . Such illnesses include: phobias, including agoraphobia and claustrophobia, epilepsy, melancholy, panic attacks, anxiety and learning disabilities.
Menston Mental Hospital
The 1920′s saw a name change, from the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, to the Menston Mental Hospital. It also brought with it a new era in psychiatry, as doctors attempted to cure the mentally ill, instead of simply storing them. The idea of a cure appealed to many patients, and their families, and the use of the barbaric shock therapies were introduced. Shock therapy was particularly popular, and new Electro convulsive therapy wards were added. This enabled doctors to administer the shock therapy to large numbers of patients in a quicker period of time. No anaesthetic was use during the procedure, and many patients broke or fractured their limbs whilst fitting from the shock.
If you want to read more about the place there are hundreds of pages on the net relating to hauntings,explores and patient and staff interviews on youtube.it even has its own wiki page. I'm so sad I missed this when it must have been one of the best explores in the country.
The building we went into is on the edge of the complex - we had a look at the active site but we we counted over a dozen contractors and knew we were never going to get close without the cover of darkness. Just if anyone goes here dont go round the back of building 20 it has a PIR on what used to be an access point.If you think outside the box you'll get in elsewhere.
You just cant believe how busy it is round here with residents and dog walkers - time your approach well
Lots of peely paint to see but sadly not much more.
Childrens Ward
Beware wandering hands.
In the bowels of the asylum.
The place is in a real sorry state and some of the floors are a bit dodgy - I went upstairs but just didnt trust they would hold me.I really wish i had seen this site back in the day as its sad to see it as it is now.
The former psychiatric hospital was originally opened in 1888 as the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum. Designed by J Vickers, it was built on a 300 acre estate, south to the village of Menston in Yorkshire. During the 155 years it was open, it served those deemed mentally ill. Many success stories come from High Royds Hospital, as do the stories of abuse and horror. The High Royds cemetery bears testament to all those who lived their last days behind bars, and the decades they spent there.
West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Opening on 8th October 1888 under the name West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, 30 females were transferred from the overcrowded Wadsley Asylum in Sheffield. The first woman in this group to be admitted was Elizabeth Johnson, and she remained there until her death 16 years later, when she was buried in the asylum cemetery. A further 31 females were subsequently transferred several weeks later, once again, from the severely overcrowded Wadsley Asylum. The first male admitted to West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum arrived 7th November that same year, named Charles Pett, aged 39.
The main purpose of the asylum upon its opening was to contain and restrain patients. There was no known treatment for insanity, and so the asylum functioned more like a warehouse than a hospital. Patients often spent decades in the asylum, forgotten about by loved ones and left to live out their days imprisoned. The vast majority of patients from the early 20th century eventually died in the asylum, and were buried in the adjoining cemetery.
Life in the asylum was often empty and repetitive, leaving the patients wondering aimlessly with very little care. Security was paramount in High Royds, along with many other British asylums in the late 19th century, and high walls were built to separate the mad from the sane. Records show that although many mentally ill people were housed in High Royds, the vast majority of patients had a wide range of illness which did not require such prolonged visits in the asylum . Such illnesses include: phobias, including agoraphobia and claustrophobia, epilepsy, melancholy, panic attacks, anxiety and learning disabilities.
Menston Mental Hospital
The 1920′s saw a name change, from the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum, to the Menston Mental Hospital. It also brought with it a new era in psychiatry, as doctors attempted to cure the mentally ill, instead of simply storing them. The idea of a cure appealed to many patients, and their families, and the use of the barbaric shock therapies were introduced. Shock therapy was particularly popular, and new Electro convulsive therapy wards were added. This enabled doctors to administer the shock therapy to large numbers of patients in a quicker period of time. No anaesthetic was use during the procedure, and many patients broke or fractured their limbs whilst fitting from the shock.
If you want to read more about the place there are hundreds of pages on the net relating to hauntings,explores and patient and staff interviews on youtube.it even has its own wiki page. I'm so sad I missed this when it must have been one of the best explores in the country.
The building we went into is on the edge of the complex - we had a look at the active site but we we counted over a dozen contractors and knew we were never going to get close without the cover of darkness. Just if anyone goes here dont go round the back of building 20 it has a PIR on what used to be an access point.If you think outside the box you'll get in elsewhere.
You just cant believe how busy it is round here with residents and dog walkers - time your approach well
Lots of peely paint to see but sadly not much more.
Childrens Ward
Beware wandering hands.
In the bowels of the asylum.
The place is in a real sorry state and some of the floors are a bit dodgy - I went upstairs but just didnt trust they would hold me.I really wish i had seen this site back in the day as its sad to see it as it is now.
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