Report - Pool Park Hospital - Denbighshire May 2014

[Bongo]

Ive copied and pasted this description from another user on this forum, I cant find its origin but thanks to the original historian who wrote it.

The estate of Pool Park, or as it is sometimes spelt, Pool Parc, has been around a long, long time and was originally one of several deer parks where the owners of nearby Ruthin Castle could hunt. In the 1500s the Salesbury family bought the estate and divided it in two, one half remaining with the father William Salesbury, and the other part going to his son and heir Charles. Charles died with no male heir so his line stopped. The original house and the estate then passed into the Bagot family when Charles' daughter married Sir Walter Bagot.

In 1862 the original house on the estate was re-built in a mock Tudor, half timbered style. No expense was spared on the interior where elaborate wood panelling graces the rooms and corridors and a magnificent oak staircase, complete with ornamental wood carvings, sweeps majestically down two flights of stairs mirrored left and right, into the grand entrance hall. The staircase is said to have originally come from a former bishop's residence called Clocaenog.

Whilst still remaining in the family's ownership the house was not actually lived in by the Bagots throughout much of the 1800s and then in 1928 they lost it all, lock, stock and barrel, on a bet at the races!

In order to make the sale of the estate quick and easy the land was split into lots but a Llanwrst timber merchant got the lion's share, subsequently felling and selling much of the timber from the surrounding forest. The house was not sold but was eventually leased to Sir Henry Tate of Tate & Lyle's sugar fame.

In the mid 1930's Pool Park was bought by the local health authority with the intention of converting it into a convalescent home for 80 male patients, and then during the war this was increased to 120. A prisoner of war camp was also built in the grounds!

In 1949 the house became a mental hospital to take some of the pressure off nearby Denbigh Asylum which was by now creaking at the seams. At this point female patients began to be treated as well. During the late 60s and early 70s lunatic asylums in the UK were progressively closed and Pool Park was no exception, finally closing it's doors in 1989.

In a sorry state of repair however looking at the photos there are still many valleys and gulleys that have not been ravaged so the water ingress should only be in a few places and not such an expensive job with the possibility of saving timbers,slate, leadwork etc. Its taken a proper kicking internally, not much change since the last set of images i think in Jan by Degeneration. it was daylight but very dark pretty much everywhere and i forgot the torch unfortunately.

I took some photographs, im not very good, bit of an auto setting photographer, i much prefer to take video. Can I add a video link into this report?

Might have a wander back with a brighter torch.

Video - [video=youtube;smuMZRtvQXM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smuMZRtvQXM[/video]

 

[georgie]

Any more internals i think you have too many external shots tbh

 

[Bongo]

theres a few, not many, it was fairly dark - and i got very few of the staircase, its either photos or video and i went for video

 

[ZerO81]

Well, this place is pretty knackered these days isnt it

looks like you have done ok with the limited light conditions you had

 

[raisinwing]

Aye, looking pretty shagged these days.

Nice work though.

 

[ACID- REFLUX]

Well it"s certainly well trashed now that"s for sure, and easy entry now but at least it"s allowing more light into the building, along with God knows who else, although not sure if that"s a good thing Photo wise, i think the Darkness of old added something to it IMO

Like the addition of the Quadcopter exterior shots, especially as it was dark when i was there and didn"t get round the other buildings, which was a good thing as "people" turned up but wouldn"t enter into the dark interior

I was hoping you were going to fly the Quad inside and i didn"t expect the ending

 

[tumbles]

Do like the externals, it's a different view to many we see of places like this.

Old Girl really is looking shagged though..