My first post here but I thought I'd share a few pictures from today's exploring of St Joseph's Seminary in Upholland.
History
St Joseph's College, is a former Roman Catholic seminary, situated at Walthew Park, Upholland, Lancashire. The foundation of the large building was laid in April 1880 and college was opened in 1883. The buildings have recently been deconsecrated. Although Upholland flourished until the 1960s, the rapidly changing social climate in that decade led to a sharp drop in enrollment.
In the early 1970s, the northern bishops decided to consolidate the activities of Upholland and Ushaw; from 1972 all junior seminarians in the north attended Upholland, and from 1975 all senior seminarians attended Ushaw. However, Upholland continued to suffer a decline in enrollment, and by the 1980s was no longer a traditional seminary but a "boarding school for boys considering a vocation".
In 1986 the total number of students was down to 82, of whom only 54 were Church students, and it was no longer viable to educate them on the premises. From 1987 the remaining students attended St. John Rigby College in nearby Orrell for their schooling, an arrangement that continued until the very last of these students left Upholland in 1992.
The Visit
Took us a good while to get in as security were mooching about and once in it wasn't long before the loudest alarm I've ever heard had us running for cover. But I managed to get a few pictures. Also, before getting in we stumbled upon some old garages and a greenhouse hidden under dense undergrowth. They're so buried that you can barely see them until you're at them. I've never seen any other pictures of them so I thought I'd include them.
The pictures
Hard to see but this is the inside of a greenhouse
On to St Joseph's itself
Gutted that these sinks have been smashed
Science classroom
And that's pretty much as far as we got. As soon as we got in to the ground floor corridor below the statues in the above picture, the alarm went off and we fled. It would be great to go back with more experienced people and see more of this amazing place!
History
St Joseph's College, is a former Roman Catholic seminary, situated at Walthew Park, Upholland, Lancashire. The foundation of the large building was laid in April 1880 and college was opened in 1883. The buildings have recently been deconsecrated. Although Upholland flourished until the 1960s, the rapidly changing social climate in that decade led to a sharp drop in enrollment.
In the early 1970s, the northern bishops decided to consolidate the activities of Upholland and Ushaw; from 1972 all junior seminarians in the north attended Upholland, and from 1975 all senior seminarians attended Ushaw. However, Upholland continued to suffer a decline in enrollment, and by the 1980s was no longer a traditional seminary but a "boarding school for boys considering a vocation".
In 1986 the total number of students was down to 82, of whom only 54 were Church students, and it was no longer viable to educate them on the premises. From 1987 the remaining students attended St. John Rigby College in nearby Orrell for their schooling, an arrangement that continued until the very last of these students left Upholland in 1992.
The Visit
Took us a good while to get in as security were mooching about and once in it wasn't long before the loudest alarm I've ever heard had us running for cover. But I managed to get a few pictures. Also, before getting in we stumbled upon some old garages and a greenhouse hidden under dense undergrowth. They're so buried that you can barely see them until you're at them. I've never seen any other pictures of them so I thought I'd include them.
The pictures
Hard to see but this is the inside of a greenhouse
On to St Joseph's itself
Gutted that these sinks have been smashed
Science classroom
And that's pretty much as far as we got. As soon as we got in to the ground floor corridor below the statues in the above picture, the alarm went off and we fled. It would be great to go back with more experienced people and see more of this amazing place!