Severalls Asylum – Colchester – June 2011
Essex came as a definite culture shock after London. It was morning again and me and gone were sat on a gun turret in the middle of a cornfield trying to make sense of the antics which had occurred a few hours earlier while the sun shone down upon our sleep deprived faces. The silence was blissful and conversations grew surreal as Millhouse and NickUK slept in the car. Colchester is a strange place and the gap between London and Suffolk makes for some interesting characters. We grabbed a maccys while the locals talked to themselves and rolled around in doorways. As the weather was sublime we decided we would indulge in the madness, sleeping in a field for an hour to the sound of pheasant hunters before heading for the site to regain contact with our hosts.
Built in 1910 and first opened in May 1913. The 300-acre site housed around 2000 patients and was based on the "Echelon plan" - a specific arrangement of wards, offices and services within easy reach of each other by a network of interconnecting corridors. This meant the staff were able to operate around the site without the need to go outside in bad weather. Patients in Severalls were separated according to their gender. The architect of the asylum was Frank Whitmore. Villas were constructed around the main hospital building as accommodation blocks between 1910 and 1935. Most of the buildings are in the Queen Anne style, with few architectural embellishments, typical to the Edwardian Period. The most ornate buildings are the Administration Building, Larch House & Severalls House (originally the Medical Superintendent's residence).
I’ve wanted to come here for years having looked down on it never tiring of its incredible scale and shape. Its corridors stretch for miles. We could have walked them for hours but we were on a mission and being ourselves we only really had one particular goal in mind..
I thought overall that Severalls is in surprisingly good condition for an asylum and it turned out to be one of my favourites to date.. It’s a tragic shame if this place is to be lost. Credit is certainly due for the seccas who to be fair were definitely on form, but unfortunately not able to apprehend us. Also big thanks to AndrewB and Dicky. Without them we would have been totally lost. In all a quality explore. Definitely see this before it’s gone.
Im sure the others will add their contributions.
Cheers, Sho.
Essex came as a definite culture shock after London. It was morning again and me and gone were sat on a gun turret in the middle of a cornfield trying to make sense of the antics which had occurred a few hours earlier while the sun shone down upon our sleep deprived faces. The silence was blissful and conversations grew surreal as Millhouse and NickUK slept in the car. Colchester is a strange place and the gap between London and Suffolk makes for some interesting characters. We grabbed a maccys while the locals talked to themselves and rolled around in doorways. As the weather was sublime we decided we would indulge in the madness, sleeping in a field for an hour to the sound of pheasant hunters before heading for the site to regain contact with our hosts.
Built in 1910 and first opened in May 1913. The 300-acre site housed around 2000 patients and was based on the "Echelon plan" - a specific arrangement of wards, offices and services within easy reach of each other by a network of interconnecting corridors. This meant the staff were able to operate around the site without the need to go outside in bad weather. Patients in Severalls were separated according to their gender. The architect of the asylum was Frank Whitmore. Villas were constructed around the main hospital building as accommodation blocks between 1910 and 1935. Most of the buildings are in the Queen Anne style, with few architectural embellishments, typical to the Edwardian Period. The most ornate buildings are the Administration Building, Larch House & Severalls House (originally the Medical Superintendent's residence).
I’ve wanted to come here for years having looked down on it never tiring of its incredible scale and shape. Its corridors stretch for miles. We could have walked them for hours but we were on a mission and being ourselves we only really had one particular goal in mind..
I thought overall that Severalls is in surprisingly good condition for an asylum and it turned out to be one of my favourites to date.. It’s a tragic shame if this place is to be lost. Credit is certainly due for the seccas who to be fair were definitely on form, but unfortunately not able to apprehend us. Also big thanks to AndrewB and Dicky. Without them we would have been totally lost. In all a quality explore. Definitely see this before it’s gone.
Im sure the others will add their contributions.
Cheers, Sho.
