History
Severalls Hospital in Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom was a psychiatric hospital built in 1910 to the design of architect Frank Whitmore. It opened in May 1913.
The 300-acre site housed some 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 that staff were able to operate around the site without the need to go outside in bad weather. Unlike modern British hospitals, patients in Severalls were separated according to their gender.
Psychiatric Experiments
Psychiatrists were free to experiment with new treatments on patients seemingly at will, using practices now considered unsuitable such as electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) and the use of frontal lobotomy. The use of these treatments peaked in the 1950s.Often women were admitted by their own family, sometimes as the result of bearing illegitimate children or because they had been raped.
Closure
The hospital closed as a psychiatric hospital in the early 1990s following the closure of other psychiatric institutions. However, a small section remained open until 20 March 1997 for the treatment of elderly patients suffering from the effects of serious stroke, etc., as a temporary building for nearby Colchester General Hospital which was in the process of building an entire new building for these patients. A few of the satellite villas as of 2013 are still operational as research facilities on the edge of the site. Since 1997 the remaining structures have changed little. Architecturally, the site remains an excellent example of a specific asylum plan. However, the buildings have suffered greatly from vandalism. In 2008, the sale of the hospital site, including its extensive grounds, collapsed due to the slow-down in the building industry.Urban Exploration
The site has been of increasing interest to urban explorers who have been known to enter the building without permission, take photographs, most interestingly the mortuary (which still houses the body refrigerators used to store deceased patients) and the imposing water tower (no longer in use). Some medical equipment still remains, such as spot lights, basic appliances and many of the sinks and toilets. Severalls has now been fenced off as it is deemed as dangerous.
The Explore
We headed up to Colchester around nine o'clock. We prefer to go at night, makes it a bit more fun! The first 3 trips we took up to check this place out failed. We were not successful in gaining entry, and it was only on the fourth trip up there, we've managed to gain entry! I've been in there 3 or 4 times, but I didn't have my camera with me so the last time we went I decided to take my camera with me, because this place is so photogenic.
We did on one of our trips get really scared, because as we were working our way around the corridors and hallways of this asylum, we saw lights flashing everywhere and we thought we were about to get caught, turned out it was just another group, same as us, so that was massive relief!
Photos
The site has been of increasing interest to urban explorers who have been known to enter the building without permission, take photographs, most interestingly the mortuary (which still houses the body refrigerators used to store deceased patients) and the imposing water tower (no longer in use). Some medical equipment still remains, such as spot lights, basic appliances and many of the sinks and toilets. Severalls has now been fenced off as it is deemed as dangerous.
The Explore
We headed up to Colchester around nine o'clock. We prefer to go at night, makes it a bit more fun! The first 3 trips we took up to check this place out failed. We were not successful in gaining entry, and it was only on the fourth trip up there, we've managed to gain entry! I've been in there 3 or 4 times, but I didn't have my camera with me so the last time we went I decided to take my camera with me, because this place is so photogenic.
We did on one of our trips get really scared, because as we were working our way around the corridors and hallways of this asylum, we saw lights flashing everywhere and we thought we were about to get caught, turned out it was just another group, same as us, so that was massive relief!
Photos
Enjoy! What was everyone else experiences with this place?
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