The East Essex County Mental Asylum opened its doors in 1903. It is built close to the small village of Hellingly, in South West England. The architect G.T. Hine designed the Victorian hospital on a very large scale, spreading the many buildings on a huge campus.
Isolated from everything, having only one single road and its own train line, the psychatric asylum remained self-sufficient for years.
Patients & staff used to live under the same roof in the many red bricks buildings linked by closed hallways, and offering "therapeutic" and relaxing views onthe surrounding quiet and green countryside.
The asylum closed its doors in 1994; since then it is decaying, forgotten and rotting in the middle of nowhere...
I absolutely adore places like this. Old abandoned asylums, hospitals, homes and also my favorite...cemeteries. I'm not sure if it's just the sheer beauty of the layout or the history behind it all, but it fascinates me to the point of obsession. It's a shame that some people feel the need to vandalize such places. Hopefully one day I can travel to these destinations and truly take in the scenery for myself.
I went to have a look around this place 10 years ago, when I was 18 with a few friends of mine, before it was so smashed up and falling down, we got in to all the basements which are not a nice place to go, there was always a feeling of something following & watching you. Security was really slack when we went and was easy to get in, however we were spotted by the remaining staff in the other building which were still in use, and the police were called, but we did manage to get away with out being caugh. Not sure when is left now I did see some picture of them pulling some of the old buildings down, but if you get a chance to have a look around then it is well worth doing so,
i've always been one for creepy old buildings and after moving in right next to the remaining asylum my curiousity is at an extreme high. I've been so intrigued about the hellingly history and me & my mum have walked around often. I've heard so many stories that I even went out in the middle of the night and saw a looming figure in the doorway. now I'm not one for ghost stories but I think many will agree with me when i say there is a strange presence lurking inside. now i say if anyone is as excited as me when it comes to it please hurry to go because there's only the church (which is boarded up ) and the large building. i also want to say that if you find something intresting please post, I'm a huge demon,ghost,spirit and other supernatural fan. I'm very sad that this part of hellingly is being destroyed but you can't stop the future rolling in....................
been up there yesterday, just to let people know 4 buildings remain that are somewhat vandalised. some great shots from outside. The main building left has metal security shutters with bolts through the actual building meaning they cannot be... removed... the chapel is boarded and bolted. there are signs stating CCTV is in operation which is untrue. Security is extremely relaxed so much so that we wandered around with our camera kit in broad daylight sizing the building up and locals less than batted an eyelid. all boundaries are penetrable the blue boarding has gaps at either side that means you can easily gain entry pushing yourself against the trees, all I can say is that the boundaries are the least of your worries as all windows are boarded. It is not impossible and I personally say its well worth thing the time to thinking about how you could get in...
I was up there a few nights ago & theres nothing much left I am afraid to say, glad to see the old chapel is still standing tho & I belive the old water tower is still standing even tho we couldn't see it through the trees... I noticed some of the buildings left standing have been repurposed (which is a good thing) but it is a crying shame that the decision was taken to demolish Hellingly... I did notice 1 building that does still seem to be derelict tho sourrounded by high blue boarding... If anyone knows what this building is, what it was used for & if there any plans for it I would be gratefull.
Hi I was wondering if anyone local or who has been knows if within the next 2 months you can still sneak in and visit any of the sites left ?
Can.anyone.answer. My question
has it all been demolished then??
Worked there when the demolition began. Sad to see all the old buildings go but that is progress ( is it?) Only a few bits and pieces left now - if you are going to try and take pics get in touch as I live locally ( like 7 minutes walk lol)
So sad to see the magnificent Hellingly Hospital is being demolished. It has quite a place in my family history, as my great uncle was a registrar psychiatrist there in the 60s and my dad worked in admin there, before the patients were transferred to Amberstone, working in total for the NHS for 20 years in mental health fascilities. I remember going to the wonderful firework displays in the grounds of Hellingly as a kid, they put on a spectacular show, I have never seen the like of it since. I always wondered about how the patients felt, stuck in the building, watching all the people outside enjoying the fireworks, made me feel quite sad (I know they were in there for a reason!) Wish I had re-visited Hellingly before it was demolished.
Wow how sad it is to read what has been happening to Hellingly Hospital, this most fascinating and intriging place to work. Yes l worked there having done my nurse training in 1980. I was lucky enough to work on such wards as Bodiam with the great Moria Gill, Chailey with Sandra Levett and many other wards, finally finishing on Iden Ward at Park House with Norma Luther.. I guess l wouldn;t be the man l am today if l hadn;t had a good start to life at Hellingly. So Many happy memories of the social club, living in at Tennyson House initially and latterley at Farmstead and then the caravan park on New Road. I also remember the chips and salad cream topping lol..I will never forget my days spent there they were some of the happiest days of my life, what is even more strange l am now coming up for retirement at 55yrs , so for those of you that thought l would never make it ,,,he he he you were wrong and l even managed to hold some senior postions. I would love to hear from you if you remember me , Finally l will always remember what a patient reminded me of Hellingly spelt backwards symbollically reads Ly in hell
Hey there my names is cece and resently ive been going to the place each year, when the place was still abandoned me and my step mum and dad went there and we took a few pics in daylight and we got cloaked figures in each window on the pictures, you could see the ghostly deep black eyes and everythink, later on we went back at night, my step mum took alot off photos on her flash camera she caught misty ghost dogs and alot of orbs, one even was so big it covered up most of the photo, we went too the woods after the hosptital and took a photo of dad walking in the woods, behind him was a girl who had long hair and a nurse sort of outfit, sorta looking like the grudge if anyones seen the film, it was freaky and really intrested me about the hostital a few weeks later i was with steve (my dads friend) and his daughter which is my friendd and we went too the woods and he went off and we went to the lake bit, he came running towards us after about 40 mins and said he found a human skull, i just thought it was a animal but it even had drill holes in the sides, steve took it too the police and they did all work on it and they found out it was a humans skull from a man from the hostital who went missing years ago i was so amazed, since all that we never went back there since i was out with friends more and stuff so didnt really have time, but i found out in hailsham gazzete it had been knocked down for new flats and houses i was so so so upset, they sould have fixed it up, it wouldnt of costed as more then :/ but no.. which is a shame.. thanks for reading guys x
It closed on the year I was born <3 I hate that most have it has been knocked down, but on the plus side, I'm going to be living in the houses that are being built. Exploration time. <3</p>
cant belive that most of the building has been knocked down that place is a legend WHAT A SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey everyone.... hardly anything left of the building now all been knocked down and houses have been built. so sad...
Does anyone know who I can contact to try and get into the old asylum. I can't just break in before anyone says that as I'm a bit of a goody two shoes!!
does anyone know if any part of hellinly is standin as really wanna go there, or does anyone else no of any haunted derelict buildings in east sussex area
Is this building still available to explore? Im getting so frustrated with all these awesome buildings being torn down and renovated into housing, or torn down for no reason. Is there ANYWHERE in england still to visit?
I went back there - It`s so sad it was my home once
went to Hellingly about an hour ago, never going again. security guard told me and a few friends to be careful of the ditches and things as demolishment has begun. a few bulidings are still up.. but very haunted!
Has anyone been to Hellingly in the last couple of weeks? If so is there still some of the hospital standing or is it all housing now?
has demolition started yet??? we would love to visit
Kingsway Hopsital in Derby is also an amazing old building, sadly it is now being knocked down so they can build hundreds of houses.
I went with my boyfriend to visit Hellingly today. I hoped to get into the grounds, having travelled on two buses from Brighton and to arrive in the middle of nowhere. It was spooky walking in the woods and i felt on edge but when we came across signs that said 'NHS site' and 'keep out-guard dogs on patrol' we knew we had found it. We eventually came out into a clearing that revealed the old, decaying hospital. I couldn't get in however, there were far too many cranes and workmen about. I was hoping to enter the asylum and do some filming for a project, but there was no way i could have done it without getting caught. The hospital is slowly being broken down day by day, if there is anyone out there who has a passion for this place then get there quick before it's gone, it wont be long now before it is. What i did see was very compelling and heightened my frustrations at not being able to explore further. I plan to go again, but will try arriving at 5pm when the workmen have gone home. There are plenty of openings in the fences to get in.
I just went on the 22nd May to take photographs for a photography project, there was security but it was as easy as pie getting in. A few of the fences were completely down and no one was there to stop us. I'm planning on going back soon to reshoot but if anyone is thinking of going you better get going soon because they have already demolished a lot. I went their before last summer where the hall was still up which is now gone and also huge sections of the main building/wards etc.
me and my boyfriend went to hellingly on may 12th and were unable to get in. we sneeked through a gap in a fence at aroung half 8 in the evening and wandered around the out side of the remaining buildings of which there were only about 4. but since all were missing the front walls and a couple also missing sides we decided not to venture into the buldings. we got a few pics from the out side and some of the building over the road. felt very dissopointed we could not venture in. we also got a picture of the oposite buliding, the picture shows hundereds of orbs. and another takens seconds later was shrouded in fog. though it was stil quite light. both pictures are very daark
Hey, We're planning on coming down on the 10th for our college photography project. Have you gotten any permission to go at all or are you hoping to just jump in? Because if you want anybody to come with you, there are three college students willing to tag along.
quoteunquoteandie@hotmail.co.uk
Hello Guys,
I am planning to go to the site on May 10, 2011 because | need to take some pictures for a project with a photographer. I am quite concerned that they might have demolished almost everything by now or that we won't have access. I was wondering if there is anyone that has been there in the past few days to let me know about the site's condition. I am gonna have some equipment with me and as I do not have the time to pay a visit before the photoshoot I would be sooooo gratefull if anyone could help. Thanks a lot!
Hi guys This place looks great - me and a couple of friends are thinking of paying a visit - how do you get there by car ??? Thanks
I went to Hellingly hospital yesterday morning at about 10:30 am, there were loads and loads of builders around and half the houses have been ripped apart. I was very surprised as I was not expecting there to be so many buildings, it was like a small village with these huge victorian buildings on other sides of the road. I went with my mum and we decided to ask the site boss if there was any chance we would be alllowed to go inside the houses and he didnt seem surprised that we were asking so had obviously had a lot of people ask him the same thing! He said it was too dangerous for even him to go near them because the houses were made of asbestos which is a dangerous chemical that if breathed in may cause luncg cancer, so that was definitly good to know, to not try and sneak past all the builders! so definitly worth knowing! However we then asked about the building on the other side of the road which had tall gating in front of it and he replied that it had nothing to do with them and we may have to ask the council about it because they did not know anything about it! This was brilliant for us! so we went round the corner of the gating and there was no gating, just the house there, golddust! There was a perfect amount of decay and we didnt have to worry about being caught as we had asked about it and there didnt seem too bothered by it. So for anyone wanting to go there, that is the one to go to, as at the moment it is the only one you can! It has a big green wall in front of it with a padlock but if you go round the corner of it, there you are hope this helps anyone! Hellingly Hospital
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