I made a solo visit to Barrow Gurney on the last weekend of October. With the clocks having just gone back it suddenly got dark an hour earlier than I had anticipated (stupid me) so I had to make do with the torch app on my phone to show myself around. To say the place is freaky would be an understatement, I suppose being on my own in the dark didn't really help but there is a real spookiness about this place. There are several creepy paintings (mainly by an artist called JPS) all over the place which add to the eerieness and I can't even begin to explain some of the sounds I heard but it was probably just the wind blowing stuff around.
I only made it into 3 buildings for lack of time although I believe there are still a couple more worth seeing. The 3 storey main building was really interesting although the floor has started to give way in some of the rooms so it's pretty sketchy in places. Practically all the rooms and corridors are in a serious state of decay as they are exposed to the elements. The building directly opposite the main building was my favourite, some really great artwork on the outside and some seriously creepy stuff inside the rooms. From reading previous posts I think this was the mother and baby unit (?!) so there is a room upstairs decorated for children (now rotting away), and downstairs there is what appears to be the silhouette of a little boy hiding in the fireplace, that one sent a shiver down my spine when I saw it on my camera screen!
Barrow Gurney Hospital was a psychiatric hospital built in the 1930s a few miles outside Bristol. It served patients between 1938 and 2006, peaking at a total of 453 patients in 1960. When the second world war broke out the hospital was commandeered by the Royal Navy to treat injured seamen but returned to civilian use in 1946.
In 2005 a survey of cleanliness was carried out and Barrow was named the dirtiest hospital in Britain, the following year it closed and it has been abandoned ever since. Today some of the buildings are still standing although demolition of the remaining buildings seems like it could be imminent as JCBs lie in wait.
I appreciate that this site has been well documented so this is really just an update on the current status there. I'm fairly new to photography so I did the best I could in pitch darkness, here are a few of my shots as taken.
Ever feel like someone's in the room with you?
Hope you enjoyed my first 28DL report!
I only made it into 3 buildings for lack of time although I believe there are still a couple more worth seeing. The 3 storey main building was really interesting although the floor has started to give way in some of the rooms so it's pretty sketchy in places. Practically all the rooms and corridors are in a serious state of decay as they are exposed to the elements. The building directly opposite the main building was my favourite, some really great artwork on the outside and some seriously creepy stuff inside the rooms. From reading previous posts I think this was the mother and baby unit (?!) so there is a room upstairs decorated for children (now rotting away), and downstairs there is what appears to be the silhouette of a little boy hiding in the fireplace, that one sent a shiver down my spine when I saw it on my camera screen!
Barrow Gurney Hospital was a psychiatric hospital built in the 1930s a few miles outside Bristol. It served patients between 1938 and 2006, peaking at a total of 453 patients in 1960. When the second world war broke out the hospital was commandeered by the Royal Navy to treat injured seamen but returned to civilian use in 1946.
In 2005 a survey of cleanliness was carried out and Barrow was named the dirtiest hospital in Britain, the following year it closed and it has been abandoned ever since. Today some of the buildings are still standing although demolition of the remaining buildings seems like it could be imminent as JCBs lie in wait.
I appreciate that this site has been well documented so this is really just an update on the current status there. I'm fairly new to photography so I did the best I could in pitch darkness, here are a few of my shots as taken.
Ever feel like someone's in the room with you?
Hope you enjoyed my first 28DL report!
Last edited:
