I actually sorted out these photos quite a few years ago now but never got round to posting them up. After seeing some people had been here recently picking over the rubble it reminded me that they were still lurking in a long forgotten flickr set and now, almost 10 years since i first visited the place, i thought it might be a fitting time to have a trip down memory lane.
Cane Hill was the the undisputed king of the derelict asylum world for myself and most others. The first UE photos i laid eyes on were from this hospital and it is ultimately what inspired me get involved myself. Back in those days i had no idea that places like this existed. A derelict building was just an empty building to me back then. Cane Hill showed me that they could be much more than that. Locked inside here as with all other derelict buildings was a glimpse into a world past..
Our last trip before demolition started in 2008
An overview of the overgrown site in 2008
This curved corridor connected most of the major wards
Cane Hill was the the undisputed king of the derelict asylum world for myself and most others. The first UE photos i laid eyes on were from this hospital and it is ultimately what inspired me get involved myself. Back in those days i had no idea that places like this existed. A derelict building was just an empty building to me back then. Cane Hill showed me that they could be much more than that. Locked inside here as with all other derelict buildings was a glimpse into a world past..
Our last trip before demolition started in 2008
So what made this place so good? Well to start with it was an asylum, the word itself puts you slightly on edge. These places were feared places where you never quite got to know what was going on inside unless you were part of one. Exploring an asylum was one of the ultimate voyeuristic pleasures of simply getting to see something that would have, at the time at least, been out of bounds. Not only were they an unknown, some might say 'creepy' but they were also vast sprawling sites that, yes, were large in scale but within them also had many different things to see. You would always head for the chapel or the mortuary. Possibly attempt to see the dentists or maybe even the taylors shop. They all had the same areas that were needed to operate as a closed community so once you saw one the next would always be similar but never quite the same. Every time a new asylum came along you would race to be the first to conquer not just the hospital itself, but each individual part, Clock, Hall, Tower etc.
'The Hill' as it came to be known (or even 'Caine Hills' by one newbie explorer that i remember!) was really quite special as it was one of the few asylums that seemed to retain nearly every part of the ensemble. The main hall was burnt down years before i had a chance to visit but that was one of its few casualties. Due to its almost unique 'Radial Pavilion' design these parts also came in a really compact space but as each ward was still separate and sprouted off from a main curved corridor the hospital managed to retain a similar 'unitary' feel to the later 'sprawling' designs like those at West Park or Runwell. As far as what this meant for exploring the place it's a hard concept to explain in words but essentially what it meant was, once you were in , you were in. No crossing between buildings or finding parts locked up, yet at the same time you could clearly split the place up into sections and there were really quite big differences between sections that reflected when they were built, abandoned and even which side of the place they were physically located on. The tight spacing of the wards also reduced the light coming in considerably and with nature taking over the place very quickly became totally overgrown and dark, Once you were in it was like being in a totally different world.
An overview of the overgrown site in 2008
Another big concept you have to understand are the security arrangements. Although security probably did change throughout its entire abandonment, during the time i visited it was always notably fearsome. The site was entirely surrounded by a palisade fence topped with razor wire. This lead to palisade gaining the nickname 'Cane Hill Fence' although it's fair to say as memory of the hospital has slipped away so had the use of such an expression! Ordinarily a fence would be no problem. It had various gates and was also broken at the boilerhouse where it was possible to climb over (had you been given the chance that is). In reality it was never that simple. Security were what i can only describe as 'on it' There were only a couple of ways to approach the site and usually they had both well covered, especially during the early morning when most people would try their luck. Although i can't take credit for it myself at all, eventually, after many fails, explorers managed to work out a semi reliable way around the defences. We would usually approach from Portnalls Road. A footpath here took you up to the fence but they would always park right there and if you looked suspicious you would be pursued down the fence line until you left. We eventually worked out how to cut round them and pop out further down the path allowing us to get close the the fence un-noticed.. From here it was still not that easy. Most pioneering explorers basically had to bust through the fence. Some dug under but your hole would always be discovered, usually while you were inside, and then they would either come after you or wait you out, nabbing you on your way back though! The place was an absolute death trap inside by the end but there was no hiding. They would come in with the dogs and knew the place better than most of us, even once in you never knew when a guy would walk round the corner and nab you! Some people loosened bolts in the fence but even then they would somehow be discovered very quickly, probably as patrolling guards caught other people in the act of unbolting them i guess! Eventually a stroke of luck came when security changed tactic. Instead of repairing holes they simply left them open and 'booby trapped' them. They would lean a brick or a stick up against the hole that you would have to carefully move and then replace exactly the same once you were through. If you messed up they would know you were in and pursue but ultimately it was easier to get in unnoticed..This almost constant 'lockdown' really added another element to the the legend of the place. The likes of West Park or High Royds were sometimes quite hard, but other times a walk in. Cane Hill was always difficult right from me first trying to the day the demolition guys took over (by which point the original feel of the place was essentially ruined.)
This curved corridor connected most of the major wards
So now maybe you have an idea at least of why this one was special let's take a look inside. I will start first with the wards. Each ward was named after a famous historical figure and as you moved around the hospital each block the names of each block went in alphabetical order. Starting at Admin you would head into the larger female side of the hospital and find into Alleyn ward named after the founder of Alleyn’s College Of God’s Gift, Dulwich. By the time you had done the full loop you were back at Zachary. Named after Zachary Macaulay, a Victorian abolitionist. He helped found the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery (later the Anti-Slavery Society) in 1823. I cant say i have the photos to cover every single ward on the site. Some were very memorable and some simply burnt out shells that i dont even really remember but i will do my best.
Wish I was more aware of places like this at the time, would loved to have spent a few days here.
