Report - Murray Royal Asylum, Perth - May 21

[Bikin Glynn]

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I think I first saw @Brewtal report from this place & knew it was somewhere I wanted to see, the problem with it its just so damn far away!

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But a recent chance of an absolute epic weekend up North with my non member exploring partner & it was a must see. It appears we were just in time too as scaffold is up & diggers are present so it appears at last this beautiful building is about to be given a second lease of life.
The level of decay was in my eyes sublime, just enough natural wear but leaving original features saveable.

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The Murray Royal Asylum was designed in 1821 by William Burn and extended in 1833 by Burn and again by Andrew Heiton Junior in 1888. Situated on a hill to the east of Perth city, the asylum is the earliest surviving asylum building in Scotland and one of the few remaining from this period in the UK. Based on the 1816-18 Wakefield Asylum design

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The building is notable for its retention of its H-plan form, with few additions or extensions since 1888. Externally, the building is generally plain in its design, with the exception of the Doric porch to the entrance. Internally, there is a significant amount of 19th century decorative detail, including a well-detailed former ballroom, former library, timber verandahs and a number of timber fire surrounds. There has been alteration to the interior internally: there was an internal chapel which no longer survives and the circa 1820s staircase in the central octagon was removed in 1864 and a glass cupola added. However, a great deal of the remaining decoration and room layout is considered to be early and late 19th century

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This is extremely unusual in a building of this type, where normally much more alteration is common. The Main Building at Murray Royal was designed in 1821 and opened in 1828. It is the earliest surviving asylum building in Scotland. There were other, earlier asylums built: Montrose was the first in 1782, followed by Aberdeen (1800), Glasgow (1807), Dundee (1812) and Edinburgh (1813). These buildings have all been demolished. The Murray Royal hospital was founded from a bequest by a local man, James Murray.

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The place has been gooned a bit recently but I loved it here & for an empty building its pretty bloody spectacular so have a lot of pics to share so Ill just get on with them

img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51245996715_bbc6e34967_c.jpg[/img]

Note the JCB in this shot ready to start work

Thanks for looking






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[Down and beyond]

Captured that well mate lovely stuff

 

[Mikeymutt]

Beautiful mate. It really is a stunning building.

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Captured that well mate lovely stuff

Thanks dude

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Beautiful mate. It really is a stunning building.

It is rather nice place for sure, would love to see it when restored, should be an interesting project

 

[Fluffy]

Wow, that's stunning. Nicely done mate. That's a proper explore!

 

[Speed]

Crazy how down hill that place has gone. It was a proper well looked after mint hospital only a couple of years ago.

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Wow, that's stunning. Nicely done mate. That's a proper explore!

Thanks fluffy

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Crazy how down hill that place has gone. It was a proper well looked after mint hospital only a couple of years ago.

They have started pulling up floor coverings etc hence the parquet in main atrium is being lifted, they have started work just in time for sure, its not too far gone to make work difficut
I think the level of decay is quite stunning as it is & personally wouldn't of wanted it any cleaner but thats just me

 

[Camera Shy]

Nice one, still not done this one, liking the decay now.

 

[Bikin Glynn]

Nice one, still not done this one, liking the decay now.

get in there quick if u can, its well worth it

 

[Calamity Jane]

I adore seeing this place. That dome is something else. And the ironwork is so intricate, stunning shots Glynn :

 

[Bikin Glynn]

I adore seeing this place. That dome is something else. And the ironwork is so intricate, stunning shots Glynn :

Thanks as always Jane

 

[patricia2701]

There is a post from Sept 2019 in Derelictplaces. The interior looked pretty intact then. Such a shame that they have allowed it to deteriorate so much, it's a magnificent place

 

[Bikin Glynn]

There is a post from Sept 2019 in Derelictplaces. The interior looked pretty intact then. Such a shame that they have allowed it to deteriorate so much, it's a magnificent place

It's not deteriated much really, they have actively stripped floor coverings, radiators etc ready for renovation.
There is some water ingress led to a bit of ceiling collapse in main hall but it's relatively minor & should b easily repaired