Report - North Wales Hosptial, Denbigh - February 2020

[tumbles]

Is that generally because the hall would be hard to convert to housing?

To a degree but they’d already got it delisted before it got torched. They had planning permission to build. All they wanted was the whole place burnt/flattened so they could just build cheap shoeboxes. Ironically what is pretty much happening now.

 

[Joshrowlands]

To a degree but they’d already got it delisted before it got torched. They had planning permission to build. All they wanted was the whole place burnt/flattened so they could just build cheap shoeboxes. Ironically what is pretty much happening now.

Yeah such a shame because the whole complex could of been beautiful if they’d restored as soon as it closed. I’ve looked at a few conversions and they tend to look great and keep in keeping with the listing buildings. Stone house hospital is an amazing example, although I wouldn’t pay £500k for an apartment (south for you).

 

[tumbles]

Yeah such a shame because the whole complex could of been beautiful if they’d restored as soon as it closed. I’ve looked at a few conversions and they tend to look great and keep in keeping with the listing buildings. Stone house hospital is an amazing example, although I wouldn’t pay £500k for an apartment (south for you).

Pen Y Fal in Abergavenny was in as bad as state as NWH (before the last 4-5 years) and orignally the same team were lined up to convert. All about location - Denibigh is just to remote to command prices that make it feesable to convert nicely.

 

[Lurcher]

Disclaimer: I don’t do reports very often and all photos are taken on an iPhone. It’s just really to show people who might have never been or are wondering the current state.

History: it’s been done to the death on here so I won’t go in to detail it’s also well documented all over the internet. It opened in 1848 as wales first county asylum for welsh speaking patients and was originally meant to accommodate 200 patients. By the 1950’s it had had many extensions and was holding 1,500 patients with around 1,000 staff. The site had its own farm, occupational workshops, nurses home and social club. Boiler house, canteen,morgue, stores, secure unit and endless wards, it was self contained. I believe the main Victoria’s hospital building closed in 1995 (following care in the community), however a hospital building across the road remained open until 2002. The site was brought and never redeveloped. In 2018 the council finally gained ownership of the site and started a 10 year project to convert it in to a multi use housing scheme with on site security now present.

The explore: I’ve been to Denbigh about 5 times since 2018 and remember when it just to be walk in playground for people. There’s now a full security fence around onsite security because they are doing some plant work at the front. We were in about 15 minutes before we all put our torches down and could see security from 3 floors up looking for us. We decided to continue quietly at first but soon realised security did not seem to be phased and even exited the easy way right next to the cabin with the flood lights on and plant machines, no one came.

The beautiful frontage of the original Victorian building.

Corridor shot in one of the ward extensions

One of the back building ward extensions

One of many linking corridors that linked the various buildings

Just a toilet, but I thought the nature and decay were looking good.

This gives you an idea of how fucked Denbigh is. I’m standing on an upper floor that just stops a room has collapsed and it carries on the other side as normal.

Original locked doors for patient bedrooms, thought this was quite interesting.

A large ward.

The glass staircase in one of the outer wards, completely smashed now and leads to a missing floor.

One of four seclusion cells at the back of a ward. Would this have been padded because of the timber frame and filling? Someone let me know.

A light above the seclusion cell. Not sure if this would have been pressed by the paitent if they needed help or just to let staff know it was occupied?

A lift.

Bars on the windows in one ward.

The beautiful frontage inscription.

Grand entrance to one of the large day rooms off the ward corridor.

Just another corridor in a ward.

No smoking in hospital

Denbigh is truly fucked and there’s nothing significant to see, however just seeing things like the original locked doors and seclusion cells is so interesting and you imagine what went on here when it was a thriving hospital.

The building is becoming shambolic but the horrors that went on there are still remembered by a lot of people today. I visited a relative there a few times as a young boy taken by my father. Her screams as she was inevitably led downstairs at the end of my rare visits resonate even today as a middle aged man.
Anyway, the best time to visit is Summer early evenings or November afternoons and don't steal anything!

 

[Rachyt]

Decent report, I’ll never get tired of seeing this place, one of my favourites

 

[Joshrowlands]

The building is becoming shambolic but the horrors that went on there are still remembered by a lot of people today. I visited a relative there a few times as a young boy taken by my father. Her screams as she was inevitably led downstairs at the end of my rare visits resonate even today as a middle aged man.
Anyway, the best time to visit is Summer early evenings or November afternoons and don't steal anything!

Was she screaming because of her mental state or because she was scared of going back to the ward?

 

[Joshrowlands]

Decent report, I’ll never get tired of seeing this place, one of my favourites

Thank you! just thought I’d throw a quick one up, I know it’s the Mecca of urbex but the history is amazing and fascinates me. I just want to go once more in the light and get some shots of the sun set / dusk on site and I’ll be happy