Report - St Bernard's Hospital - London, May 2015 / July 2017

[ASOM]

Well done, thought they would be further through conversion by now!
Had a permission visit here years ago while still open, was planning to post a set as a "teaser" when we had the new County Asylums website up and running, but you've ruined that now, haha
At the time they were still negotiating the sale of the central section, so I really should have remembered to check back on what progress had been made. If it makes anyone feel better all the stripped sections were stripped then too - it really needed doing back in the early-mid 2000's I reckon, maybe even earlier.
One of the few big asylums where they have had the sense to sell off the empty bits to developers before they were beyond hope.
There was a whole huge section over to the west of the main site (by West Park and St Ebba's architect William C. Clifford-Smith) which went (probably in the 90's or even earlier) before anyone got there. Can be seen in the distance on the image below.
Still a few bits there I hadn't seen though, great work.

 

[Miss Mayhem]

Very nice report and fascinating ,
Cheers for sharing

 

[Robbo]

A great report there, great pictures

 

[elliot5200]

Great to see another old-school madhouse in London. Some of those areas look like they've been locked away for decades.

 

[UrbanDuck]

Wow what a gem!

 

[The Shepshed Diamondback]

Great job, love the photos.

 

[lh_4827]

I know this is an old thread, but I've just stumbled across it.

I actually live in one of the converted parts of the building, Osterley Views, and look out onto the Chapel and the hall next to it, along with a few other areas of the building.

From where i am, i can see that the place is lit up inside 24/7, but there never appears to be any action, other than them throwing up a fence currently to hinder any access from the residential side of the building.

Top job on getting in there and having a look around, i moved here last October and i've been searching for a way in from my side ever since, but the place is boarded up pretty well, and there are far too many on-lookers.

 

[Alice Hellfire]

Sorry I'm aware this is an old post, but I live in Hanwell, very familiar with the beautiful building. Are the places you took photos of still there or are they pulled down or such as it is such a huge complex. Sorry for getting to the party like a million years late. Did you explore the underground tunnels?

 

[ASOM]

It won't be pulled down now, as it's listed and 1/3 already converted (see post above yours) 1/3 being converted (what TheRaw has covered), and 1/3 still in in-patient use, for a little while longer at least. The large boarded-up building at the back is the original brewery (!). Just empty inside there though. There's an arch in the wall of the car park next to it where the Grand Junction Canal (on the other side of the southern boundary wall) used to come in used from when it was built (for bringing brick and building materials) to supplies when it was at its peak.

 

[The_Raw]

Everyone needs to get on this, constantly.

We need to make up for being complete dorks and missing it in it's prime.

And nobody has bothered......turns out the hall is still there completely intact! Still a few bits left amazingly even two years since I posted this report. I've updated my original post report with some new pics.

 

[rapicam media vr 360]

hi mate i used to work there on security and there is a cinema behind the church, at the other end there is an old brewery, loads of tunnels and entrancesevery where used to spend my whole weekends exploring the place and getting paid

 

[BrainSurgeon]

there are tunnels under a lot of the site. spectacular to look at, they used to have patients chained up two hundred years ago. used to be a dungeon in the old days. ive seen a few of the tunnels a few months ago but stupidly didn't take photos.

still worth seeing, the building work is very slow here and its very easy to get in and out in places. Gotta try to get to the tunnels again.

 

[ASOM]

they used to have patients chained up two hundred years ago. used to be a dungeon in the old days

Not really - you can read a more realistic history here: http://www.countyasylums.co.uk/st-bernards/

 

[BrainSurgeon]

to be more accurate to the guy who worked there and told me, they started off still using chains to restrain patients and kept them in the underground tunnels after patients were dropped off by barge. but then John Connolly stopped the practice there.

 

[BrainSurgeon]

Worth getting in to see the tunnels if anyone manages that.