Report - Stevenson Institute, Largs, June 2009

[Veles]

I've walked past this place loads of times, but never paid it much attention. I knew there were plans to convert it into a community centre so assumed it wasn't all that rundown and it was sealed up tightly.

Wrong on both counts.

There was a report in the local paper last week about a fire inside and the policeman interviewed helpfully pointed out that it was being used as a drinking den and wasn't secured, so I figured I should get in and mooch about before it a) burned down completely or b) got sealed up.

I went down in the early hours of this morning, since it's in town and right round the corner from the police station and I wanted to poke around when no-one else would be passing by. The cop wasn't joking...there's been no attempt to protect the property whatsoever. No signs, no boards on the window, no locked doors. In fact since the article appeared in the paper the front doors have been kicked open and you can just walk straight in off the street.

I believe the frontage is Victorian, I also believe it's listed. I'm going to assume that's why the owners are happy to let the firebugs in In its time it's been used as a Spiritualist church, a pool hall, a scout hut, a nursery and also where I used to play Warhammer after school as a teenager

More pics to follow...

 

[Veles]

Rest of the pics...

This was the room we wargamed in...having watched REC recently there was no way in hell I was sticking my head up into the attic

 

[Janine Christina]

Oh Man, I remember that building in the 1970's. It was NASTY. It had a bad smell inside, rotten, cloying, fetid. They used to hold jumble sales there and if the charity was one my mom supported I used to get dragged along to help out. It used to depress me even to walk past it and I would usually do a detour to avoid it at all costs.