Report - A Trip Through Whitchurch Hospital/Cardiff City Asylum - April & Sep 2023

[tumbles]

It's funny you should say about some of the asylums having escaped much attention, I was thinking this after a flick back through people's reports on here. I was recently looking at Deva in Chester and thinking how nice that looked, yet you barely hear of it. There was obviously the big names which had a legendary status, but there must also have been loads we rarely see mentioned. I suppose a fair few went before posting photos online was even a thing.

Cheers for clarifying re the hall mock-ups, that confirms my mate's theory

Simple fact is was spoilt for choice. Still amasses me that people go to Denbigh, Rauceby etc rather than do this and Cefn..

 

[dansgas1000]

Now this is what I call a report mate. Absolutely top-notch stuff and some of those photos are absolutely unreal. I laughed at you referring to high ISO as 'potato mode' It's amazing how much a place can deteriorate over a matter of months, I couldn't believe the state of that corridor. I could probably spend a week here 1 because of how nice it is and 2 because it takes me 90 years to get all my shots at the best of times

 

[dansgas1000]

Yeah we got a quick shot of the outside. Very nice, didn't realise you went to Sevs! You need to get a post up on that bigtime. I still need to give my 2015 photos a reedit and post at somepoint.

Yeah I went to sevs twice and then back a third time for the admin block. I might do a post at some point. Yeah you should definitely do one.

I would love to see a Severalls report from you both, a shame I got into this hobby a little late to see that one.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Best lot of images Ive seen from this place. So much to see and shoot. Everywhere either has great design or decay or both. So many interesting parts to choose from. How do you choose what to post, when all shots are incredibly appealing. A great report & fab images

 

[DustySensorPhotography]

Very thorough and lovely pics! I remember getting in pretty easily and then literally seconds after we left an x5 pulled up with that nasty looking German shepherd…

 

[Speed]

It's an interesting place. Been closed what 7 years now? Places like Severalls had been closed the same amount of time when I first started so its interesting to compare.

It's up there with the likes of High Royds for me but not 'the best' it's not in the same league as Cane Hill or WP, it's miles off tbh. Mainly just because it doesn't have the age and it doesn't have the contents (nore the reputation tbh). It's architecturally a very nice hospital and has many more features than even most of the old skool ones did but still most of it has been quite modernised inside. The wards etc. are far more modern than the old skool ones were.. and empty. I guess if you put CH and WP as top tier then High Royds and here would be second tier. They do all have thier own character tho so past that it's a bit down to personal preference.

BTW Deva was done to death. It wasn't that good really. Lacked alot of the features like big watertowers and a grand main hall. Still, looks good compared with today's dross.

 

[mookster]

BTW Deva was done to death. It wasn't that good really. Lacked alot of the features like big watertowers and a grand main hall. Still, looks good compared with today's dross.

That's one of the interesting points I have talked about with people before. That even the asylums considered 'the worst' or 'boring' back in the day - subjectively places like Deva, Fairmile, Cherry Knowle and the like - were miles better than most of the utter crap around nowadays, just back then everyone was spoiled for choice and there were many other considerably better ones for people to go to.

Nowadays if a hospital like Fairmile or Deva or Cherry Knowle was around, in the absence of very few others of the same style or size we'd be all over it.

 

[The_Raw]

Very nice mate. It's starting to remind me a bit of Sevs with all that decay setting in.

 

[W0LF]

Not wanting to blow it by pushing our luck, I took a quick look upstairs in admin as there was one shot I wanted to get.

The same window and the admin block from the outside. I'd speculate this was some kind of meeting room/boardroom.

Here's a few other photogenic rooms around the hospital I also thought I'd share (if there wasn't already enough). I'd imagine these were larger offices and various services.

I couldn't leave out that very tacky looking tuck shop could I. Unlike some of it's past patients, you are finally now free to leave the asylum and admire it from the outside.

Airing shelter

The chapel

Some nice autumnal leafage

That's all folks. Thanks for reading, my brain is once again absolutely fried. It's hard to do this place justice in brief so in my usual style I thought I'd go for something more substantial.
​

That was a fun read. Thank you.

 

[Wastelandr]

What a report, and indeed a solid sit rep to boot - thank you. That dog really ain't the one, is it

Cheers! Nah wouldn't wanna be on the wrong side of that

 

[Wastelandr]

Agreed it’s up there with the best. Perhaps the only shame is they cleared it out a few years ago as the current level of decay plus lots of shit lying around (maybe not all those records..) would have put it at the top with CH.

Safe to say that's the only shortcoming with it, it's pretty devoid of furnishings now. Even that wheelchair's fallen apart now!

 

[Wastelandr]

Simple fact is was spoilt for choice. Still amasses me that people go to Denbigh, Rauceby etc rather than do this and Cefn..

Haha yes, those sort of wrecks leave you feeling a bit dirty! I'm actually a big fan of St. Johns and St. Martins, very much enjoyed my explores at those.

 

[Wastelandr]

Now this is what I call a report mate. Absolutely top-notch stuff and some of those photos are absolutely unreal. I laughed at you referring to high ISO as 'potato mode' It's amazing how much a place can deteriorate over a matter of months, I couldn't believe the state of that corridor. I could probably spend a week here 1 because of how nice it is and 2 because it takes me 90 years to get all my shots at the best of times

Cheers mate glad you liked it! Haha yes, hate blasting the ISO but sometimes it's needed. Yeah it would take you a while to get round I can't lie! I didn't bracket any of these pics or use a tripod, purely so I could get round it. Whilst there was a lot of window action, because it was a sunny day when I took most of the shots it meant the interiors were still quite well lit.

 

[Wastelandr]

I would love to see a Severalls report from you both, a shame I got into this hobby a little late to see that one.

The funny thing is with these Edwardian asylums built at the turn of the 20thC is their interiors are so similar, there must've been some standardisation by this time because when you're in the wards you could be in any one of them, it feels like you're back in the same place. You don't get that as much with the earlier Victorian asylums which is why I prefer the later ones, even if they became plainer.

 

[Wastelandr]

Best lot of images Ive seen from this place. So much to see and shoot. Everywhere either has great design or decay or both. So many interesting parts to choose from. How do you choose what to post, when all shots are incredibly appealing. A great report & fab images

Big thanks Jane, it was tough choosing what to include! Every other room here is interesting in its own way.