Report - Leybourne Grange Mental Hospital, Kent - September 2016

[Dora Grew Up]

Haha, can just imagine the finesse of you vaulting a fence Dora.

Thanks for the feedback @MuseHaze . Yep, all that is left is what was included in my report.

Just seen this you cheeky bugger!

 

[Minor]

Well, after seeing ones graceful entry over a similar barrier in Kent... .

 

[Dora Grew Up]

Ahahaahha how did I know you'd bring that up.

 

[kent-urbex]

great to see people still visiting whats left. i remember when it was a complete site with a massive boiler house, swimming pool, nurses home etc. The manor house has suffered so much water damage in the past few years

 

[MonkeyDan]

Haven't been here for a while (since they put the scaffold up around the manor) - Think i've got photos of the roof and the crest somewhere from that trip - but other than a few stairs now missing - it looks like nothings been done to the house since then?

 

[markuk]

amazing photos - thankyou

 

[funktheory]

Literally 10 minutes from me, great images and report, is it still standing as havent been there in years, even though im local.?

 

[klempner69]

Very good shots indeedy

 

[Minor]

@funktheory it was when we went and think part of it's being restored.

amazing photos - thankyou

Very good shots indeedy

Thanks for the feedback guys .

 

[Mxllxe]

Does anyone know if this is still up please? It looks really good to explore.

 

[Minor]

Does anyone know if this is still up please?

I believe so. Have a look on Google, or better still head over there for a quick gander.

 

[Liann]

Does anyone know if this is still up please? It looks really good to explore.

The last time I went there there were diggers trucks etc. so I assume that they are knocking it down, I'm going down again next week to have a look if it's still up

 

[dweeb]

Indeed update please. I'd care to see that manor house before its converted

 

[WeThreeExplorers]

Its still there! Went two weeks ago BUT they have Eastern European security on site & FIVE security dogs! The minute you hit the fence they make a lot of noise (take sausages

 

[Keeleyrox]

Visited with: @UrbanZ, @Dora Grew Up & a non-member.

Short History:
Kent Council built the hospital on an existing estate in order to house the mentally unstable and, by 1936 the site had a population of up to 1200 patients sectioned by gender and or age, with the old manor house being used as an administration building, the clock tower for maintenance, and the main hall which was used as a church on Sundays, and a hospital/hairdressers during the week. A swimming pool was also added at a later date.

Due to Care in the Community becoming more prevalent, the hospital was closed in 1996 and was left to decay in the elements until the Healthcare Communications Association sold the buildings to developers, Leybourne Chase Housing. Only the Manor House, clock tower, and a few outbuildings are to be retained in a mass of new housing.

Explore:
Emerging from the woods we caught sight of the once impressive manor house, which is now completely encompassed from chimney top to ground floor in an vast exoskeleton of scaffolding. I could only try to picture what it would have looked like in its heyday, quite a sight to behold I imagine, and I couldn't help regretting the fact we hadn't had the opportunity to see it earlier. Looking to the left, in the distance behind the dense sea of urtica dioicas protruded the clock tower, which immediately drew our attention so we headed off in that direction.

Many parts of the clock tower have roof support jacks placed in strategic positions, which I and UrbanZ discovered, almost to our detriment, having both fell through the floor in parts of the building.
Dora and the non-member proved it is still possible to get to the top floor of the manor house, but this was not something I wanted to risk after looking down a couple of stories through my size 8 shoe-shaped hole in the ceiling of the room below.

This was a very enjoyable explore and much more interesting than we had expected, especially finding the escape tunnel in the basement (similar in size to the escape tunnels in Zero Stations). I managed to walk through this tunnel much to Urbanz's annoyance, as I kept asking him to hurry up because my back was aching from bending over while he was on his hands an knees crawling through it.

We spent a good couple of undisturbed hours here which was a pleasant surprise, but enough of my blabbering and onto the pics...

1. Old Manor House.

2. Clock tower protruding above the urtica dioicas.

3. The manors attention grabbing staircase.

4. Clock tower main hall.

5. Library

6. Clock tower main hall, 2nd floor.

7. One of the rooms in the manor with original fireplace. Pity the woodwork was concealed behind paint.. destroys the character.

8. Trusses in clock tower main hall, 2nd floor.

9.Clock tower mechanics

10. Should read "MIND WHERE YOU STEP"!

11. Library, open 10am till 4pm every weekday except Weds & Fri, when it closed at 2pm

12.

13.

14. One of the floors in the clock tower.

15. Corridor leading to tunnel in basement.

16. Storage room in basement

17. One of the main manor house rooms

18. Escape tunnel in basement, surprisingly with most of the original wooden door attached.

19.Urbanz crawling through the tunnel

20. Manor house 1st floor room

21. Top of the manor houses main staircase.

22.

23. Car mechanics garage in one of the outbuildings.

24. Manor house staircase and emergency exit.

Thanks for looking.

I tried here years ago! Remember loads, & loads of books & records strewn about, never got in though, this was before those newer houses were built. Congratulations on getting in.