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Post by Sam Tyler on Oct 19, 2021 17:34:56 GMT
I was going to put this clip on the Youtube Finds thread but thought it worthy of its own thread.
Recently Annie and I were talking about a classmate of ours from our schooldays. This particular classmate was a good friend of mine and so I was invited around to his house on a number of occasions. Bearing in mind we were around 12 years of age at the time, I could tell by the quality of his clothes that his family had abit more wealth than the average kid at the state comprehensive that we attended. Anyhow, the first time I visited his "house" it was far more than expected as it was a mansion set in 11½ acres of landscaped gardens located alongside Wentworth Golf Course. With a servants' bungalow, a chauffeur's flat above the garages, stables and a horse paddock this was a real eye opener for the 12 year old Sam.
Wind forward 47 years and I've done a search on the house only to find the following clip:
So the house has been left to wrack and ruin. The rooms that I once played around in are derelict, my mate's bedroom at 6:04 in was where we played Mouse Trap by the left hand window while listening to the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album on his stereo is a ruin. The ornate stairs where his dog always slept on the lower landing are just laid to waste.
Now the entire property has been visited by no end of 'Urban Explorers' that have posted up the decay for others to try to access too. The commentary on the video suggests that it was built in the late 1980s but this is not correct. The original central part of the house was built in 1928, it was renovated in 1969, however the two wings with the library and the swimming pool were late additions possibly from the 80s.
I must admit that although not my property I found it incredibly sad to see the whole residence in such a mess after remembering how well kept it used to be, remembering walking through those very rooms, and being so taken with such an amazing home.
So my question is, how many of you have been directly affected by seeing a place you once enjoyed end up in a derelict state?
Sam.
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Post by Gene Hunt on Oct 19, 2021 17:53:19 GMT
What a waste! It must be really quite sad for you to see it like this now Sam. Did you keep in touch with your mate? It would be interesting to know how and why it came to be left to get into such a state.
Gene.
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Post by Sam Tyler on Oct 19, 2021 18:05:43 GMT
Yes indeed it is difficult to see it like that. There were many hours spent there during '74. You often hear that people with real wealth can be quite obnoxious to others but his parents were far from that, always welcoming, kind and generous.
Unfortunately we lost touch when he and his family moved to the states. I have located him on Facebook but the account hasn't been used for around seven years though it looks as if he lives in Oregon.
Apparently (according to the urban explorers) the property was bought by some Latvians that applied for planning permission to demolish it but the application was refused. As heard in the commentary it is estimated that the property was last occupied in 2014 and the current owners live in another house near the gate at the southern end of the drive.
Sam.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Oct 19, 2021 18:25:16 GMT
Blimey, what a place. One of my classmates at primary school had a big house behind high walls on the town's wealthy road though I never got to see inside it.
One of my brothers went to St.Joseph's College in Upholland which is a village near Wigan, this was a seminary, ie. a school for boys who expressed an interest in becoming a priest. My brother boarded there in the late 70's/80's, we used to visit him, go to sports days, etc. The place has been abandoned since it closed after 150 years in 1987, there are quite a few urban explorer vids on youtube.
It's sad to see the place left to rot, must be upsetting for the priests & staff who used to live there over the years. Few boys who attended became priests though one of my brother's friends did, a couple of famous old boys from there are the late Tom O'Connor, Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout & Johnny Vegas ( he only stayed about a year apparently ).
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Oct 19, 2021 18:45:03 GMT
So my question is, how many of you have been directly affected by seeing a place you once enjoyed end up in a derelict state? Great thread Sam.
As a kid my brother and I used to venture out with our 8mm camera and get into derelict buildings - back then there were a lot around, and no one seemed to bother that you were there - just as long as you weren't causing havoc/nicking stuff. Got quite a few rolls of film in the loft of many a place in our (then) locality of Derby - most of the buildings have gone.
In answer to your question..
The old ABC Cinema in Derby was kept in a great condition until it was closed, boarded up and then before long someone tried to set fire to it, part of the roof collapsed and the place was just left. That did annoy me, considering it was well looked after while it was open - and besides we had spent hours in that place, spending our hard earned pocket money on Drinks, Ice Cream & Pop Corn. It was always a busy cinema too. Very fond memories of that place. It took a while, but it was finally demolished - I managed to grab a few photos as it progressed; but couldn't get too close as it was unsafe.
The second was the terraced street (and accompanying ones) that my Grandparents had lived on since the 1930s. A typical UK Terraced street, 2 bedrooms upstairs, front room, dining room down, kitched bolted on the back, cellar, no bathroom and a toilet "up the yard". All occupants were moved out in 1979, the houses boarded up, and demolition began around 1982. Really sad to watch - OK, the houses were a little cramped and many not fit for purpose; but there were lots of fond memories, the cosy coal fires, the shop on the corner etc.
The land was cleared by late 1983 and remained like this until 2005 - when the local council finally decided to extend a Ring Road it had proposed in 1960. While that work was taking place, a few old bricks were found in the soil.
So I pinched one - just in case! When streets like that went, to be replaced with dreadful flats or carparks, or even roads - they also lost the sense of "community" too.
The third and final was the demolition of the old ATV / Central TV studios in Birmingham; which aired it's last programmes during the Autumn of 1997. Again this remained derelict and in a shocking state of affairs until it was demolished in 2015. Luckily, I was lucky enough to be allowed in to photograph and film the place a few times and during demolition. It was sad to see the state of the place, given about 90% of my childhood TV had come from, or through that very building.
In 2005, I worked on a load of short films for the ITV50 celebrations - where we interviewed a pile of Personalities & Staff who had worked in the building at some point - and all said that they had a fondness for the place - it was a happy, buzzing team spirited building. Chris Tarrant returned with us to film some bits in the closed derelict building and was close to tears after looking at the state of the place.
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Post by D.C. Burtonshaw on Oct 20, 2021 18:46:34 GMT
Not sure there's many derelict places I once knew left now, apart from the old Cinema in the town centre I used to go to up until the 90's before the multi screen entertainment complex was built. Has been derelict for many years. Still there looking very sorry now awaiting its fate.
Thanks for posting those up Sam and Arthur; Your old friends parents house must have been incredible at the time Sam, still is in a way, but terribly sad to see the state it's in now, and would need a lot of money spending now to get it back to its former glory again. You certainly had some happy memories in your school years, and I can understand how sad it must seem now.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Oct 20, 2021 19:05:04 GMT
Apparently the most expensive private house ever to be built in Britain ( though building was never completed ), now abandoned, is Nicholas Van Hoogstraten's gaff 'Hamilton Palace' in Uckfield, Sussex. Work began on it in 1985 & by 2006 it had cost £40 million to build.
Van Hoogstraten has been the subject of several expose documentaries, including a World In Action programme, due to his dubious behaviour as a landlord & shady business activities. If you haven't heard of him & his exploits he's worth a look on youtube.
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Post by Sam Tyler on Oct 27, 2021 9:49:49 GMT
One of my brothers went to St.Joseph's College in Upholland which is a village near Wigan, this was a seminary, ie. a school for boys who expressed an interest in becoming a priest. My brother boarded there in the late 70's/80's, we used to visit him, go to sports days, etc. The place has been abandoned since it closed after 150 years in 1987, there are quite a few urban explorer vids on youtube.
It's sad to see the place left to rot, must be upsetting for the priests & staff who used to live there over the years. Few boys who attended became priests though one of my brother's friends did, a couple of famous old boys from there are the late Tom O'Connor, Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout & Johnny Vegas ( he only stayed about a year apparently ).
That's a massive place and such a shame it has been left in that state. It reminds me of Holloway Sanitorium in Virginia Water (as mentioned in the music videos locations thread >>> HERE <<< ) which was converted to plush residential and renamed Virginia Park. If the St. Joseph's College building is listed then it could be repurposed as residential with planning permission for change of use. Doubtless it would cost a fortune but I'm sure a developer could make a good few quid out of it. Certainly for those with a positive connection or an affinity to it would get comfort to know that it wasn't left to decay. Sam. |
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Post by Sam Tyler on Oct 27, 2021 10:35:17 GMT
The third and final was the demolition of the old ATV / Central TV studios in Birmingham; which aired it's last programmes during the Autumn of 1997. Again this remained derelict and in a shocking state of affairs until it was demolished in 2015. Luckily, I was lucky enough to be allowed in to photograph and film the place a few times and during demolition. It was sad to see the state of the place, given about 90% of my childhood TV had come from, or through that very building. In 2005, I worked on a load of short films for the ITV50 celebrations - where we interviewed a pile of Personalities & Staff who had worked in the building at some point - and all said that they had a fondness for the place - it was a happy, buzzing team spirited building. Chris Tarrant returned with us to film some bits in the closed derelict building and was close to tears after looking at the state of the place. I can understand Chris Tarrant getting emotional about seeing the state of the place, it is easy to get an attachment even to a place of work when you have really enjoyed your time there. Two places that I worked during my apprenticeship: one a refinery outside of Neath and the other a large research centre in Sunbury-On-Thames were both razed to the ground and now completely unrecognisable from what they were. The refinery is now a huge housing estate and the research centre is a number of soulless glass facades where many old brick buildings stood that had some character to them. Gone are the workshops, the plant and equipment that I'd installed, the laboratories that I worked in, the site roads where we raced trade-bikes and electric trucks, and to top it all a filming location from Danger Man >>> Poplar House <<< and a film called Heaven's Above from 1963 >>> Heaven's Above <<< (Capture 8 refers) Sam. |
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Post by Sam Tyler on Oct 27, 2021 10:57:19 GMT
Your old friends parents house must have been incredible at the time Sam, still is in a way, but terribly sad to see the state it's in now, and would need a lot of money spending now to get it back to its former glory again. You certainly had some happy memories in your school years, and I can understand how sad it must seem now.
It certainly was incredible. When it was being sold his parents commissioned a sale brochure that gave a number of views of how it was at the time. I still have a copy of the sales brochure that shows a number of different views of the property. Why I kept it I don't know but I'm glad that I did as I've dug it out and have been able to confirm my memories from over 47 years ago. At the time the house was on the market for £160,000 which would equate to around £6m today. I couldn't see it achieving that figure if it appeared on the market but I'd guess that the sale price plus costs of remedial works would exceed that significantly. Sam. |
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