Bellboys College, Sussex Feb 2015

[mookster]

I've been feeling blue the last few days and the best remedy, of course, is to get out and go exploring. So that's exactly what I did! I have spent so much time exploring up north recently I kind of forgot how the south holds its own gems, of which this is definitely one.

This very large private girls school in the middle of an affluent area of southern England closed around 2004 after passing through various hands and being known by various names in its life, including an affiliation with a ballet school which lasted from the 1980s until the closure date. Work was due to begin on a conversion around 2011 but only seems to have got as far as replacing the upstairs windows with modern nasty PVC units. In it's current condition a few of the floors are in a treacherous state, most notably the hall floor which has had severe water ingress and is, to put it lightly, rotten as a pear. While we were there, water was coming in in a constant stream which really is not good. The decay throughout is stunning, but equally saddening seeing how much of the ornate coving and plasterwork has been destroyed by water.

It's a huge site which includes the main house/college, a large stable block with added accomodation blocks, indoor swimming pool, science block and large sports hall, we spent hours here wandering around the buildings and I could have spent hours more, I loved the place. It's like Lillesden but on steroids and taken to the nth degree (but sadly no huge mirror). But if you are a fan of fireplaces, you're in for a treat....

I went nuts with the camera and took loads of photos, so there might be quite a few in this post...

Moving out of the main house now...

Yes it was in there.....

Thanks for looking, more here! https://www.flickr.com/photos/mookie427/sets/72157650527175186/

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[skeleton key]

Lovely level of grandeur and decay there Mooks.

Looks a very nice location infact better now than it ever did

I just had to do a double take and then recognized the place

 

[mookster]

Lovely level of grandeur and decay there Mooks.Looks a very nice location infact better now than it ever did

I just had to do a double take and then recognized the place

It's lovely now it's matured a little! Thought some of the older members may recognise it indeed

 

[skeleton key]

Its good to see and love the level of decay as looks awesome.

I havnt been here in a bloody long time infact last time we walked straight into my all time favorite the secca dog lol

 

[hamtagger]

A great looking location mooks, those fireplaces are damn nice

 

[SpiderMonkey]

Nice place this, awesome pics! Will have my set up soon and yes, that little radioactive lump in a box is slightly worrying eh?

 

[Lara]

Looking lovely!! Nice one Mooks

 

[shaddam]

Mhh cool stuff Mooks

 

[darbians]

Dam. I never see that blue contraption its really nice too.

Have to agree with SK about the grandeur and decay. Its what this hobby is all about. Not easy to find it without vandalism nowadays.

 

[jones-y-gog]

Looks mighty fine that mate. Those fireplaces - sweet Jesus!!!! They're enough to kick out the blues and the staircase is beautiful too.

 

[Maniac]

Oh wow, that is looking somewhat worse than when I went there several years ago now, such a shame to see how much it's decayed. We never got to the swimming pool or sports hall as we got scared off by the dog we could hear getting closer, looks mint that does. They have put a temporary roof over it in the last few years, which is better than nothing I suppose - it looked like this in 2011.

In particular the hall was in much better condition

Did you head down to the really creepy basement areas? There's loads of old artifacts down there from when the place was open, including several old school photographs.

 

[mookster]

I can't believe how far downhill that hall has gone, you can barely walk on the floor in there now it's so rotten! The temporary roof looks to be doing an OK job but there are still a few areas where the water ingress is noticeable - the modern wing at one end had water pouring through the roof when we were there which was probably old melted snow run off.

We spent a little bit of time in the basement but did it last so really just had a quick nose around, too dark for any proper photos so left it which is a shame. A lot of stuff down there though. I've heard tales of the free-roaming pooch, luckily no encounter like that this time

 

[Andy]

It looks a little bit strange with the scaffolding outside. Very interesting inside, beautiful decay and architecture.

 

[mde]

looks very nice this place (& those fireplaces are a bit special)!!