Here is a bit of history on west park. Copied from wikipedia
The hospital seems to have been so-called because of its location to the west of the landscaped parkland formerly associated with Horton Manor (later the Manor Hospital). Although sometimes called an 'asylum' by urban explorers and the media, West Park was never officially termed as such, having opened as West Park Mental Hospital in 1923.The term had largely fallen out of favour by the 1920s and was made obsolete in law by the Mental Treatment Act 1930.
The hospital was designed by William C. Clifford-Smith (architect to the London County Council), who was also involved in the design of nearby St Ebba's and The Manor Hospitals. The hospital had been in planning since 1906, and by 1917 it was largely complete; however, the outbreak of war postponed opening until 1921. The hospital was the last greatLondon mental hospital, and the last of the Epsom Cluster, a group of five mental institutions on the Horton Estate to the west of Epsom (the others being Horton, Manor, Long Grove and St Ebba's.) The hospital follows the compact arrow design, with external villas.
When complete the hospital could cater for around 2,000 patients of mixed class. The site had extensive boiler houses and plant rooms, a large laundry and a substantial water tower. There were also large kitchens located behind the canteen and a substantial recreation hall or ballroom (the latter suffered an arson attack on September 30, 2003 and is now a burnt out shell). The hospital was also once served by the Horton Estate's own railway but this was removed in 1950 and no trace remains except around the central engineering block. The main stores and sewing rooms were located in the central block, but other service buildings such as the mortuary and chapel were located by the entrance road along with some staff housing.
The hospital was slowly run down from the mid-1990s, and by 2003 most of the hospital was closed and derelict, although some buildings, including the New Epsom and Ewell Cottage Hospital. remain in use by NHS healthcare services. Because of its derelict state, it came to be of interest to urban explorers who were attracted by the sheer size of the buildings and also the many hospital items still in situ, such as beds, kitchen equipment and personal items. A padded cell also remained in-situ and was of considerable interest to explorers.
In November 2010, demolition began of the former hospital buildings. As of April 2011, most of the central buildings had been cleared with only a limited number of wards, the water tower and administration building being retained for conversion to apartments. These are to be incorporated into Noble Park, a new housing development which is currently being built on the site.
Now on with my visit
I visited west park back in 2010 so remembering everything that happend that day is going to be tricky lol. I can say we started early morning like always, There was a group of around 10 of us including Andre Govia, Jerremy Gibbs and a few other old skool explorers. For me it is still one of my favourite explores of all time. The sheer size of the place was overwhelming. The corridoors were so long and made for some great shots. The place was full of old equipment and personal belongings. The highlight for me was seeing the padded cell we spent the whole day exploring just about every part of this place.
Now on with the pics....
Quick External.
The Hoover Wedding.
Decayed corridor.
A Bath.
Grand Piano.
The Dentist Room.
Some Dental Equipment.
Another Corridor.
ChildsWheelchair.
Childrens Ward.
Little Toy.
The Baby Rocker.
Crib.
Baby Walker.
High Chair.
Wheelchair.
Green Room.
Watch out for the hole.....
Extinguisher Meeting Point.
Some old coats.
The flying coat.
Decayed Room.
Lonely Chair.
Another decayed room.
Another bath.
Reflective Corridor.
The Padded Cell
This is my 1st ever post on a forum so any advice is welcome
Hope you guys enjoy the pics.
The hospital seems to have been so-called because of its location to the west of the landscaped parkland formerly associated with Horton Manor (later the Manor Hospital). Although sometimes called an 'asylum' by urban explorers and the media, West Park was never officially termed as such, having opened as West Park Mental Hospital in 1923.The term had largely fallen out of favour by the 1920s and was made obsolete in law by the Mental Treatment Act 1930.
The hospital was designed by William C. Clifford-Smith (architect to the London County Council), who was also involved in the design of nearby St Ebba's and The Manor Hospitals. The hospital had been in planning since 1906, and by 1917 it was largely complete; however, the outbreak of war postponed opening until 1921. The hospital was the last greatLondon mental hospital, and the last of the Epsom Cluster, a group of five mental institutions on the Horton Estate to the west of Epsom (the others being Horton, Manor, Long Grove and St Ebba's.) The hospital follows the compact arrow design, with external villas.
When complete the hospital could cater for around 2,000 patients of mixed class. The site had extensive boiler houses and plant rooms, a large laundry and a substantial water tower. There were also large kitchens located behind the canteen and a substantial recreation hall or ballroom (the latter suffered an arson attack on September 30, 2003 and is now a burnt out shell). The hospital was also once served by the Horton Estate's own railway but this was removed in 1950 and no trace remains except around the central engineering block. The main stores and sewing rooms were located in the central block, but other service buildings such as the mortuary and chapel were located by the entrance road along with some staff housing.
The hospital was slowly run down from the mid-1990s, and by 2003 most of the hospital was closed and derelict, although some buildings, including the New Epsom and Ewell Cottage Hospital. remain in use by NHS healthcare services. Because of its derelict state, it came to be of interest to urban explorers who were attracted by the sheer size of the buildings and also the many hospital items still in situ, such as beds, kitchen equipment and personal items. A padded cell also remained in-situ and was of considerable interest to explorers.
In November 2010, demolition began of the former hospital buildings. As of April 2011, most of the central buildings had been cleared with only a limited number of wards, the water tower and administration building being retained for conversion to apartments. These are to be incorporated into Noble Park, a new housing development which is currently being built on the site.
Now on with my visit
I visited west park back in 2010 so remembering everything that happend that day is going to be tricky lol. I can say we started early morning like always, There was a group of around 10 of us including Andre Govia, Jerremy Gibbs and a few other old skool explorers. For me it is still one of my favourite explores of all time. The sheer size of the place was overwhelming. The corridoors were so long and made for some great shots. The place was full of old equipment and personal belongings. The highlight for me was seeing the padded cell
we spent the whole day exploring just about every part of this place.Now on with the pics....
Quick External.
The Hoover Wedding.
Decayed corridor.
A Bath.
Grand Piano.
The Dentist Room.
Some Dental Equipment.
Another Corridor.
ChildsWheelchair.
Childrens Ward.
Little Toy.
The Baby Rocker.
Crib.
Baby Walker.
High Chair.
Wheelchair.
Green Room.
Watch out for the hole.....
Extinguisher Meeting Point.
Some old coats.
The flying coat.
Decayed Room.
Lonely Chair.
Another decayed room.
Another bath.
Reflective Corridor.
The Padded Cell
This is my 1st ever post on a forum so any advice is welcome
Hope you guys enjoy the pics.
