Had a little trip down to Hellingly Hospital in East Sussex (formerly known as East Sussex County Asylum). It opened in 1903 and closed in the early 1990s.
Weather and vandals have taken their toll on the hospital, but it was one of the most atmospheric places I’ve been. There were quite a few bits left, like chairs and curtains. This shocked me!
Boiler room
Our first stop was the boiler room. This wasn’t as impressive as the one at Leybourne Grange but still quite good. There were 3 little boilers.
Water Tower
The tower can be seen from everywhere. There was a door in the boiler room which led to the water tower. Underneath were a few tunnels which went off under the hospital. Didn’t really explore these though.
Main hall
The next stop was the main hall. This was impressive, except for a few failed fire attempts on the floor.
Someone had also drawn a huge pentagram on the floor of the hall with salt. The salt drew moisture out of the atmosphere and stained the wood.
Salon
As you can see in the hall, there is a chair that looks as if it has come from a hair salon. It’s true. Next door is a salon. It’s recently been trashed though 
Corridors
Guess what – there’s corridors in this place too! A few of them have collapsed though due to fires and wet.
Wards & Rooms
Also, there are wards (and other rooms). One thing that reall struck me is how much stuff is left here. There are curtains, chairs, coat hooks, bottles and all sorts of other things
Admin Block
The admin block had been damaged by fire a few years ago and has been sealed up. There is a tiny way in though. The stairs had burnt down meaning you couldn’t get upstairs. Downstairs was nice though, with ornate tiles in the corridors, toilet roll in the toilets (!), and a dentist chair in the corridor.
Kitchen, Laundry & Stores
One or two photos from the kitchen, laundry and stores. I did climb into one of the huge washing machines – that was quite a task as the drum kept moving!!
Some buildings
…from the outside…
Other bits
A few other sights I saw, including a room full of dentist’s chairs…
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nice pics dude, glad you lot had a good one. p.s. theres a dentists chair in one of the upstairs ward blocks, not sure if it’s a fully kitted out dentists though.
Coooool pics there matey!
See 28DL for the other Dentist’s chair soon!
wowow that place looks amazing can u explain where it is?
I was interested in this hospital, as my mother was incarcerated there for a short while in the early 1920s, following tragic happenings during the First World War when she was in the Royal Flying Corps. I was interested to know that it has been shut down. I would like to know where the patients’ records have been stored, as I would like to look up my mothere’s records.
Interesting pictures. Strange that the place would be left to become derelict and would not be demolished.
I was interested in your photographs of Hellingly County Asylum, Sussex, as my mother was incarcerated there for a short time just after the First World War, following tragic experiences while working with the Royal Flying Corps during that war, which caused her to have a mental breakdown. Your pictures are good. Do you happen to know where the archival records of that hospital are lodged?
I did some training there a few years before it closed down. sad ending really it was quite a lovely place lovely rural setting. many of the patients who I remember would have found it difficult to live in towns like hailsham and eastbourne but they had no choice. I had a great time there but…….
betty
i am also interested in finding where the records are being held.have you tried lewes records office ????
Parts of it were re-opened by the local healthcare authorities about 4-5 years ago as an admin centre – i applied for a job, There are still some derelect buildings that look freaky but not as scarey as the big red building in the distance as you approach it.
Am desperatly trying to trace family! I believe my deceased dad’s mum was at hellinglly 1940′s think her name was Rose Hebron nee Burton married? a canadian? Any ideas of how to access records would be fab! Thanks!
We also are trying to find a relative who was there, we think when it was first opened, and would be grateful if you could supply us with the information on how to track the records of the inmates. Atmospheric pictures by the way.
Hey, im a local teenager, I have read a document on the internet where some development want to turn hellingly into housing estate. I am really against this and would like to know whether you think there is any way to stop it decaying like it is, or stop it from being demolished. i think that part of it should be turned into a museum because the building and its history is amazing and people, local and tourists would be attracted. im really stuck! i know people who trained there and to be honest too many victorian buildings have been left to rot away – it really annoys me! please comment back!
i was in hellingly to day its
where i spent most my time when i was a teenager!
not good to hear they are building on it.
it is very easy, we went up there this eve, there is a large fence that is easy to get over, we just got a bad vibe from the place, there are two guard dogs that patrol the 8 acres, at one point my friend to a medium up to the area outside the fences and she said that there was thousands of angry spirits just outside the fences, it is a very wierd area, we hope to enter the building at one point. cheers.
I am tracing my family tree and have found that My Great-Great Grandfather worked in Hellingly Asylum before transfering to Chartam Asylum. Does anybody know where records & archieves are now kept? Or has anyone got photos, memories or family contact of George Bishop, Born Framfield 1875? Can you help?? Please Email: thewolfman202@hotmail.com
My grandmother was a patient here in the 1950s – I would be really interested in finding any medical records or even more general information on what went on at this place in the 50s. It is really sad to see the condition of the site. One would think it could be put to some use. Who owns it at the moment?
Hi there i have been going to hellingly about six times in the last couple of weeks, fantastic place, i would love to see some pics of it in its hayday, but cant find any anywhere.I took lots of pics but one iwas very strange not sure how to put it on here if someone could tell me, i can tell you its well worth a look,its taken in a room on the ground floor just past the baths, the room is pitch black and leads to a staircase where there is a old public phone on the wall,anyway the minute i walked in the room the temp dropped it was freezing,myself and my 4 other friends felt a choking sensation and a desire to get out of there i took a pic and left.Now i dont really believe in ghost etc but what the pic shows is a face in the skylight above the door and the whole place is covered in orbs,now i looked up about orbs and some say it be down to dust but in all my other photos there were no orbs. I see alot of you are having trouble getting in with security, i think it must be the way you are going in,if anyone would like to join me on my next visit feel free to contact me.somone tell me how to put the pic on as i really want to share it.
cheers
benn
Was at Hellingly today, June 23rd. Lots of big fancy signs around proclaiming how it had been sold to a developer, although talking to some locals it seems far from certain what its fate will be. Plenty of fencing and signs about security, although I didnt venture inside there seems to be little signs of life, security or otherwise, not sure where the guard dogs were!?
Me and my cousin went their earlier this evening and it was pretty dark everywhere so we couldn’t see alot! But it was quite scary, looking at it in the daylight from the photos it looks more impressive [the big hall] rather that scary. We’re returning with my brother and a few others in the week though….armed with a torch!
I’ve literally stumbled across the whole UE / 28DL thing by accident through boredom at work and I’m blown away by the whole thing. . . Benn – - or anyone else – please, let me come along?
i remember going to helleingly in the pouring rain at 3 in the morning with a couple of friends…..suffice to say it was a scary expierience. im generally a brave no nonsense person, but the overwhelming opressive feling in there led me to spontaniously, with no real explanation burst into tears. i felt suffocated and very sad. i think there are many ghosts in the place
hi i have been on training at hellinley and we were next to the old church, could you tell me if it is still there and do any of the outside buildings still remain?
i have never seen such a beautful group of buildings and i once loked afer a gentleman who lived at helingly working in the printers there.
I am most fascinated with the pictures of the Hellingly Hospital that looked so beautiful to me when I last saw it- 1938
I lived in Shawpitts Farm Lane from 1930 til 1039. Wwent to school at the Infants and Junior schools then on to Hailsham. I roamed as far and wide in the Shawpitts area as boyhood legs would take me.so I went on asventures of discovery, including all around the hospital. The wooded area to the north east(?) had many chestnut and horse chestnut trees eagerly sought. An apple orchard was raided once or twice during those years. There seemed no danger associated with the railway line and so of no great interest – I did of course cross many times to and fro from Hailsham Scool.
A friend of the family: Robert Feast was closely associated with a patient at the Hospital and would quite often take us to the ‘Pictures” there – a very exciting time
Arthur
I also went to Hellingly Infants School and then on to Hailsham Junior 1935-1940,my parents were both nurses at the hospital and we lived at 12,New Road.I would like to make contact with anyone of that era. Pat.
Sad pictures. I worked at Hellingly from 1980 until it closed in, I think, 1997. Had a huge fireworks display for the close in front of the old chapel organised by the local bonfire society. I was based in Bowhill for a few years when it became management HQ. it had been the medical superintendent’s house. I had a copy of his employment contract. Its only requirement was to visit the wards once a day! It was a male nurses home for a few years. oh the parties we had there!
Records from the hospital are, I think, in the county records office at Lewes.
Front entrance had carpet stuck over beautiful victorian mosaic floor, same color as those tiles in the pictures I think. Amazing pine staircase led from it to the management offices on the first floor – burnt down when it was set on fire.
I was a night charge nurse for a few years. Lonely corridors to walk at night. Never creepy though.
Anyone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong as this is a bit of a guess..
but with regards to the experiment, I think it is a similar experiment as to one done on Most Haunted at Denbigh as means of drawing out a witch/spirt.
I only just made the connection after watching this old MHlive on Youtube.. but I may be wrong.
Anyway – Great photos – I love to see old buildings, they really fascinate me
Hi Does anyone know anything about this place in 1935. I am doing my Family tree and can’t quite work out the writing on a family letter but it looks like the name of this Hospital .
I have found out that my relative in the family tree was at this hospital and died there in 1958 not as I first thought 1935 So I now have the details correct for my Family tree.
I started to work as a nurse there back in the mid 60′s, before taking off on the Hippy trail to India and places. I eventually did train as a Pychiatric Nurse (Not there though). In my day the whole place was segregated into male and femail wards, and staff. I think the only place people met was the Social club. – Just inf for anyone who wants to know – The hospital actually had its own fire brigade. Staff who trained as fire fighters and an antique, push-by-hand fire-pump. The Water tower (The thing that looked like a clock tower) had a great pump engine that used to chug away like some kind of death knell.
The hospital had it’s own 500v electric railway to bring coal for the boiler house and passengers from Hellingly station. The track ran up the right hand side of the main drive into the hospital. The last train ran in 1959.
I trained here in 1960 and remained until we were moved to so called purpose built units.
Lacking in space to give freedom of movement within the confines of the ward.
The patients lost out no lovely views or grounds to roam safe from traffic.
Sad to see such a lovely building damaged by mindless vandles and the ravages of time.
Dr. Rice once said things go round in a circle I wonder when someone will think it a good idea to build this type of hos[ital again,snag will be to find such a great spot.
John
i worked as a psychiatric nurse at hellingly in the 70′s.my mother and her sister trained there in the 50′s.it was a beautiful place to live.patients preferred to live and feel safe there instead of being placed in a hostile community which did not understand them.it would be nice to see pictures of bowhill nurses home.
Hey all!
I am very intrigued to find out what happened in the hospital and would like to interview anyone whom may have worked there or were a patient. I also welcome old photographs, visualising what the Hospital looked like at the start would be brilliant.
You can ask The National Archives or East Sussex Archives for family documents.
Anyway I hope to hear from you soon,
Katy
hi, does anyone remember or have any information on a mr/dr.heller phychiatrist in mental health, who worked at hellingly hospital around the mid 1970s. many thanks, karen
Hi again,
Please feel free to get in contact with me via huny22@hotmail.co.uk for potential interviews.
Katy
Does anyone know the dimensions of the main hall?
I trained there between 1977 and 1979 and lived in the nursing homes including Farmstead, which meant walking through the grounds and a wooded area to get to work. The grounds were amazing….I remember at night we would stretch out on the grass and watch for UFO’s. I was so young back then and had a crazy 2 years meeting some wonderful people and the social life was fantastic!
I did struggle with the institutional care and I remember a tutor saying ‘you will never beat the system, or be able to change the way things were.’ On the wards the staff were so set in their ways and new ideas were rejected and no one had a voice.(unless you were management).
I decided to leave before completing my training as I just couldn’t be part of such institutional care. I’m glad it closed, many patients were never given the opportunity to leave anyway or have any chance of ‘recovery’. Years later I retrained and now work very happily in forensic mental health.
I still have my photos of Hellingly from the 70′s and keep in touch with a few friends. Personally I had an amazing 2 years of my life there, but my memories of patient care were ‘shocking’ by todays standard.
I must just add that ‘those corridors’ were scary and dreadful back then, often with patients walking up and down wailing and distressed. No one should ever have had those corridors to walk down, and for that reason alone I’m glad it closed…
My Grandfather died in Hellingly in the 1970′s (I think). His name was Francis (Frank) Sharley. Would love to know if anyone who used to work there remembered him. My father (his dad) is now 81. Sad that in those days people were just “put away” in a place like this
Came across this site while browsing. I did my Nurse Training at Hellingly. Oh the happy memories of Bowhill, Farmstead and Tennyson House. The 80′s were good years. I left Hellingly in 1987 and took a trip up memory lane last year..up the drive actually. So sad it was to see Hellingly like that after its glory years. Bloody happy memories is what i’ll hold onto.
I went in on Sunday – the demolition of some of the lower buildings is well under way. Everey single fixture, fitting and pane of glass has been systematically smashed, and the floors are in a very dangerous state. I took more than a hundred pictures which are on Flickr. I guess it’ll all be demolished by early 2010.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melita666/sets/72157623093689386/
Hi guys,
I ordered a few thousand white glazed bricks from a reclamation yard, only to find out that they have come from this amazing building. Not sure what part though. the reclamation yard told me the hospital was being demolished. Does anyone have any up to date pictures?
Helloo, i was just wondering when it was going to be demolished because i was hoping to go and take some pictures myself quite soon, would be really helpful
i found that they have no security during the week days at hellingly due to cost i think been there every day so far a builder informed me security only work at night now yeeeeey
I worked from 1964 to 1968 at Hellingly, and left as RMN . Was one of the many french girls working there. I remember Rice, Milne, Gosling and matron G (B)radley very well. Life was very victorian then: boys were not allowed in the nursing-home :after some kind of trial, (I had to appear as a witness), a friend of mine was thrown out because the matron caught 5 of us with one of the girl’s brother playing loud music at night in her room. Sadly enough, my girl friend’s sister, a nurse too, had died two years earlier in that very nursing home : poisoned by CO, her victorian room ‘s gas heating was not working properly. But this drama didn’t help her, she had to leave ! I remember Mike Knowles too, (comment from 2007). I could write so much about Hellingly! My boy friend was an Indian doctor working there, and I was called by the chief dr Rice to talk about my sexual life! I was 21 years old at that time. Matron Bradley protested stongly when I left: I was ungrateful, the hospital had given me education, I should pay it back and take charge of a ward. I left and never went back to Hellingly. I became later a journalist, but never fulfill a wish of mine:to write about life at Hellingly. Now, it’s too late…
I used to work at Hellingly back in the mid 60′s Hmmmm..! another work mate and I used to “wander” around the place during our lunch breaks, going into places I am sure we were not supposed to go. Saw many interesting things especially the body parts preserved in bottles. Checked out the morgue many times too. I think she had a master key to many of these buildings. Can’t think they would have been left unlocked? Remember going down in the underground tunnels where all the pipes were, it was very scary then so can imagine what it must have been like after it started to fall apart. I just stumbled onto this site, took me a walk down memory lane. Thanks.
During my last two years at school, I used to work at Hellingly Hospital every Thursday on ‘Work Experience’. I can hand on heart say that it was the most enjoyable times I can remember. I seriously could write a book on life and times there – far too much to add here, But- During dinner breaks I would enter the service tunnels via the boiler room and wander through a seemingly unending maize of the very dark and spooky catacomb. There was a deaf and dumb patient called ‘Smoky’ that ‘helped’ in the boiler room. He was rather like Quasimodo in both appearance and knowledge of the tunnels and always wore a childs cowboy holster and cap gun. On one occasion during my dinner time tunnel adventures, lost and carefully silently edging my way along a tunnel with the only luminance coming from a shaft some 20 feet ahead – BANG!! Smoky leapt out from a nook and shot me. I can truly say that never since that day have I been more terrified. Smoky heard words that day that I doubt he had ever heard before or since. Just one of many many stories and experiences at Hellingly Hospital.
I believe the community at Hellingly Hospital can never ever be equalled. If it were possible to drop a huge dome over it then, it wouldn’t have mattered, as it had everything, totally self sufficient. Nurses, Dentists, Kitchens and restaraunt, Gardens, Hairdressers, Social club, Entertainment, Garage, Laundry, Fire Brigade etc etc. Take me back! Someone please organise a Lobby against the destruction of this incredibly beautiful building and the irasible memories of thousands of people. Hey Richard Branson – Paul McCartney – Duncan Ballantine – Get here and get your arse in gear! Do something for the people. Thanks for reading.
Kevin
i used to go in hellingly hospital and explore with all my mates when i was younger, from the years 97 – 04, i lived in hailsham, one of my mates has the blue prints to the whole place, we used to sleep over i there on halloween, play man hunt etc., i remember we used to go through the underground maintainence tunnels, really dark, wet and had rats. me and mates have explored the whole hospital, there are patient records still in there dating back to 30s as far as i can remember, such a amazing place.
alistair
Hellingly was not that strange a place. It helped many people.Care in the community is not always good
It is a crime that the developers have got holdof it
at last but also a crime that the hospital was left
to be destroyed over the years.
My parents worked At Hellingly in the 1930s until 1942. and my childhood was spent in a Hospital House in New Rd. I would love to contact anyone who has memories of that Time. Both my Mother and Father were in the Hospital Choir and I have pics. of that I have also progs. of concerts that were held in the theatre.My Dads name was Joe Key.
It should be remembered that this was a mental asylum. My mum was forced to spend many months in that hell hole. She suffered electrc shock treatment and was given drugs that have caused her to have some dreadful health problems in her old age, all of which would not happen under the current health service. As a constant visitor to her when I was younger I CANNOT see why anyone would have any fond memories of what amounted to nothing less than a prison with barbaric treatment of the inmates! Though, I am sure some of the staff were well meaning, the “system” was all wrong See the film “one flew over the cuckoos nest” to get some idea. I hear the place just burned to the ground – good riddance!
This place looks absolutely beautiful.
Everything about it is just so broken.
I’ve never actually been but I would absolutely love to.
I love places like this. They’re so poetic.