Sandhill Park was built in 1720 and was lived in until 1913.
In 1919 the Somerset County Council bought the house and converted it into a home for handicapped children. During WW2 it was used as a hospital/camp by the American Army. After the War it reverted to use as a hospital for handicapped children.
Blazes – The Fire Museum
I’ve seen some crazy stuff when exploring derelict asylums – x-rays, crap, pigeons, perfume bottles, cuddly toys, books. etc. But never a full-sized, real-life fire engine.
In its final years, Sandhill was home to the Blazes – The Fire Museum. It closed, but one fire engine remains…
June 2009 update – the fire engine has gone
Newer buildings
The newer buildings at Sandhill are completely vandalised. In later years they were used by various small businesses…
Twitter
RSS feed
i went there today as part as my photography project, we unfortunately couldn’t go into the mansion as it was boarded up, but we managed to get into all of the other buildings and they are all trashed with graffiti and glass everywhere. I heard a few bangs but thought it was just the wind.
Hi Laura.My hubby n i went to SANDHILL PARK last sunday 27.3.11 n we thought it were gr8.Noticed in ur comment uve said u cldnt get into the mansion.Did u go around the back?There is a window that is not boarded up.you can get in that way.
glad you like the place i actually loved the place, as i trained there in the eighties as a nurse, there were many more buildings all alas demolished, church,wards,swimming pool etc, think it was maybe a little scary now, it was bad enough doing waking nights on the wards !!!!
I went sandhill just tha other day. And its an amazing place. But the whole time mr and my mates wer walking around we felt we wer being watched. And we turned to one of tha white buliding nerist to the manision and we saw this six foot black figure in the top right coner window. And my mate shown his torch at the window and we saw it walk away and my mate screamend and ran we stayed and walked around. Then we saw a picture in a cuberd of a naked woman. A few months wen we went bk that picture we saw had changed in to somthing that looked like a nurse. :s pritty scary if u ask me. But wat a place thou so amusing!!
went there once and was a great place to explore. whilst at school in the area back in the 1960′s we went somewhere to use the swimming pool. i could never work out where but have always wondered if it was Sandhill! does anyone know where the pool was at Sandhill as whilst there we could not find any trace of it. john@somerlap.co.uk
Hey,
I went to sandhill today to take photos for an art project of derelict houses. It’s a bit off the beaten track, and you walk up a lane which is near a housing estate – i’d hate to live near sandhill! despite not being allowed there, we asked two people how to get there, and both were really friendly and helpful saying ‘have fun’. The first building is the manor building which is HUGE and boarded up, its beautiful. But you walk under a piece of blue rope, and just ignore the signs of private property.. the camera/s dont work… and as for it being alarmed… i dont think so.
I REALLY WANT TO FIND A WAY INTO THE BIG BUILDING. does anyone have any ideas how to get in?
i went walking around all the outbuildings… it was amazing to see something so derelict. we went to the block that was the office building – where they ‘supposedly’ just left one day, and left all their files. True to that word, there was paperwork scattered everywhere, and we even found a newspaper dated back to 1989! in terms of photography, it was phenomenal.
The vandalism has really added to it… you’re already on edge in case you get caught, and if you see something… but sandhill really is a beautiful place.
Sandhill Park does have cameras & the mansion is alarmed , as you will find out if you break in plus you will be arrested for breaking & entering . Security is now very tight due to resent activity. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED .
My great grandmother was a Lethbridge and lived at Sandhill Park and I have pictures of it when it was a beautiful mansion. I visited it in the 1970′s when it was used as a hospital for the mentally disabled and admired it. It is sad to hear that it has been so vandalised like so many other old mansions which cost too much to refurbish and are allowed to rot and become an eyesore.
I worked at Sandhill Park for 5 years until the mid 70′s. I trained there and became a staff nurse on a adult ward. There is no getting away from the fact that it was an institution, but the staff worked very hard to try to make a good life (with the limited facilities that were available) for the patients that were resident there. The patients were of varied abilities, some had behavioural problems and there were many who were both severely mentally and physically disabled. They enjoyed the use of the school,O.T. department, social club, swimming pool and riding for the disabled.
I found the earlier comment about the gruesome deaths a bit confusing, but maybe someone remembers more than I do.
No I agree that it was not always a bed of roses for the patients, there were many members of staff who worked tremendously hard to improve the lives of the people there.
I worked and trained at Sandhill 1979 – 1984 and have to agree with Jills comments, staff worked incredibly hard and were gaining ground for the people living there. I found the pictures really sad and upsetting as this was a home for many vulnerable people. To see I guess private papers scattered with peoples lives documented is more than sad.
Sandhill did have it’s ghostly stories but it also had a lot of fun and laughter by both residents and staff and I have fond memories as well as harsh ones from a time when institutions were trying to change.
I used to live in the former wards from the time the grounds housed an army hospital after the war when there was accute housing shortages. The site was a legal Squat, and we started off as sub tenants of an admiralty housing officer.
The rooms (formerly offices) at the front of the ward were used as a kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedrooms. My brother and I used the large ward to play in when the weather was bad.
Subsequently, the large ward was turned into two housing units, but I now cannot recall whether these were made two storey or remained ground floor only.
I do recall that it was a wonderful place to play in: the wards were connected by covered walkways, and were just right for riding bicycles.
The grounds were fantastic, but I do not remember going anywhere near the house.
I do remember walking across three fields (sometimes with bullocks in), through a picket gate to catch the train to Taunton for school.
My husband and I returned there a few years ago, but the road was gated . the steam train was however still at Bishops Lydeard!!!
if anyone knows how to contact the guy who owns it, that would be amazing! if you could email me at hannah-lucas@hotmail.com
thankyou!
I find the images (and some of the comments) quite upsetting. My mentally handicapped sister was admitted to Sandhill Park at the age of five and remained there until her death five years later. The facility was, to some extent, a godsend to those families that were unable to provide the specialist full time care necessary to give some quality of life to those handicapped. Living in Plymouth, without a car, meant we were only able to visit about once a month. Travelling by train to Taunton then out on the branch line to Bishops Lydeard after which we would walk to the hospital. I have happy memories of walking the beautiful tree lined drive to then spend some good familly time with my sister and my parents. Her death there was tragic and the arrival of the police to break the news has stuck in my memory for the last fifty years. Apart from that one recollection I have happy memories of Sandhill Park Hospital spending time playing with my sister on the extensive lawns in the sunshine. There were the equivalent of ‘sports’ days and fetes organised which drew many of the families and friends of residents, highlighting that you were far from being alone in having family affected by mental and/or physical handicaps. The photographs of derelict buildings are easy to cope with, it is a consequence of leaving buildings empty. What I do find unacceptable are the documents strewn about the place, why were these not removed or destroyed when the property was vacated. The thought that there may be paperwork or records relevant to my sister lying around is quite distressing. That said I hope that the building is purchased and renovated. It is a grade II listed property and deserves to be returned to some of its former glory. The use to which it is put is of no consequence, apartments, hotel, private residence, spa, golf course but it is a shame (and wrong) that it is allowed to deteriorate in this way.
22/11/2011. hi. this may be of interest to all that watch/read this site. early morning news report of a fire at sandhill park mansion. 3 floors and roof burning. have not yet seen any film coverage on news.
I worked at Sandhill Park from 1987 until 1990 and I have a very many happy memories of working on several of the wards including Clark and Farrant. I don’t remember it ever bing haunted although I remember stories that the main mansion house was