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…
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hello.
i’ve been visitng the SandHill Hospital,and i cannot find anywhere that fire engine that you have on your page.
i have been inside all the open buildings, i the barn and by that old car, but i cannot see the fire engine. could you please tell me where it is located at?
i have a few ideas where it could possibly be but it means having to climb big gates and i don’t really want to do that if it isn’t nessasary.
thanks.
karla.
I love your site its fantastic….I am a photographer and film maker. I am doing a small mucic video soon do you think I would be allowed in here to do it. The other deralic I loved was the ex Raf site in Norfolk inside the dome? I would love to film inside that its beautiful. Thanks for your help. Sue
Hiya i vistited sandhill in the dark OMG its so scary i look around most of it but could not see much but wat i saw was enough i probaly will go back there a couple more times but not quite sure x x
my grandfather used to work here back when it was a hospital , i find the place facinating , im popping up there again soon id love to have a look at his office , not sure how legal/scary this will be lol
I don’t know too much about Sandhill, but I remember that in the ’70s the kids from Merrifield (Tone Vale) used to go over there on Wednesday afternoons to use the swimming pool. I believe one or two of the Merrifield kids may even have been transferred to Sandhill. If that is true, then it would seem rather inappropriate, as I’m under the impression that Sandhill and Merrifield catered for somewhat different disorders (Merrifield was a children’s and adolescents’ psychiatric unit).
Does anyone have any detailed information about the conditions Sandhill dealt with? After all, ‘hospital for handicapped children’, quite apart from being a dated expression, is rather vague.
hi i visited sandhill park hospital earlier today,what a fascinating place although its been vandalised by grafitti and broken windows etc,would love to go again,definately a freaky place,with lots of history and stories to tell i can imagine,anyone know whats happening to the place,seems such a waste it has so much potential,anyone know anything please contact me on hinsondavis@aol.com thankyou
i have visited sandhill many times i live in taunton and also know people who worked there when it was a childrens hospital.try as i might i can never find details of anyone who was ever a patiet there. i find the place both haunting and sad but just cant stop myself going there.
I believe the hospital catered for both children and adults with a learning disability. I have supported a number of adults who spent yrs at snadhill park as patients and now live in accomodation within the local community. Unfortunately most are unable to communicate verbally about their stay but some old staffsay it wasnt a bed of roses…
The fire engine has now gone – does anyone know where it went please?
sandhill is currently up for sale, and i believe the fire engine was either given away by the old owners, or sold.
myself and a group pf friends are very keen to gain access to sandhill before any new development is carried out to take some photographs.Does anyone have an idea of who we need to contact for permission
I can get you in.
iv’e been up there a few times with friends its a cool place and my uncle was a patient there as a child.
this building looks prity good iv been in a hospital befor it was ok im young so i dident go far but im going again to the same one
hi all,
i find it quite saddening to see all these pictures of a place where i trained and worked many years ago, but i guess they call it progress , i have many happy memories of sandhill park, and these photos have re kindled many of them.
topov
just imagine how much that fire engine is worth!
no wonder its gone its beautiful, i would be proud to drive that around town
i would love to find someone who used to work there and could tell us how things where and where things where would love hear the stories
Hey…
I have just been there, heard about it from some friends, so me and some guys went up there!! It was so sketchy in the dark!! We are gna go back there becasue it seems so fascinating!!
Be warned guys, I live in Bishops Lydeard and the site is closely guarded now…..Got kicked out the other day! I agree with everyone tho, its a really cool place to visit and the old building is stunning x
Hiya
Went there today, Security was non-existant !!! Was there for over an hour with no-one else about.
Would love to get at all 4 of the cars in the compound, I know 2 are Allegros and 1 is a Metro but what is the other one ???
My Mother was born and bred in Taunton and knows a lot about it so going there was quite an eye-opener !!!
….Also the Fire Engine has DEFINITELY gone now
I believe it went to the Fire Museum for a complete restoration
I went to sandhill earliar and i can just say it is a scary place. All the rumours you hear you dont belive, but when your there its anothet story. Would like to go up in the day, to have a better look, as night times are rather sketchy.
hey
i have been to sandhill during the day and night. when me and a few friends went during the day we met a guy with a dog and told us about the history and what we can and cant do there. he also took us to the pond where the wife of lethbridge committed suicide that was very scary even in the day it felt like we were being watched from the pond its self. then we went during the night about 2 months later and it had changed slightly. there was now blue rope across the entrance so we went through and kept looking around the mansion is alarmed so we didnt go in there. we were walking down the path by the other white buildings and it felt like something was watching us from the white building on the left hand side near the church. a few of my friends went to the church but then ran away as there was heavy breathing and felt like we were being watched. so we left but then we went back but we dont know why we went back after being scared thinking something was after us. we went back and it felt different again as if someone was with us watching us. we then found some old school paperwork on the floor but couldnt make out what it said but it was from sandhill. we wont to go back there during the day to go in and look at the buildings from the inside as we want to know why it closed. i have heard that they did have someone get in builders etc but they didnt do any work and left and didnt go back. but sandhill is on the market at the moment for £2.7 million. the mansion is alarmed and protected if any of the residence tell you to go i would otherwise they may call the police as it is getting ruined by thugs. i have researched sandhill online and only pictures from what we see now come up. i would like to know if anyone has pictures from when it was open? also is it true that if you were under 16 i think and you were pregnant you would be sent there? i dont know if its true but thats what people who use to work there told me.
sam x