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 worked at Sandhill Park and the hospital had children from a very young age and up to and including adults. In those days the term was “Mental Subnormality” but now it would be more “Special Needs” Some of the patients were quite disturbed others suffered from Downs, epilepisy and many other situations which in those days they were resident in Sandhill Park. Today, children are in the community, have the right medical care and are often in ordinary schools. The hospital was a teaching hospital in beautiful grounds. I worked mainly on Clarks unit and used to have some great times with the children. We used to fly model planes, go for lovely walks and on Sundays ran a Sunday school where the children used to sing to my piano accordion. Much of the hospital han now been built on or turned to grass although the remaining buildings are falling down.
As Barrie has said it was for people with Downs Syndrome, ASD and the like. Referred to as Learning Disabilities now. I’ve worked with an ex resident, who successfully lives in the community now
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 think you have to ask the farmer there, he’s always up there checking since there is always loads of teenagers going up there and trying to set fire to things..it’s really heart breaking :’(
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
I trained at Sandhill as well. Yesterday I had a wander round but wasn’t allowed into any of the buildings. I would love to go there again and get some photos. I used to run a Sunday School there in Clarks. I just wish I had some photos when it was a hospital.