Severalls Asylum was built in 1913. It closed in the late 1990s. In it’s heyday it housed 2000 patients; some of which were used in experimental medical tests/operations. More information about the hospital can be found on Wikipedia.
This article is the result of a few visits between 2006 and 2007. A seperate report exists for Myland Court.
Some views of the asylum buildings first…
Corridors
The intricate network of corridors at Severalls are by far the highglight of a trip here. They’re all different colours yet somehow manage to be rather gloomy. The corridors are also rather eerie – the wind banging doors constantly makes you think that someone’s going to jump out at you at any point.
Wards
Obviously the corridors led somewhere, invariably wards and other rooms…
Toilets & Stuff
There are hundreds of toilets, baths and sinks in the hospital. All were rather interesting.
Nurses Home
This is where the nurses would have lived (!) and their rooms were quite luxurious compared to those of the patients. They even had fireplaces!
Admin
The grand administration building is the main entrance to the asylum. It was wonderfully ornate, but has sadly been attacked by arsonists. There are a few nice features left, like the staircase and some floors.
Water tower, Boiler House & Engineering
Wherever you are in the asylum you can’t fail to notice the huge water tower. There are a few floors all containing huge metal tanks to store the water. The base of the tower is flooded, which makes access interesting!
Severalls is massive – the one place you can appreciate the size is from the top of the water tower!
One hall at the base of the tower contained five huge boilers – these were dismantled in Autumn 2006…
Kitchen
The kitchen was huge. It had to be – it used to cater for 2000 residents…
Stores & Services
Some more big empty rooms, mainly used to store things like laundry and supplies. One contained some sterilisation machines for hospital equipment.
Operating Theatres
Being a hospital, there obviously had to be a place to do operations. The theatres are now bare, and some are burnt out.
Other stuff
Finally some random bits at the asylum. This little collection includes the mortuary body fridges, main hall (now rubble after an arson attack) and some underground service tunnels…
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Very nice pictures mate!!!
Loving the Metal Polish tin pic!
cool pics and site, im hooked on Opacity site at the mo.
Thanks Chel
I don’t think I’m up to Opacity’s standard. Yet…
Hi!
Just stumbled across your website. Was also in Severalls on Sunday (29th.), from about 11am till 3pm. Spent ablout half an hour running from someone I assumed was Security, driving around in a blue car! Did you see him? After that, I made a hasty exit!! Can be funny if the “did you hear someone else?” turns out to be fellow Urban Explorers!!! Some brilliant “recces” so far -keep up the good work, but keep safe!
P.s. -will be adding a link to your site from mine soon.
All the best, Lightbuoy.
Thanks Lightbouy – we saw that someone had been in or out whilst we were in! Didn’t see any security though
great pics mate,i used to work on this site many years a go now,shame to see it in this state.
dave
Hello
Great site, very moving pics…I was there today ( saturday 14th 2007 ) with a friend and we shot around 150 pictures in and around the buildings…we never found thye chapel or the morgue though ( did you notice the big pile of door knobs !? weird ). Just one thing though….how did you get through the fences ? We managed to squeeze through a section that had been jammed by a rock…but we only just managed it…is that the easiest way to get in ?? I’ll send you some pics once I have converted them from raw if you like ?
Antony
Lived nearby. I remember a ‘friend’ riding his Kawasaki KH250 into the hospital and right through the corridors one night after a party. Perhaps I’m on my own here but people rarely ever called Severalls an ‘asylum’. It housed regular surgical wards as well as being a ‘mental hospital.
this is a brilliant site hun! Really well thought out and fun to go through and your photos are brilliant!
I love Urbex, but being a married mum whose also trying for another baby, it’s not wise for me to physically go on any urbex expeditions anymore, so this is the next best thing, so thanks for sharing ~ just make sure you keep safe xx
These photos and the explanations are brilliant.
Have you tried watching or maybe posting Urbex videos on youtube? I discovered some when I was bored one night and there’s some fatastic footage, especially Danvers State Hospital, where the movie Session 9 was filmed.
We’re planning an exploration to this site this coming week – 13/10/2007
Looks like a fantastic place to explore. We’re all practitioners of Parkour, so we should get some fantastic shots.
-Brad
i want to visit it really badly now looks so interesting
I spent 6 weeks at Severalls in summer 1984, nervous breakdown. Yes the grounds were beautiful, the staff wonderful, and without the hospital god knows how I would have coped at the worst time of my life. I remember severalls fondly. It is such a tragic shame it closed and I fear for the people who need this place so badly.
How do you get in?
My friends have been trying but couldnt find a way into the proper buildings.
Apparently theres a hole to climb through?
i would like to do a fashion photoshoot at severalls but wondering how i go about actually getting into there???
Hey. i was down severalls a couple weeks ago, just to check it out, as loads of people talk about it..
But wen ever i go there,, i always see a blue van sayin “van hire” on the side.. usally does not even look at us,, but the ohter day.. he decided to follow us,, with full beams on.. he then started chasin us,, i would like to know,, y?? and who the people in the vans are…
Hey everyone. I was just wondering whether anyone had any stories of, or have heard of ghosts at severalls? Its a creepy place at night i can tell you!
Live nearby, i used to mess around in the grounds as a kid. Everyone makes out that it was a scary nut house but it wasn’t at all. It was quality. They social clubs, football/cricket teams and the whole of mile end was involved. I’ve been round there a few times since it has been abandond and it’s a shame that it’s in such a state. Some weird shit did go on there and it will scare you to death now but it it’s heyday it was the bollocks. I hope it never gets knocked down!
Brings back memories of the year I spent at Severalls.
Having had 13 shock treatments!
Not good times!
But I am now free living in another country.
My last post was put up then deleted?
Not sure why?
Memories of 1970 when I spent a year at Severalls.
Not sorry to see it is gone.
This Hospital changed my life forever after having
13 ECT’s.
I now reside in Canada and have 3 sons and 6 grandchildren.
These days at Severalls were the worst part of my life.
I was signed in for LIFE!
Don’t delete.Thanks
I was a student nurse at Severalls, and I learnt a lot from patients there that will help myself and my family the occupation therapy was good for the patients. There were all kinds of individuals at Severalls in the sixties, no bad memories, the Sister was scotish under whom I was trained .Love you sister wherever you are. My staff nurse was nurse Preddy. So long to the memories I am knitting the English way I learnt it from a patient.
Presently I was asked for a transcript from Severalls could you inform me how may I get in touch? seeing now the hospital is demolished
thanks I would appreciate it.
Hester Bernard
An amazing place, yet its criminal its been allowed to decay. It was built from top class materials & I don’t understand why more stuff from these places isn’t salvaged. There doesn’t seem to be any sign yet of it being redeveloped. Having lived within 10 miles of the place all my life I’ve known so many people who’ve worked there or were in-patients (it had surgical wards as well as psychiatric). My uncle was there in the stroke ward just before it closed. About 35 years ago my mother remembers visiting someone in the surgical ward & she saw a psychiatric resident ‘kick off’. Four staff pinned him down whilst another stuck a syringe in his backside. It was easy enough to get lost in the maze of corridors when the place was open, but then there was always someone around to ask for directions.
Whats the best way to get into there without getting seen, Severalls is right behind my house in Thomas Wakley Close, never had the guts to go in there.
Any help would be appreciated (:
just thought i’d say that your description is wrong.
The people who bought severalls in 2003 pulled out due to credit crunch.
Still up for sale now.
A beautiful set of buildings, the site has a true “sole” hopefully the economic downturn will delay the councils plans to demolish the entire site, and maybe, just maybe these beautiful villas can live again as converted family homes, so others can enjoy the grandour that the buildings hold.
has anyone been caught in there? does anyone know how to get from the loading bays over to the morgue and operating theatres???
seeing this place made me very sad , as my gg-mother died here in 1917 , she had a very sad time due to her husband .
I worked at Severalls from 1971 to 1978 as a nurse and i would love to get in contact with all those lovely people who worked in that period.
hey, does anyone know how to get into the main part of the hospital, beyond all the fences ?
theres a hole in this chainlink fence – next to this incenirator thing, that goes into a part of the hospital.. opposite the football stadium, but the rest seems to be completely fenced off ..
Hi, this seems really interesting. A group of us are planning to go. Just to have a look, we arent looking to cause damage or anything. Does anyone know alot about this place and would be will to come with us and have a browse. I’ve heard that the secruity is very tight now but we really want to have a look about. Is it worth the risk or could we get like a tour from someone? Cheers
Rob
I was a student nurse, spending 5 happy years, (1958 to 1963) at Severalls, qualifying as RMN, and as a Staff Nurse, before moving on to higher status, and more qualifications. Would welcome any contact with past collegues, with many memories to share.
Hi to anyone who worked at Severalls! I spent a couple of years there trying to become a nurse – finally gave up and moved into electronics. Probably the best thing for all concerned! Rembering the place then and seeing these photos breaks my heart! It may not have been the best place in the world but from what I remember all the staff did their best. And no, the corridors weren’t gloomy – they were bloody huge though. They had little electric cleaning machines to keep them clean – used to get a ride to the social club at night, when I was lucky!
All the best.
Pat
I love these pictures, I never knew my Grand Mother but she spent most of her life in Severalls. I can’t imagine life was that great for her but she chose to stay. This site helps me feel closer to her somehow. I would love to know more about her ????
I too was a payshunt at this hosptal. I rmembur nuffink h=though… but one nurse waz nice to me. Plleese let me say thankyoo to her here. Thank yoo x
My Mum worked here in the early 80′s i remember going on to the ward to see her after school and feeling very scared. Athough she could only work on the sick ward as they called it, because she wasn’t mental health trained. From what i remember my brother had his 18th birthday at the social club there. We used to go over there all the time as kids and scare each other or hide up to smoke lol. Such a shame to see it as it is today but great photos Charlotte.
I went up to the new football ground today (high-woods). I was wondering if anyone has been up that way, could they please explain to me what the building is that is open next to the Hospital. The closed down part is all fenced off, but from where i was standing there is a small mound, that covers a little of the building, and access seems to be a possibility.
Tomorrow (Mon), me and my friend might go up there and take a closer look. I’m 15, and i find this place so fascinating. Also, could anyone explain to me when the only book (that i know about) ‘Madness in its place’, is so expensive. £100+, im being quoted.
Good luck to anyone visiting, if anyone has any new photo’s please feel free to email me, and ill get back to you on my finding tomorrow.
ThankYou, Laike.
I was up at the site a couple of weeks ago, just having a wander around the areas that aren’t fenced off. Was having a look at some of the unfenced annexes when I bumped into two security guards, luckily I had my dog with me so used him as an excuse that he had wandered off and was retrieving him. I had a good chat with security, who claim that they have needed to step things up due to the high amount of break ins. They were saying that they caught some people inside the fenceline taking pictures of all the old buildings, the police were called and they were taken away. Security claim that anyone caught inside the fenceline will be dealt with by the police. However, from spending quite a lot of time up there, security do a drive around service in a small white van, where they park up and walk around the inside of the perimeter fence – this appears to be on a basis of every 1 – 2 hours, and less so at night (as the other day demonstrated when a settlement of travellers set up camp overnight without security preventing them) – travellers have subsequently been moved on now…
It is also worth noting that some of the smaller abandoned buildings at the main entrance off Boxted Road are fitted with security alarms. I have also spotted a camera fitted to the main abandoned building inside the security fence line, pointing towards to still operational building.
Still trying to investigate the safest, easiest and least detected way of getting in is. If anyone else knows, please let me know as this set of buildings is a must for me to go and visit. If anyone is up for coming along and going around this unique piece of history before it is lost forever, then let me know.
love the pictures and would love to explore but have you seen the fence?? Never done any urban exploring and have no idea how to go about it, any tips, especially conquering the fence and how not to get caught! Cheers
Hi
We went to Severalls today, and managed to walk around the outside grounds and found the church and other out buildings but all well and truly boarded up. A security guard was on the otherside of the fence, so we thought best go over and talk but we got nowhere with him. We carried on roaming the ground had a good look at the fences etc but he followed us and said the police would soon come.we were there for an hour no police but the security came over to us telling us to get out. We got some nice photos of what we could get but a real shame we couldnt get in, wish we had visited before security was appointed there. Anyway love your web page and we off exploring next week at Harwich !
Thanks for the photos. It was a grand place for me with lots of memories. I was there as RMN student from 1972 to 1975 became a charge nurse in Fernholm ward and left in 1981. Now I am a retired man married to the girl I met there. If anyone like to contact me, I would love to hear from you. Time at Severalls will never leave me and my wife. Best wishes. Peter Pillai
Hi,
Looking through the comment I came upon Paddy Doherty’s comments. I would be grateful if Paddy could contact me as he was my best friend when I was in Severalls Hospital. We lost touch and I have been looking for him ever since. my email is peter.pillai@ntlworld.com Paddy do contact me.
long lost friend!
A late friend of mine worked there, Dr Tony Whitehead. Anyone remember him.