Hellingly, like many other asylums, was remote. Built on
a hilltop in a rural area, the views and fresh air considered beneficiary for
the patients. Other the years, many were swallowed by suburban sprawl, and when
they closed, the neighbourhood vandals would walk in and smash them up. But
Hellingly was still alone, still in fields, only visited by
ramblers and the curious. The vandals’ had to travel. And they travelled long distances
and then felt compelled to smash everything.
