st johns | doom and gloom
17|04|05

The northern aspect of the buildings revealed airing courts filled with dumped rubbish and rubble (and one was being used as a builder’s yard) and a large, impressive Administration Block which tripled up as a Willmakers, a child care facility and a home called The Homestead.

It's supposedly haunted by the (highly original) Grey Lady (automation ghost which walks a regimented path to a fireplace) and the man in the thick coat at a table in the bar (yes, there's a bar as well). There's also rumours of tunnels; either inaccessible or filled with concrete. Of course there's tunnels, the site is riddled with them. There's even talk of underground cells.

New homes were built right up to it, lining the main drive of the hospital.

As it was in use, this Administration Block was clearly out-of-bounds, but the rest of the buildings looked suitably empty.



Below: Archival shot from the early 1990s.







The reason for such expansive nomanclature in its early days was due to its establishment by Lindsey, Kesteven, Holland, Lincoln, Grimsby and Stamford. A board of visitors was set up to manage this silliness. By 1893, it had probably got too much, and upon the expiration of the contract of the Union that year, Kesteven and Grathham withdrew and built Rauceby.




Not a very politically correct sign for an asylums grounds.