cane hill project
Last update: 17|04|08


Each nurse at the hospital was given this enamel badge featuring the hospital's logo. Scan by Dave Robinson


This is how it used to look. More archival shots here.





Picture: Marlon Bones


A fun sporting time can be enjoyed by all at cane hill's Sports And Social Club. Don't forget your card! Although membership has expired for this card, it doesn't really matter, as the actual Sports And Social Club expired in 2001.
Picture: JonDoe



cane hill keeps its dignity through years of neglect and dereliction.
Picture: Smorgy



And the buildings keep their dignity though mindless vandalism and arson.
Picture: Marlon Bones


An Ode To Cane Hill
"Cane Hill was built many years ago,
For the sad and helpless people that society was frightened to know.
But Cane Hill changed with the generations that followed,
To become a place of love and understanding where you knew you could go,
To get the support if you if you wanted it so.
When we found out Cane Hill was to close,
Many doubts and uncertainties arose.
Don't be sad when Cane Hill is no more,
Just think of its closing as an opening of another door.
"

A patient on Blake Ward
The Cane Hill Yellow Pages
Probably June 3rd 1991

Aversos Compono Animos
I bring relief to troubled minds

Welcome to the Cane Hill Project, the section of this website devoted to one of the UK’s urban exploration hotspots. Here you’ll find the maps, the plans, the history, the whys-whats-and-whens, hopefully some stories about the hospital from its working days and quite a lot of information about it’s declining days.

So dive in and always remember: Aversos Compono Animos - I bring relief to troubled minds.

This part of the site is still under construction.

 Before Starting...
Please take the questionnaire
Completed the questionnaire? Good. Welcome to Cane Hill hospital

 Cane Hill Essays
A Brief History Of Cane Hill Hospital
The Design Of Cane Hill
General Condition Today (written in 2002)
Fire Damage At Cane Hill
Tales From The Hill
Rumours And Dark Mysteries
The Ups and Downs of Exploring Cane Hill (1960s style)

 Cane Hill Listing
The Application

 Main Site Map
All the main maps of the site

 General Explorations
Walking The Perimeter (29|04|02)
Grand Tour (13|07|02)
Orientation (18|10|02)
Spooks And Structural Failure (08|12|02)
Portrait (18|04|03)
Syringes On Sunday (17|08|03)

 Quick Explorations
Under Vincent by Laurence and Marlon
Cane Hill 2003 by Laura
Admin 2004 by Marlon
Salter And John Hutchinson 2005 by Steve
Cane Hill 2006 by Pete

 Maps And Documentation
Plan Of Main Buildings [No Date/1 Sheet]
Plan Of Main Buildings Schematic [No Date/1 Sheet]
Cane Hill Hospital Schematic [Centre pages of the Patient's HandbooK]
Plan Of Main Buildings [C.H. Howell's 1888 plans]
Elevations Blueprint elevations of several key areas
Fire Zone Plans [No date/36 sheets]
Survey Of Fire Equipment On Wards [November 1988/24 Sheets]
Small Detail Of Airing Court [No Date/OS Map]
John Hutchinson Centre Plans The ever unpopular, and unexplored parts of the hospital.
Signs And Directions. Need directions? Here's the various directional signs around the hospital.
Cane Hill Fire Plans
The Cane Hill Yellow Pages
Bits And Bobs Of Paper Found In The Hospital
Guide To Ward Names
Many thanks to: John Maneely for supplying the plans and survey documents; Andrew Tierney for the airing court detail and Howell's 1888 plans; Laura for the Cane Hill Hospital Schematic, fire plans and the magnificient blue prints which were used for the main plans; Steve for the John Hutchinson Centre plans, Marlon Bones for the stationary and Charles Saumarez for the elevations and guide to ward names.

 Pictures
Images From The Past Historical pictures of the hospital.

 Film
Documentary Footage Is this Cane Hill?

 Patients
Famous patients at Cane Hill. This includes the David Bowie connection.

 Staff
Staff at Cane Hill. This includes the grave of James Moody.

 Songs
Songs From The Hill. Apart from Bowie's vague muses, there are other songwriters contemplating the hospital on the hill.

 Film and Video
Pathe News Footage of Cane Hill (showing the frontage and main gates). It's the fifth film down - although all of these short clips are interesting.
 Art
The Disgustingly Poor State Of Cane Hill Grafitti
Cane Hill Artwork by Patients
Cane Hill Artwork by Artists

 Other Cane Hill Sites
Urbex: The first Cane Hill website now archived here.
canehill.com: Perimeter walk from 2001 and history. Now archived here.

 Finally
Last Words - By a patient