Ascot's answer to the Marie Celeste

[dizzojay]

As some of you may be aware, my workplace have been through a massive move recently.

I work in the head office of a charity whose services include a number of care homes for the elderly, and our Head Office was attached to the oldest of their care homes.  We've built an incredible new state-of-the-art care village on the same site, and the new head office is  incorporated within it.

At the end of the week, we will no longer have access to the old buildings - they will be handed over to the construction company for demolition - but yesterday, I had cause to go over there as we still have some archived records over there which are being collected and shipped off to external storage on Thursday.

After I'd finished my brief visit to the archives, I took a little wander around the old place all on my ownsome, and - wow - it's amazing what the hustle and bustle of people and a little bit of furniture can do to a place, because now its tired old rooms and corridors which have been my workplace for almost twelve years are like some creepy dream.

Here's a little tour around the old place.



This is the main corridor through the oldest part of the care home (this part is about 120 years old)



The corridor into head office,



My old office



The head office 'open plan' area



One of the function rooms in the care home - decorations from the last function ever held there are still lying around



The main corridor through the newer part of the care home (about 55 years old)



A residents' social room



The physiotherapy room



Another residents' social room



and finally ...
We're all thinking it, aren't we ...



This would make a great set for an episode of Supernatural!!!

Comments

[borgmama1of5.livejournal.com]

At the very first picture I thought there surely must be a haunting to be investigated...so I really laughed at your final one! Now you just have to convince TPTB that the boys need to go to England to investigate!

[blackrabbit42.livejournal.com]

What is that art in the social room? I hope somebody takes it!

In my town, we had a little 3 room school house where the kindegarten, first and second graders went. I went there myself, but about 5 years later, they consolidated with the "big" school in the center of town. No one ever bought the old building, and now it's abandoned. I went there a few years ago to see if it could be turned into a residential home, and it was so, so sad.

Thanks for sharing.

:)

[kinkthatwinked.livejournal.com]

Some creepy dream, indeed. I'm simultaneously reminded of two Jack Nicholson films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Shining.

Haha, that's the perfect way to cheer that place up! The next time I see something that looks like this, I'll just imagine the Winchesters have already marked it as hunting ground and are nearby. :)

[metallidean-grl.livejournal.com]

Despite that being a very old building, that actually looks like a nice place. Although, when I saw the first picture it reminded me of Riverview, the filming place for many SPN episodes. It would be a great place to do some filming. Too bad they are demolishing the thing. I love the addition of our boys to the final picture. Very cute.

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

Wow, isn't it such a shame that a building so old with so many memories in will be knocked down, but YES I was thinking that it'd make a perfect SPN set :D

[lkrumwiede.livejournal.com]

It looks so... lonely. Yes, the boys fit perfectly.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

The trouble is they'd need to hurry up - demolition is due to start on the 11th May!
:)

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

The social room was in the EMI Unit (Elderly Mentally Impaired) so basically, the dementia residents, so this is artwork they would have done in diversional therapy. I did mention the pictures, so I hope they've been taken down and across to the new care home now.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I'd be happy to show them round :)

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I think it would have been a grand place in its time. Unfortunately, it was showing its age quite badly; and over the years, our maintenance team just hadn't been able to keep up.

Also, with all the current rules and regulations relating to social care and health and safety, it was no longer fit for purpose, so if we hadn't rebuilt the care home, we would have ended up being closed down.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Yes, the building was a grand old building in its time; it used to belong to the Grey family - as in Earl Grey of the tea fame - and I was amazed to find out it wasn't listed. Apparently, the reason that it wasn't listed was that a lot of work had been done to it over the years - a lot of it before our charity bought it, and so apparently there wasn't enough of the building's original fabric left to warrant it being listed.

I would be happy to show Sam and Dean around; there are stories of it being haunted!!

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I think it's somewhere where they wouldd feel right at home!

[jj1564.livejournal.com]

That does look pretty spooky, I bet you had shivers there alone! I hope things have settled down in your new office now.

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

It's a shame though, but least you all get shiny new digs, when they eventually finish furnishing it O_O