Re: Fearnville House on Dibb Lane
Posted: Mon 18 Jul, 2016 10:46 am
I know that it's now been 5 years since this thread was last active (god doesn't time fly!) but in this time the plans for the restoration of Fearnville hall have seemingly fallen through and it remains more dilapidated and in ruin than ever, so I thought that if anyone is still paying attention, I would update you all.
The hall itself was abandoned in 1993 or thereabouts, having been left derelict in the 1970s before being converted into 5 separate flats. The council evicted the residents, boarded up the building and it has been left ever since, despite numerous plans in 2004, 2009 and 2012 to convert it. While the double sheeted blockades remain very sturdy in most places, natural decay has brought about the collapse of the one leading onto the bathroom window. However, probably due to the sheer amount of time the building has been secure, this has presumably escaped the attention of most local vandals as the interior of the house is practically untouched. Graffiti remains around the perimeter of the house, however it is old and there seems to be no drastic changes to the exterior from back in 2011 as shown in Brunel's photos. The ground is even more overgrown and the only way of getting in is a pathway between 54 and 56 Dibb lane which in turn has been blocked off by an ever-more unsturdy wooden board. The gateposts mentioned earlier in the thread are in fact connected to the house as they would have led onto a pathway which carried on to the left into the grounds, at this point through the houses on Dibb lane, which back then would not have existed. Upon further inspection on google maps (get me with the first hand sources), I've determined that there were two more entrances to the grounds but theses are now completely blocked off by an obstacle house, or a heavy amount of barbed wire.
The interior is very dilapidated and very unstable, but not through vandalism as there is not graffiti at all inside the building and no signs of modern day littering, despite the vast amounts of fly tipping in the outside grounds. The residents must have left in a hurry though as there is still much furniture and clocks etc dotted around in what would have been the separate apartments amongst the now skeletal pigeons (well, I'm assuming they're pigeons). After a look around the ground floor, I came to the conclusion that it is extremely unsafe, what with there being at least four areas where the floor has caved into the basement. There is no sign of how to access the basement or some of the other corner of the house as the council appears to have left many of the separate doors on the inside bolted shut too, perhaps to the other apartments. From the only available access point, the only apparent places I could access were the bathroom and two apartments alongside the stairs. Many cupboards had also caved in as had the ceiling in what I'm presuming was a sitting room. The ceiling in this area had completely collapsed, and under the weight of two floors on top of it, the ground floor had deteriorated too, leaving a clear run through from the roof joists to the basement floor and the foundations. The upstairs was also extremely unsafe, with many areas having fallen into ruin leaving only floorboards. This was coupled with a very jitterish explorer (step forward, me) and a resident family of pigeons in the roof too, meaning I didn't stay long up there for fear of potentially falling through the floor, or, even worse, getting caught. So I packed up my things and left, though obviously with the intention of returning someday, but not just yet, I think.
*Just as a little disclaimer* I made my trip towards the front end of June, so now a month and a half has passed, please forgive me if my information is out of date (for example if another floor has caved in somewhere). I also do not enter these places to vandalise, cause trouble or any other illegal stuff, whatever that may be. I enter these places as I like to take pictures, videos and document them as that is what I love to do and I like to admire these buildings whether they are maintained in their old state or are a shadow of their former glory. I WOULD ALSO ACTIVELY DISCOURAGE TRESPASSING AND OTHER FORMS OF FORCED ENTRY TO THESE PLACES DUE TO THE HAZARD THEY POSE, AND WHILE THERE MAY BE NO SIGNS, I ALSO GUESS THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR BUILDING THERE MAY BE A SERIOUS ASBESTOS DANGER POSED. I enter knowing the risk and would take all the blame if caught so I would highly recommend not to replicate my stupidity. (Sorry if you know all this and I am boring you but it occurs to me that this is the decent thing to do)
Thanks for reading, sorry if I've bored you.
The hall itself was abandoned in 1993 or thereabouts, having been left derelict in the 1970s before being converted into 5 separate flats. The council evicted the residents, boarded up the building and it has been left ever since, despite numerous plans in 2004, 2009 and 2012 to convert it. While the double sheeted blockades remain very sturdy in most places, natural decay has brought about the collapse of the one leading onto the bathroom window. However, probably due to the sheer amount of time the building has been secure, this has presumably escaped the attention of most local vandals as the interior of the house is practically untouched. Graffiti remains around the perimeter of the house, however it is old and there seems to be no drastic changes to the exterior from back in 2011 as shown in Brunel's photos. The ground is even more overgrown and the only way of getting in is a pathway between 54 and 56 Dibb lane which in turn has been blocked off by an ever-more unsturdy wooden board. The gateposts mentioned earlier in the thread are in fact connected to the house as they would have led onto a pathway which carried on to the left into the grounds, at this point through the houses on Dibb lane, which back then would not have existed. Upon further inspection on google maps (get me with the first hand sources), I've determined that there were two more entrances to the grounds but theses are now completely blocked off by an obstacle house, or a heavy amount of barbed wire.
The interior is very dilapidated and very unstable, but not through vandalism as there is not graffiti at all inside the building and no signs of modern day littering, despite the vast amounts of fly tipping in the outside grounds. The residents must have left in a hurry though as there is still much furniture and clocks etc dotted around in what would have been the separate apartments amongst the now skeletal pigeons (well, I'm assuming they're pigeons). After a look around the ground floor, I came to the conclusion that it is extremely unsafe, what with there being at least four areas where the floor has caved into the basement. There is no sign of how to access the basement or some of the other corner of the house as the council appears to have left many of the separate doors on the inside bolted shut too, perhaps to the other apartments. From the only available access point, the only apparent places I could access were the bathroom and two apartments alongside the stairs. Many cupboards had also caved in as had the ceiling in what I'm presuming was a sitting room. The ceiling in this area had completely collapsed, and under the weight of two floors on top of it, the ground floor had deteriorated too, leaving a clear run through from the roof joists to the basement floor and the foundations. The upstairs was also extremely unsafe, with many areas having fallen into ruin leaving only floorboards. This was coupled with a very jitterish explorer (step forward, me) and a resident family of pigeons in the roof too, meaning I didn't stay long up there for fear of potentially falling through the floor, or, even worse, getting caught. So I packed up my things and left, though obviously with the intention of returning someday, but not just yet, I think.
*Just as a little disclaimer* I made my trip towards the front end of June, so now a month and a half has passed, please forgive me if my information is out of date (for example if another floor has caved in somewhere). I also do not enter these places to vandalise, cause trouble or any other illegal stuff, whatever that may be. I enter these places as I like to take pictures, videos and document them as that is what I love to do and I like to admire these buildings whether they are maintained in their old state or are a shadow of their former glory. I WOULD ALSO ACTIVELY DISCOURAGE TRESPASSING AND OTHER FORMS OF FORCED ENTRY TO THESE PLACES DUE TO THE HAZARD THEY POSE, AND WHILE THERE MAY BE NO SIGNS, I ALSO GUESS THAT IN THIS PARTICULAR BUILDING THERE MAY BE A SERIOUS ASBESTOS DANGER POSED. I enter knowing the risk and would take all the blame if caught so I would highly recommend not to replicate my stupidity. (Sorry if you know all this and I am boring you but it occurs to me that this is the decent thing to do)
Thanks for reading, sorry if I've bored you.