Dream Cottage

 

Cheshire is famous for its cheese, grinning cat, Harry Styles and real housewives. It's also quite posh so I was delighted when I heard about an abandoned house, rather appealingly called "Dream Cottage".

 

 

Unfortunately, the back door appeared to be locked . . .

 

 

The back garden wasn't exactly big enough for a marque but it did have the remains of a garage and an outhouse.

 

 

There was an open door elsewhere so I stepped inside "Dream Cottage".

 

 

In typical fashion, the previous owners had apparently left in a hurry, leaving some possessions behind!

 

 

Someone had laid on drinks to welcome us . . . !

 

 

 

 

 

The chimney appeared to need cleaning - there was soot everywhere!

 

 

 

I counted four layers of wallpaper!

 

 

Into the kitchen . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into the second living room . . . "What's on telly tonight?"

"Another telly!"

 

 

 

I don't think this property will feature on "Escape to the Country" but it had a certain appeal.

Billinge Hospital

Billinge Hospital was originally founded in 1837 as a Wigan Poor Law hospital and workhouse. In later years the hospital offered the following facilities:

• Beacon Day Hospital - Assessment and Day Care for the elderly mentally ill.
• Children & Learning Disabilities
• Clinical/Counselling Psychology Department for Adults

In June 2004, the maternity hospital was closed and maternity facilities were transferred to other units at hospitals in surrounding districts.
In March 2007, demolition work on the maternity hospital building commenced. There is now only one building standing. The land is for sale and the rest of the land seems to have new houses built on it.
 
For some reason, the Sat Nav was having a "funny do" and it took forever to find the place, having been on a wild goose chase around Wigan!
 

 
The building has been completely trashed. The ground floor windows have been boarded up, so it is quite dark inside. The upper windows have been smashed. This one remaining building was used for the care of the elderly mentally ill/ geriatrics.
 
 
 

 

                        It would have been quite a commanding building in its hey day.
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

The entrance wasn't particularly welcoming . . .

 

 

The corridors were dark, littered with broken wood, bits of fallen ceiling and other debris.

 

 

 
                                        Nature was trying to regain control, and winning . . .
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We braved climbing one of the staircases, being mindful that the upstairs floors were patchy.

 

 

 

 

 

 
There were some rather nice large windows on the first floor. This part of the building looked like an extension, possibly built in the 1960s, judging by the architectural style.

 

 

 

 

 
The second floor had the only half-decent street art in the place. The rest was rather childish graffiti.

 

By this point we had seen everything worth seeing.

 

 
Back outside, this was the 1960s extension. That bottom doorway has tons of concrete and rubbish spilling out of it.

 

 

           Further round the outside and we are back to the original brick building.

 

 

Despite being a trashed shell of a building, it had a few good features and I'm glad that we got to see it before it's flattened and turned into another a housing estate or block of apartments.