This weekend I went to stay up in Preston, met up with Gimbulate and Scrappy and we planned to visit St.Joseph's Seminary in Wigan.

We gave up after getting told by a scouse builder that we were observed on CCTV and that the police had been called. So we reluctantly trudged back to the car. Me thinks he was lying, as quarter of an hour later back at the car having a smoke and negging out there was still no sign of the local constabulary! ;-)

After this we decided it was worth making a trip back to an old favourite, Whittingham, not gonna go into massive detail as we all know about this one, so here's a few pictures. We met up here with Spark, Little and Big Jobs! It was actually quite cool and pleasant in the asylum this day and it was pretty warm outside and the breeze that ran through the corridoors was cooling.


















After a clean up and a brew back at Gim's we decided a trip to St. Josephs Orphanage in Preston was in order. There is little info on this place but what I have found out is the following;

Founded in 1877 as St Joseph's Institution for the Sick Poor, attached to an orphanage which had opened in 1872. The hospital was administered by a religious order.

The convent, hospital and orphanage of St. Joseph's in Preston was a combined working and living community. Until 1945, the superior of the house held sway over the hospital. After that date national health laws ensured that non religious also obtained infulence, by constituting a board in which laypeople were also members.

The quality of the hospital, which from the outset was a source of pride for the sisters, improved even more, because the sisters obtained generally recognised certificates. That quality was officially acknowledged in 1958, when the hospital was approved by the state as a training institute for nurses. In that same year, Princess Marina, a member of the British Roayal familly, opened a new wing for geriatric patients in St. Josephs.

The fall in the number of sisters, combined with the increasing requiremnts for training and professionalism, increased the pressure on the working capacity of the sisters. Lack of staff caused the closure of the orphanage as early as 1953. The children either went to family or were tranferred to St. Clares. The hospital needed to employ needed to employ an increasing number of laypeople, also for managerial positions. At the begining of the seventies, it was evident that the remaining sisters felt that they were being dislodged from "their" hospital. After intensive consulations it was decided that the sisters would withdraw altogether. A few sisters continued to live in the St. Joseph's convent. In 1976, only one sister still worked in the
hospital. Some of the remaining sisters were either employed in district nursing (a task that the sisters had assumed at the begining of the sixties) or in education and voluntary work.

Ok here's some pictures, definitely one to go back to, as we arrived early evening and were running out of time come midnight.













All in all a pretty good day that ended up in a very late night drinking session and I cant for the life of me remember going to bed but before I did I managed to squeeze in one star trail from Gim's back garden. Details as follows F10, ISO 100, 41 minutes, 28mm...

[Gibbo]

Had to look after my little 'un.

Oh well, deffo wanna go back here so let me know if you fancy it sometime, I have some more pictures and will add them later on.

[Gimbulate]

good report UED here are mine:

Whit:







St. Joes









St. Joes definatley requires a full day, didn't even see all the best bit scrappy documented and who knows what else we'll find. anyone up for it let me know

[scrappy]

yes shame we didnt get in the first st joes! but never mind! any ways here is some of mine of wittingham