[meliorama]

At long last I managed to get into this site! Went with my sister Lori this afternoon to visit the Birkdale School for the deaf.
I had finally gotten hold of the contractors only to be told they couldn't consent me visiting the site because if "a brick fell on your head or something" they would be in trouble. So I decided to visit again anyway for the 3rd time and try my luck once more.

This site is absolutely stunning, unfortunately it has been sold for re-development, the first tenants due to move in this coming December. More unfortunately still was that I couldn't get access into the main building where the pupils' dorms and canteen are

A brief history and then on with the pics!

The school for the deaf dumb and mute as it was then known was originally located at Oxford Road. It opened in 1839 and then in 1948 was moved to its current site at Lancaster Road. The site was originally set up as a boarding school for boys in 1904 called 'Terra Nova'. Prior to being used as a school for the deaf I believe it was used during the second world war for offices.
It closed for good on 23rd July 2003. This school was famous world-wide for specialising in teaching the deaf and its students came from far and wide to live and study there. Such was the positive impact this school had on their lives that there's a site for registered alumni and even ones who studied decades ago post and share their memories with their old classmates.

Anyways enough of that, on with the pics!

Couple of external shots for starters:




About as close as I'm ever going to get to a rooftop!



The following were rooms from the main building taken from the window outside






The rest were now taken from the classrooms that are situated in seperate buildings. After some very heavy lifting and sheer girlpower we were in!











Helloooo???






This must be where they put the naughty children


An odd wall sculpture in one of the corridors




The fishies had long gone


And back outside again found some stuff in various sheds and what not





If you want to see more you can have a looksie on my photobucket, a lot of shots came out blurry though, we heard an alarm in the distance towards the end and thinking we'd maybe tripped a motion sensor the last few photos were taken in haste haha. There ya have it folks!