Belmont Care Home comes with quite a loaded history. It was closed in 2017 probably due to being slated as ‘inadequate’ for the third inspection running.
Some of the reported problems were bad management of medicines, not all windows being fitted with restraints to prevent residents falling out of them, a broken fire exit, and inaccurate care records.
A sign was placed on the door 'the Belmont Care Home is no longer trading from this address' and it was gone. The message was misleading as there was no other address; it was closed permanently.
For three years the property stood empty until in 2020 it was found to be the home of an illegal cannabis farm.
The images from 2020 show the building to be in good condition and similar to the above 2017 shot. Nothing could prepare it for what was to happen just one year later.
Truth be told I was late on this one, very late.
I was informed of the marvellous chandelier that hung in the entrance hall, of the many adorned windows furnishing the interior, and of the still practicing brothel that was free to the very early explorers providing free blowjobs as well as paid services.
The brothel closed and the hookers fled in terror from the rampaging hordes of real and pretend explorers that descended on it.
...'Talk abut Tall Tales'...
We viewed the tortured care home from our parking spotting the mandatory herras fencing creating a feeble barrier.
Within minutes we were on the grounds with @anidiotexplores wincing in despair as this was his second visit and the informant of the aforementioned story.
The front door used to be locked and now it's wide open and not just the main door… all the doors.
This is the remains of the chandelier; a broken piece of metal attached to the ceiling.
Everywhere I looked I could see mindless scribbling on the walls as well as some regular graffiti.
It wasn’t all bad. The patients needed to see and so eye care was going to be needed. Now they could open those windows and fall to their deaths.
There has definitely been some burning going on in here.
It wasn't long before we realised someone else was in the former care home. Four older teenagers, two of them girls emerged from an upstairs room and got talking with @anidiotexplores. They were not explorers, more like kids being inquisitive.
Broken windows everywhere and plenty of fires from what I could see had plagued the building.
A sad nostalgic sight from better times.
I had indeed arrived far too late, the wall scrawling was mindless.
Other explorers don't make it any better. Those stickers they use will peel off; the stupid writing is harder to move.
What is a D-Pre Mashed Diet? All I can think of is Mashed Potato.
The Kitchen Assistants needed a constant reminder of what their daily chores entail.
There was still some industrial equipment left.
Belmont Care Home was big and I didn’t get to see it all. The reason why was @anidiotexplores emerged from a room and said:
I don’t think it was anything major but it must have been started by the stupid kids who had just left the area.
We emerged from the front of the building and grabbed a few externals just in time to see the teens emerging from what looked like a bunker.
‘Ah’, said @anidiotexplores. You need to go down there as that is the best part.
With the fire temporarily forgotten about, and us not wanting to accuse them of arson, we climbed down into what was once a locked cellar.
It was the best part without a doubt and reminiscent of a mini time capsule. On the floor was a briefcase with personal letters strewn everywhere as well as another stunning picture of my feet.
"That's someone's life in a briefcase", my comrade explained. He had seen it previously but had been unable to search it.
"Last time I was here it was closed; it seemed far too personal to mutilate" he explained.
That time had passed and now the contents were scattered. I picked up a few and had a look.
Here was a picture of 'Susan', and the following letter, dated 1966 explains the death of that same person.
I think Susan is the baby in the photograph, what happened to her?
A further undated letter is yet another condolence one, this time about Uncle Sam who was a recipient of the previous letter.
The rest of the contents appeared to be Christmas decorations and various pieces of bric-a-brac.
I didn't look at anything else as I had an image of the Belmont Care Home burning up all around me. It was dark and isolated in this cellar and anything could have been going on up there.
They did have an evacuation plan, and this sheet names all the past residents. I needed a plan too and that was to get the fuck out of there quick.
We exited the cellar to see the teens still hanging around, or at least the girls. The lads might have gone back to stoke the flames for all we know. There were no torrents of flame or plumes of dense smoke.... yet.
We said our goodbyes and hopped over the wall only to see another lot of fucking teenagers arriving.
'Let them get the blame', I was thinking as I strode away from the care home.
Since then there have been no reports of fires in Belmont Care Home that I can see on the internet. It's only a matter of time until this one goes up in smoke.
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'Tales of the Urban Explorer'
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