Bellerbys College, Wadhurst - August 2012

Prior to Bellerby's taking over this school in about 1995 it was known as Mayfield College. Mayfield was founded by the Duchess of Leeds as an Orphanage. In 1868 a Roman Catholic Order of Religous Brothers, known as the Xaverians Brothers, moved from Hastings to run Mayfield College as an independent boys boarding school. The school continued to flourish under the direction of the Brothers until 1977 when, due to a shortage of vocations into the Brothers, the school was taken over by the Mayfield College Educational Trust. It retained strong links with the Brothers several of whom still lived and taught at the College. However in about 1995 the Trust felt unable to continue the administration of the school and it was sold to Bellerby's of Wadhurst, they changed the name of the school to Bellerby College, Mayfield. The college closed in approx 2004.

Really enjoyed looking around this place. There isn't a lot of stuff left in the building, however it really is a stunning building with some amazing fireplaces and ceilings. The roof is leaking quite a lot and it's probably only a matter of time before there's more damage done. Unfortunately we didn't manage to cover the entire site, so would be nice to go back at some point and finish it off.

Was a nice relaxed explore though, didn't run into any trouble with security or his dog.

The rear of the large main building. Inside one of the various buildings on site. The same building. An upstairs corridor, architectural styles were quite contrasting in this building. Another corridor. Brightly painted stairwell. The swimming pool. Pool covers. A swimmer... Inside the old building, a very grand fireplace. Decorative plaster work featured heavily. An original ceiling, slightly ruined by the smoke detector. Another ornate ceiling. The organ had seen better days. A small stage. Games room. Print making rollers. Shell tanker, this was stuck to the floor. South Wing. Yet another corridor. Another, with interesting sky light. More fireplace. Wood panelling. The linear fluorescent light fittings don't really fit the architecture of the room. Coat hooks on a mouldy wall. Kitchen sink. Yet more strange architecture. What would of been an external wall now faced a corridor. Some nice stained glass work. Us on the staircase.

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