Denbigh Mental Asylum is a sprawling self contained Hospital located deep in
the heart of North Wales. It was built in 1848 and functioned as a hospital right
up until 1995. It now lays empty, being consumed by nature and slowly trashed
by people. Most recently its Great Hall was burnt down in November of last year.
I am fascinated by abandoned buildings and the imprint those who once occupied
them have left. Denbigh has a real presence and although physically it is slowly
crumbling apart, the building felt like it was alive.
My only regret is I only had a few hours to explore, and probably only covered
about an eighth of the site. The building's layout and design is very similar to that
of the abandoned Danvers state mental asylum which was used in
Brad Anderson's excellent film Session 9. The film centers around a hazmat crew
going into the asylum to remove all the asbestos. Denbigh Asylum is at this
present moment being cleared of all its asbestos...........
