Last week Mr Lester and I visited an abandoned Victorian youth correctional facility, called Eastmoor Reformatory, nestled away in the back of Adel. It’s a massive complex dating back to the 1880’s, for naughty workhouse kids who’d turned to a life of crime. We only saw a bit of the massive grounds, housing a full on church, pool, dentists, workshops and loads of accommodation outbuildings, all begging for a bit of Urban Exploration…

Such institutions were once more commonly called ‘borstals’; facilities where young offenders and children who were failing to integrate with society were sent to a secure environment to be taught practical skills so they could find a vocation or gainful employment. Eastmoor Reformatory housed 160 naughty kids in it’s operational hayday, and finally closed it’s doors in 1972. Hence the kitchen below looking a little worse for wear…

Gallant explorer inspects fire damage like he thinks he’s in CSI.

Experiments with torchlight through a red gel filter.

Painting light into dark. I’m loving the light switch hanging from a bit of suspended roof

A fixer upper

The gents, again painted in by torchlight, hence the reflection from the mirror behind the door.

UrbtExtures! Hmmm, that sounded better in my head.

Peeling paint lit by low torchlight

Access!

Disclaimer: We never actually ‘break’ into anywhere during our explorations, but if someone’s done the dirty work we may have a nosey inside…

From inside the courtyard of the old Victorian part. There are so many rooms to explore in here.

I’m liking the chair placement. People are funny. Why would someone do this?

Lou Dogg’s been in da house.

In this room we first noticed all the floor tiles had peeled up, then spotted a solitary chair featuring a large, and well balanced chod of bird turd!

Pitch black – lit by 2 torches (hence double chair shadow)

Zoonotic disease! One of the better named diseases.

I loved the light falling from the roof of this end of the room.

Bit of f1.4 action on the door

29 days later… zombies dead, place still a mess.

There was an old pool was built in 1887, roofed in 1896 and heated in 1899. That must’ve been a chilly decade for swimming! I read that one of the options for the ‘reformed’ boys was to be employed by fishing vessels at Grimsby on the east coast, so the pool was seen to potentially aid training for such a vocation in addition to the health and social benefits it brought to the young offenders. Today the pool can still be used for a paddle.

Josh had the personal survival SKILLS, but is still aspiring towards his honours award.

I like the way it looks like someone’s tried to fill the pool with the firehose.

In a room adjacent to the pool was a formidably large water pump and crumbling tank.

It was pitch black in here too, and I’m rather pleased with the way it’s lit by torchlight alone, through a 30 second exposure

Mr Lester (in the room behind) & I created a light vortex in the fisheye.

This place seriously merits further exploration! Watch this space…