13 abandoned buildings left to rot in the UK

Left to rot

From derelict hospitals and ruined churches to beautifully preserved theatres and crumbling castles, the UK is dotted with abandoned buildings that all have an intriguing story to tell.

Read on to discover the histories of these incredible buildings...

Crumlin Road Courthouse, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Spooky yet magnificent, the Crumlin Road Courthouse is steeped in history. Completed in 1850, the Neoclassical building was designed by local architect Charles Lanyon.

It has been the venue for hundreds of trials including that of Robert McGladdery who was hanged in 1961 for killing Pearl Gamble and was the last person to be executed in Northern Ireland. After nearly 150 years of continuous service, the courthouse finally closed its doors in 1998.

Crumlin Road Courthouse, Belfast, Northern Ireland

After its closure, several fires ravaged the property in 2009 and it was eventually sold to developers in 2017, but was back on the market by 2020. It has recently been sold to a property investor who has plans to turn it into a hotel or apart-hotel.

Crumlin Road Courthouse is now a designated Grade B+ listed building.

St Dunstan in the East Church, London, England

Hidden amongst London’s towering skyscrapers is one of the most beautiful abandoned sites in the city. Originally built around 1100, St Dustan in the East survived for centuries until the church fell victim to the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Although most of the building remained relatively intact, its Gothic steeple had to be replaced by a new one designed by Sir Christopher Wren. After suffering more damage during World War II, the church was never rebuilt and was eventually left abandoned.

St Dunstan in the East Church, London, England

For 25 years the church lay in ruins with only Wren’s tower and steeple left unscathed. In 1967, the City of London Corporation decided to transform the eerily elegant remains into a public garden that opened in 1970.

Since then, St Dunstan in the East has become a serene meeting spot in the heart of the city, with trees and vines winding along its walls and ruined windows.

Hulme Hippodrome, Manchester, England

Just south of central Manchester is where you’ll find the Hulme Hippodrome. First opened in 1901 as the Grand Junction Theatre and Floral Hall, it was designed by architect J.J. Alley, who is famed for building several city landmarks, including the Hulme Playhouse just next door.

Renamed the Hulme Hippodrome after it became a music hall in 1905, the venue operated for decades and could seat up to 1,900 people. Following its decline, in the 1960s the theatre was converted into a bingo hall and casino, then later a nightclub before closing its doors in 1986.

Hulme Hippodrome, Manchester, England

Since then, the 120-year-old Edwardian theatre has become a Grade II-listed building and has remained remarkably intact. Renowned for its Rococo plasterwork and ornate decorations, the Hulme Hippodrome is one of the last surviving theatres built in this unusual style in northwest England.

In February 2021, a campaign known as Save Hulme Hippodrome was launched by a group of Manchester residents in the hopes of restoring and transforming the theatre into a community centre. Nothing has materialised from that just yet.

Crossness Pumping Station, London, England

Given its stunningly intricate interior, you might find it surprising to hear that this grand Victorian building is a sewage plant. Following the Great Stink in 1858, when the smell of sewage overpowered the city, Crossness Pumping Station was built in the 1860s by civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette to help improve London’s sanitation system.

The sewage works operated for decades before it was finally decommissioned in the 1950s. Most of its valuable metals were stripped away and the building was left to decay.

Crossness Pumping Station, London, England

After the plant spent years in disrepair, the Crossness Engines Trust was formed to help oversee its restoration in 1987. The Crossness Pumping Station received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other benefactors and is now home to The Great Stink Exhibition.

The displays, located in the boiler house, explore the station's history, and guided tours of the site are typically available too.

Botanic Gardens Railway Station, Glasgow, Scotland

Nestled within the Glasgow Botanic Gardens, this disused railway serves as an eerie reminder of Britain’s golden age of train travel. First opened in 1896 by the Caledonian Railway Company, the Royal Botanic Gardens Station was built as part of the former Glasgow Central Railway Line.

The station building was designed by renowned railway architect James Miller in a Domestic Revival style and featured two Tudor chimneys.

Botanic Gardens Railway Station, Glasgow, Scotland

Trams also operated along Glasgow’s Great Western Road and this competition meant that fewer and fewer passengers used the Glasgow Central Railway Line. The Botanic Gardens Station finally closed its doors in 1939, and the railway line shuttered later in 1964.

The station building briefly operated as a café until it was damaged by a fire in 1970. The station and railway have remained derelict ever since and have been taken over by plants and vandalism.

Wharram Percy, East Yorkshire, England

Sitting in a remote valley in Yorkshire, Wharram Percy is one of the biggest and best-preserved medieval villages in Britain. Thought to have been founded in the 9th or 10th century, the village was at its peak between the 12th and early 14th centuries.

Recorded in the Doomsday Book as ‘Warren’, the village’s name comes from a noble family named Percy who lived and owned land in the area.

Wharram Percy, East Yorkshire, England

Wharram Percy was occupied for around six centuries but was deserted in 1500 after its last few residents were forced out of their homes to make room for sheep pasture. Today, the only medieval building that has survived is the eerie church, pictured here.

The grassy foundations of a few manor houses, peasant houses and outbuildings are also scattered across the landscape. Considered the most famous deserted medieval village in Europe, Wharram Percy has since become the focus of extensive archaeological research.

Haggerston Public Baths, London, England

Built in the late 19th century, the Haggerston Public Baths in London were designed by esteemed architect Alfred Cross. The baths first opened their doors in 1904 to provide poorer residents access to adequate hygiene facilities, as indoor plumbing in most homes was still rare.

Inside its Neoclassical exterior, the bathhouse featured a swimming pool under a vaulted ceiling, baths and numerous washhouses.

Haggerston Public Baths, London, England

After nearly 100 years of service, the Haggerston Public Baths were shut down in 2000 due to a need for extensive and costly repairs. However, Hackney Council has recently chosen a developer to refurbish and redevelop the building.

Plans include space for businesses, shops and a café, as well as community uses such as a clinic, health centre, day care centre or public hall.

Witley Court, Worcestershire, England

This haunting mansion in Worcestershire was once one of the great country houses dotted across England. The estate was bought by Thomas Foley in 1655, when Witley Court was a medieval manor house transformed into a Jacobean mansion.

For nearly two centuries, the estate was owned by the Foley family who also enlarged the house. In 1833, the Foleys sold the estate to William Ward, who became the 1st Earl of Dudley and enlisted the architect Samuel Daukes to remodel it.

Witley Court, Worcestershire, England

Completed by around 1860, the impressive Italianate-style home and spectacular gardens made Witley Court a popular location for lavish house parties. Notable house guests included the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and his associates. Witley Court survived for decades until 1937 when a fire destroyed much of the house, leaving it a ghostly shell of what it once was.

The house was never lived in again and was left abandoned until it was taken into the care of the Department of the Environment in 1972, who transferred it to English Heritage in 1984. The ruined mansion serves as a stunning symbol of a bygone era.

Gwrych Castle, Conwy, Wales

Perched on a hill overlooking the Welsh coastline, Gwrych Castle was one of the first attempts at replicating medieval architecture in Europe. The castle was built between 1812-22 by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh as a memorial to his mother’s ancestors, the Lloyds of Gwrych.

During World War II, the castle was taken over as part of Operation Kindertransport, then bought by Leslie Salts in 1948 who opened it as the ‘Showplace of Wales’.

Gwrych Castle, Conwy, Wales

After the castle was sold again in the 1960s, it became a medieval entertainment centre home to jousting, banquets and markets, until it closed down for good in 1985. Although property developers purchased the estate in the hopes of opening an opera venue and hotel, it never materialised and the castle was later stripped of its assets and vandalised.

Fortunately, in 2018, the castle and estate were purchased by Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust. Plans are now underway to restore them.

Millennium Mills, London, England

Situated on London’s Royal Docks, Millennium Mills lies in the heart of Silvertown, formerly an industrial hub of the 19th century. The docks operated as a site for flour milling and were home to three of the country’s biggest milling companies.

Tangled in tragedy, the mill was one of the buildings severely damaged during the Silvertown explosion of 1917, when 50 tonnes of TNT at the Brunner munitions factory exploded. The horrific blast claimed the lives of at least 73 people and injured hundreds.

Millenium Mills, London, England

Despite being restored after the fire, this was not the end of the building’s bad luck, however – the mill also suffered severe bomb damage during World War II. The Docks finally closed down in 1981, Millennium Mills included.

For decades the empty building served as a reminder of Britain’s booming industrial age at the turn of the century, but it is due to be given a new lease of life. There are plans to fully restore the building and transform it into 225,000 square feet (20,903sqm) of flexible workspace.

Downhill House, County Derry, Northern Ireland

Occupying a scenic spot on the County Derry coast, the ruins of Downhill House are a truly magnificent sight. The house was built in the 18th century when Frederick Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bishop and Lord Bishop of Derry, chose the seaside location to build a country estate.

Designed by Michael Shanahan, the house began life as a compact villa but, by the 1780s, it was a massive Italian-inspired home adorned with plasterwork and packed with the Earl-Bishop’s incredible art collection.

Downhill House, County Derry, Northern Ireland

In 1851, Downhill House was devastated by a huge fire, which destroyed the majority of the building including the gallery where the Earl-Bishop’s art collection was kept. After the Earl-Bishop died, the estate was passed onto his cousin Henry Hervey Aston Bruce, whose family lived there until the 1920s.

Following its occupation by the RAF during World War II, the home was dismantled in 1950, leaving it abandoned. Currently owned by the National Trust, Downhill House, with its incredible seaside views and beautiful architecture, is a walker's paradise.

St Peter’s Seminary, Argyll and Bute, Scotland

The sprawling concrete remains of St Peter’s Seminary looks like something from another planet. Completed in 1966, the Brutalist building was designed by Scottish architectural firm Gillespie, Kidd and Coia and was built to serve as a Roman Catholic seminary for housing and training priests.

However, it was forced to close in the 1980s, after the number of trainee priests dropped significantly.

St Peter’s Seminary, Argyll and Bute, Scotland

Since then, although the building has been damaged by fire, rain and vandalism, it is considered a modernist masterpiece and one of the most impressive abandoned buildings in Scotland. In 1992, St Peter’s Seminary was granted Category A status and it continues to attract architecture enthusiasts from all over the world.

North Wales Hospital, Denbighshire, Wales

Formerly the North Wales Counties Lunatic Asylum, this hospital in Denbighshire was the first psychiatric hospital in Wales. The asylum originally opened in 1848 to help Welsh residents with mental illnesses. At its peak in the mid-20th century, the hospital was home to around 1,500 patients.

Residents included children with learning disabilities, dementia sufferers and those dealing with addiction or epilepsy, as well as mental health patients.

North Wales Hospital, Denbighshire, Wales

Overcrowding and staff shortages made conditions at the hospital poor, while a lack of knowledge surrounding mental health led to cruel and ineffectual treatments. In 1961, former health secretary Enoch Powell announced the closure of Britain’s Victorian mental hospitals but the facility didn’t shut down until 1995.

Since closing, the Grade II-listed building has suffered from neglect, vandalism and theft but there are now plans to restore the site and create new homes, business spaces and green community spaces.

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