Monday 17 June 2019

Unknown Derelict Building, Stourbridge, Worcs



I recently had a trawl through a stack of negatives to look for some general sea and landscape photos that I've taken over the years. As I've been taking photos since I was seven years old that's a lot of negs, so I was quite chuffed to find these. I have absolutely no idea what this building is but I have seen photos of similar buildings of Victorian schools. It was also rather nice to find evidence of my earlier leaning towards architectural photography and love of derelict buildings. Urbexer in the making!


I do apologise for the bad photos but, as the building is probably no longer there - or maybe not in the original state - I think it's a good thing to record it for posterity. Taken on an instamatic camera, the negatives weren't easy to scan as they are square, therefore not totally complete. They were also taken on a foggy day, which doesn't help!


Although I only vaguely remember taking the photos, I do recall that it was situated in Stourbridge, and was taken circa 1971-72 when I attended the Art College there.


The building was boarded up and obviously quite run down with the odd broken window. According to the sale board the estate agents are from nearby Hagley, which helped to jog my memory that it was in Stourbridge.  It would be nice to think that it had been restored and was still standing but knowing that there was extensive development shortly afterwards, and having had a look around on Google Streetview recently, a complete hatchet job has been done on the town and many of the lovely old buildings have disappeared.


And below, another view the same as the first photo, but also including some cars in front which will give an indication of the date for any car buffs reading this. Also, although Stourbridge is now part of the West Midlands, and no longer in Worcestershire, I've kept it as Worcs because that's where it was when I took the photos! ;)


It also occurred to me that as well as a school, it may have been used for offices or some other institutional building later on. If anyone recognises the building I'd be really pleased to hear from you and learn more about it. Please post in the comments below. Cheers. :)




 

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