Comments on: An urbex walkthrough of Silverlands Orphanage

By: James

James — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:58:42 +0000

Security has tightened up here and the police are taking a very dim view of people going there. You’ll stand a good chance of getting arrested for trespassing!

By: Robin

Robin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:14:06 +0000

I was looking for images of old elevators and ran across your photos in Google images. Thank you for making a pictorial record of this beautiful building. Your photos are lovely. Wish I had thought to do likewise when I was younger and more able to climb walls and fences! Being an American, and no stranger to wholesale demolition of historic and/or just plain beautiful buildings, I very much appreciate the significance of your efforts. Thank you! Will enjoy exploring this new area of photography I knew nothing about! Best of luck to you in your future endeavors!

By: shando

shando — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:10:07 +0000

Hi Jon, thanks for the correction and adding a little more to the history. It’s very sad indeed that such places are bought over then just left to fall into disrepair and worse being knocked down to make way for hideous modern structures, more so Silverlands given it’s beauty and the 3M spent on refurb in the past.

The great hall appears to be degrading quickly as I checked some other pics from other Urbexers which had been taken months prior to my last visit, more of the decorative plasterwork had fallen down due to damp/water I assume.

Did you ever experience any ghostly going ons whilst there?

By: Jon Morris

Jon Morris — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:04:54 +0000

Thanks for these latest pics, however, I believe you are off a little on your description…
I grew up at Silverlands, Actor’s Orphanage and researched the history of the building for a recent reunion:
R. Porter, Esq. a local brewer, first purchased the land in 1805 from Fan Grove estate and built the original mansion, I found no record of him actually living there.
Later, Vice Admiral Sir Henry Hotham (who escorted Napoleon to exile at St. Helena in 1815) took it over and added the great hall (our old rec room) and the front foyer (where we used to hide to smoke ‘fags’ made from oak leaves!)
Sir John Brunner (co-founder of company that would become ICI) later added the outer courtyard, with chemistry lab, office and garage. He died at Silverlands in 1919. We think it is either his ghost, or Porter’s that still visits…supposedly looking for something hidden, or lost there.

Sad that the latest owners are allowing the building to go to ruin…probably want to demolish it and build some high density, high value homes and make a fortune.

By: shando

shando — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:08:13 +0000

Nah mate, but I was down that way yesterday and done Longcross (nothing exciting) and St Peter’s Mortuary (awesome). The most noticeable decay from previously is in the grand hall where more of the plaster work has fallen from the cealing.

By: Winch

Winch — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:08:30 +0000

Great report, I remember hitting this a few years back now – looks like its deteriorated a bit. Did you go to Longcross Barracks while you were there, it’s a mile or so down the road?