We decided a while ago that a blog section would be a solid edition to the website as it had begun to feel like a University paper with little personality. The hope was that a blog would inject some soul into the place and it has become a section of the website that contains everything that we haven’t really figured out what to do with. Inevitably, this has distilled down into us rambling on about god knows what for whatever reason, sometimes whilst wearing rose tinted spectacles and other times when we have come across something interesting that doesn’t fit the main site.
- Fine Art Photographs for sale
Over the summer months, we received a number enquiries to the website as to whether we would be willing to offer out photographs for sale. After a quick discussion, and an afternoon googling how to set up a gallery payment system, we are pleased to be able to offer a number of limited edition fine … - RAF Wartling ROTOR bunker – a decade of progress
After nearly a decades worth of volunteering work at the R3 ROTOR bunker at RAF Wartling the summer of 2019 saw a key milestone reached;Â English heritage deemed the site safe enough to run a series of Members Tours within the old bunker. Here on TheTimeChamber, we have been involved with the remedial works at …Continue reading “RAF Wartling ROTOR bunker – a decade of progress”
- Going Postal……
In the time honoured tradition of the British Worker during a warm summer, one half of TheTimeChamber took the opportunity to bunk off work early and catch the train to London. Apart from a typical delay at East Croydon caused by the wrong type of sunshine on the tracks, the journey was standard Notwork Fail … - What goes around, comes around – A Return to Pyestock, the Anechoic Chamber
Pyestock. A name that still echoes with many explorers. It was over ten years ago that we first visited and during our penultimate visit where we sat atop the Bramshott cooling towers at night looking towards the then still-in-use Noise Test facility, did we wonder whether we would ever be able to see inside it. …Continue reading “What goes around, comes around – A Return to Pyestock, the Anechoic Chamber”
- For the love of Deep Shelters – UK Shelter Policy
We have a confession, we enjoy a good tunnel and have written about them before and spun tales of our ventures into the underground. There is a specific type of underground structure that has always fascinated us, World War 2 deep shelters. We started our journey into them way back when we found ourselves on …Continue reading “For the love of Deep Shelters – UK Shelter Policy”
- Wartime Observer Corps Post Telephones
Recently, on the Cuckfield ROC Post page we posted photos of our Wartime Post Telephone after it had received a light restoration.  During this restoration, and the restoration of a friends Post Telephone (Al at Portadown Post) it was noticed that various marks and stamps were present on the wood and that 2 of the phones … - The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – 58 Hours
After a recent mention on Twitter by a fellow explorer (a few years ago now, mind, and our memories of the trip were jogged recently by a Channel 4 programme) that linked to our Chernobyl pages, we realised that we never told our the full story of our visit. Aside from a few rambling stories … - Permission
Permission. Sometimes it is the only way to see a place unless you are willing to take huge, and in our mind, unnecessary risk. We have to admit that there is a lot of jittery fun sneaking in and exploring somewhere that is hidden from public. We love it and it is what has kept us going … - Doing it all wrong
There is a certain madness to our exploring. We find ourselves surrounded by stunning scenery, only to ignore it and stalk off into a rotten building, or disappearing for hours underground and coming out at dusk. Something isn’t right with that! We often talk about how beautiful some of our surroundings are, and how it … - Cuckfield ROC Post Open Days 2018
Fancy coming and seeing a fully restored Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post? Well come down on one of our open days this year and learn about the vast difference between the WW2 and Cold War role of the ROC. See original equipment, uniforms and other items. No need to book, but it can get busy … - l’impressionnant éléphant blanc de la ligne Maginot 2017
It started on a cold December morning at 6am, the car was loaded and the destination programmed into the navigation system. All being well, we were ready to head off to Europe for a weekend of blasting around the French country side looking at defunct military buildings. “Which way do we go?” “First exit. No, …Continue reading “l’impressionnant éléphant blanc de la ligne Maginot 2017”
- The Accidental Explore Episode 2 – Bobsled Track, Romania
We had not visited to Romania with the intention for exploring, we were there for the wedding of two good friends. The thought of sloping off and exploring never crossed our mind. Not once. Honest. It is well known in the exploring community that Eastern European countries are ripe for picking. Since the fall of …Continue reading “The Accidental Explore Episode 2 – Bobsled Track, Romania”
- Our favourite photos from 2017
Done some exploring last year. Visited a few places. Here’s are some highlights and our favourite photos: West Ham Magistrates’ and Coroners’ Court, Stratford. Bron Y Garth Hospital Casual Ward, Leri Tweed Mills, Mid-Wales Ystrad Einon Copper Mine Tower Colliery, Hirwaun, Wales Railway Sidings, Sussex London Road Deep Shelter, Portsmouth AEI / WT Henley’s Cable … - A new look to TheTimeChamber
Since switching over to WordPress many years ago we have never taken the effort to update the layout and look of the website. During the original switch, we made the conscious effort to preserve the look of the website. You can also blame it on laziness, a stubbornness against customising a WordPress theme and the … - #Nostalgia – Ten Years on the wrong side of the fence
We are not the first. We will not be the last (whoever is, turn the bloody lights off). We do not do things better. We hopefully do not do things any worse? We are a copy of what came before us. We don’t subscribe to being prolific pioneers, we are weekend warriors in it for …Continue reading “#Nostalgia – Ten Years on the wrong side of the fence”
- TheTimeChamber can now be found on Instagram
Instagram. Yes, we joined it. We aren’t ashamed. Out of all the social media apps that litter the internet, this seems like the easiest way to casually share images from our website with the world at large. Find us below, enjoy! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nick (@thetimechambr) #Initforthelikes - Looking back at West Park Mental Hospital (2008 – 2011)
During the last year or so, we have been slowly working through TheTimeChamber and updating the galleries to include larger sized and more photos; in doing so we have ended up reediting a lot of old photographs and revisiting long forgotten places. When we began exploring at the beginning of 2007 we were attending University …Continue reading “Looking back at West Park Mental Hospital (2008 – 2011)”
- Wales Road Trip 2017 (Video)
We apologise, we made a video. We couldn’t help ourselves. But with the advent of cheap FoPro’s and easy to access editing software, it seemed like a good thing to try out. We have jumped on the bandwagon and joined the 1.4 million other urban exploration videos on Youtube. So here it is, a short … - Cuckfield ROC Post Open Days 2017
Cuckfield ROC Post Museum Open Days 2017 Fancy coming and seeing a fully restored Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post? Well come down on one of our open days this year and learn about the vast difference between the WW2 and Cold War role of the ROC. No need to book, but it can get busy … - It isn’t all about Cold War bunkers and broken concrete you know…
1916 Eastern Command Bombing School, Godstone, Surrey Here on TheTimeChamber we consider any kind of exploring fair game and we are not just content with dodging security or poking about in old derelict mills and hospitals. We are also fascinated by social history, and the temporary changes to our landscape that are almost invisible to the …Continue reading “It isn’t all about Cold War bunkers and broken concrete you know…”
- ROTOR Site Codes ‘decoded’, well almost……..
ROTOR Site Codes. Decoded. Almost….. A pair of fellow ROTOR bunker aficionados (big thanks Harry Fleming and Bob Jenner) have worked out how the ROTOR phase 1 underground R1-R4 ROTOR site codes came about, and it is surprisingly simple…. The consulting civil engineers for the ROTOR Phase 1 project were Mott, Hay and Anderson. Which give …Continue reading “ROTOR Site Codes ‘decoded’, well almost……..”
- Cuckfield ROC Post Open days 2016 – so how did we do?
Another successful year at Cuckfield, we had 305 visitors spread over 3 open weekends during the months June, July and August. Our most busy weekend was the final one at the end of august. We were lucky enough to be visited by a number of former Observers, Brian from Horsham Post, Judy from Lewes Post, …Continue reading “Cuckfield ROC Post Open days 2016 – so how did we do?”
- Hellingly – 15 years of total dereliction
Hellingly. The forgotten Asylum of the south; 20 miles to the north were both West Park and Cane Hill brimming with interest and rooms crammed with items to rummage through. Hellingly, sat nestled in the middle of the East Sussex countryside, over looking the downs, utterly ruined. It had a certain derelict charm perfect for …Continue reading “Hellingly – 15 years of total dereliction”
- The commercialisation of Urban Exploring
When we first started out exploring, there was little interest in the world of Exploring from the papers, magazines and the media world. Security at most sites would look at you in a perplexed manor when they found you photographing their grotty building. Friends thought we were odd after we explained that we had spent the … - In praise of Heritage Open Days
Once a weekend every year, during September, the country throws open its doors and welcomes passersby into the Countries heritage hidden in plain sight. The following weekend, London does the same thing. It’s like exploring, but a little more civilised and a little less climbing. We try to go every year if we are around as … - The curse of derelict buildings
It happens time and time again, derelict buildings succumb to an act of vandalism, metal theft or the curse of the developers. If you spend any amount of time on any of the numerous urban exploration forums, you will notice a trend. Explorers don’t like it when any of this happens. We feel as though a … - Hidden London – Clapham South deep level shelter preview tour
From time to time we are very lucky on here on TheTimeChamber as occasionally, someone we know drops us a line wanting to know if we would like to come and see something interesting, and normally off-limits. This has happened before when the Station Manager at Charing Cross Station agreed to show us the old …Continue reading “Hidden London – Clapham South deep level shelter preview tour”
- A new photography section
Reblogged from the subsection: For the last 9 years of operating TheTimeChamber has always had a photography section glued to side of it. We haven’t ever done much with it, other than sling up a random selection of photographs that we are pleased with. When we switched  the website over to running on WordPress, we added a few … - A little bit of Cane Hill Hospital
Cane Hill. The legend. One of those places we doubt very much that we’ll ever see something of it’s like again, outside of bankrupted small time engineering firms. It had everything you could want, great dereliction, piles of interesting tat and a security that was ruthless and on the ball. Many an explorer spent hours … - Chernobylfalloff
After a recent mention on Twitter by a fellow explorer that linked to our Chernobyl pages, we realised that we never told our the full story of our visit. Aside from a few rambling stories in the pub, we have only ever added photos on an interactive map and left it at that. Even when we … - A visit to Cold War ROTOR Bunker
Here on TheTimeChamber, we have two obsessions.  Asylums and Cold War Bunkers. We love a good bunker.  They put our imagination right in the heart of a Hollywood blockbuster.  OK, we’ll admit it takes a little to get there as most of the ROTOR Bunkers we have visited are burnt out, flooded wrecks (excluding museums). After … - Cuckfield ROC Post Open Days 2016
Open days for the restored Cuckfield ROC Post in West Sussex are now confirmed for 2016! The restored Cuckfield Royal Observer Corps post in West Sussex is holding more open days this year. 4+5th June 2+3rd July 27+28th August The Saturdays are 11-5, and the Sunday’s 10-1. No need to book but when busy there … - Getting back to it…
For those that have noticed, we have been very silent for most of 2015 and very little exploring happened.  We haven’t meant to neglect the website, photography and exploring, but life took a turn we hadn’t expected.  But, we are back and new updates to the website should be following shortly. - County Asylums website – it’s back
We have been busy at work, but as you may have noticed, not on this website. Â TheTimeChamber has been part of the team that has resurrected the old County Asylums website. Â It was a lot of hard work over the past few years, but it is back! Below is a copy of their welcome back … - Illustrated Magazine, 1953
Every now and then, eBay throws up an unexpected gem and we snap them up in an instant. Â This one was just the same, an article on Mental Hospitals from 1953 focusing on the Winson Green hospital in Birmingham, which is now a prison. Â We can’t say much more, so we will let the images … - Throw Back Thursday – Unwin Printing Works, Woking
Having been in hibernation for quite some time now, we often find ourselves in a reminiscent mood. A number years ago, back when we first started exploring, a derelict piece of industry popped up right on our doorstep and we had to check it out. Having grown up in the south we were not used to this …Continue reading “Throw Back Thursday – Unwin Printing Works, Woking”
- Exploring Failures
Every explorer has them, those that say they don’t are probably lying. Furthermore, many of the exploring blogs that inhabit the web appear to be epic success after epic success. Failure doesn’t generate interest, no one wants to hear about hours of trudging about in the undergrowth and fruitless leads, or standing looking forlornly at a … - A trip to Carshalton Air Raid Shelter (2012)
On a cold a blustery January evening a few years ago we found ourselves parking up in suburbia. Â News had broken that there had been a partial collapse in a local park and a hole had opened up to reveal a series of tunnels. Â Rumours quickly spread that a forgotten World War II air raid …Continue reading “A trip to Carshalton Air Raid Shelter (2012)”
- Missing: 2014 (Happy New Year)
We have to admit something to you, we haven’t done much exploring this year. Everything we have posted has been sitting in our archives that has never seen the light of day. The only new place we have visited has been a Brickworks near to Dorking. The year has gotten away from us, plans fell to the wayside and we ended up … - The Accidental Explore – NAVFAC & AAFB, Eleuthera
We were searching for a new beach on the Island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas when we found ourselves idly turning down one of the side roads off the Queens Highway. We didn’t know it at the time, but we had turned into an old US Naval Facilities Engineering Command & US AuxiliaryAir Force base (NAVFAC Eleuthera) that had …Continue reading “The Accidental Explore – NAVFAC & AAFB, Eleuthera”
- RAF Upper Heyford bomb loads
So, this airbase is a pretty big place and there are some cool relics. Including the control centre which has some very cryptic numbers and letters on various boards around the walls. We were curious as to what they were so set about decoding the designations to try find out what they had been upto. Turns out … - Archive Photos around the web
Recently, Subbrit released a whole wealth of photos from their archives and it made us think, wouldn’t it be useful to have one place where we can list out other archives we have found. Firstly, the Subbrit Collection: https://collection.subbrit.org.uk/ A Flickr Collection from Herrison Hosiptal (Asylum) before it was converted: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nowawildlife_lover/sets/72157629448251164/ A huge Flickr collection … - Going Deeper Underground…
It’s is funny how there is always a song that fits the moment.  We feel that if we ever made a film about our trips down anything below the surface, Jamiroquai would possibly fit the bill.  Possibly not.  It would be clichéd, but we would be compelled to do it.  Probably a good thing we don’t … - Heading into 2014 – Image Sizes & Mobile Web
Over the last 18 months we have had a number of people email us, or speak to us in person, and express there dissatisfaction that the images on the website are so small. Â As we have now entered 2014, we plan to overhaul various parts of the website and improve the experience. Â We also plan …Continue reading “Heading into 2014 – Image Sizes & Mobile Web”
- Another one bites the dust, Severalls to be demolished.
The latest Asylum to be sold for development is Severalls in Colchester. Plans are moving forward and as the water tower and the front eschelon of the main ward block are listed the character and distinctive design will hopefully remain a landmark on the Colchester landscape for a long time to come. Read more about …Continue reading “Another one bites the dust, Severalls to be demolished.”
- Open days at Cuckfield. So how did this year go?
So, its more or less then end of the summer and the end of another great year of open days at Cuckfield Royal Observer Corps bunker. This has been our best year so far. We had over 250 visitors spread over 3 open weekends. The furthest visitor was from Spain, and the oldest visitor was 89 …Continue reading “Open days at Cuckfield. So how did this year go?”
- Patient Records, the One Hundred Year Rule and Genealogy
You may already know this, but TheTimeChamber has a little obsession with the old Victorian Asylums. We have a lot of information crammed into this website about them. Whilst we have this information, one thing we do not hold information on is old patients and their medical records (we have tried to glean information of …Continue reading “Patient Records, the One Hundred Year Rule and Genealogy”
- Revisit – Shorts Tunnels, Rochester
Revisits – Â they are like watching a really good movie, you notice more. Over the years we have been exploring we have found that the second time we visit a site, the more we discover. Â The first visit is normally filled with a sense of wonderment, slight bewilderment and excitement – we power on through … - Connections – a shout to a friend
Every now and then, we all find ourselves in a fix. Some people need money, some people need bailing out and other people just need a hand. Earlier this week we found our website offline and on investigation we discovered that the hosting company had done something odd. We don’t know exactly what it was, … - eBay Finds
As many people discover, eBay is a dangerous place. Â Idle browsing and impulses can lead to some interesting purchases! Â You are not alone, we do the same thing. Â In the past few years, we have brought innumerable items that are related to the website and other activities. Â Books, postcards, photographs, plans, meters, all now … - Insights into running a Website
When we first started TheTimeChamber, we threw ourselves into it. Â We learnt to code, we added content and features and were continually on the look out for ways to improve the website. Â Each time we returned from an explore, we instantly jumped into researching where we had been and begun writing a page about it. … - Charing Cross Station Jubilee Line Platforms
It has been a while since we have posted anything to the website, or explored the crumbling buildings we love. Â A week in the mountains enjoying some fine white European powder in the Alps, Christmas and a house move have meant that life caught up with us and stood in the way. As is the …Continue reading “Charing Cross Station Jubilee Line Platforms”
- Second Great Fire of London
Overnight on the 29th December 1940 London was subjected to the worst raid of the Blitz. Over 100,000 incendiary bombs and 24,000 high explosive bombs rained down on the City of London causing horrendous damage and the loss of life for 160 civilians, 14 auxiliary firemen and injuring 250 people. The area heavily damaged stretched … - Horton Hospital Water Tower
For close to 100 years Epsom was home to five mental hospitals, all of which were presided over by a 100ft high water tower. The exception was Manor Hospital, which was only meant to be a temporary site, and as is the way of the universe it was open for the longest of any of the … - British Pathe Films – Telescope Makers, Coulsdon
One of our exploring friends, Tumbles over on WhateversLeft, recently brought a British Pathe video to our attention.  It is a short video examining the old telescope makes that used to inhabit the Coulsdon Deep Shelter south of Croydon. It’s worth a watch! https://www.britishpathe.com/video/telescope-makers/query/coulsdon - Dover, it’s a wonderful place!
Dover, it is always one of those places that you an count on to fill a dry spell. Nestled on the White Cliffs it has been chopped, changed and occupied by the military for centuries whilst they have pointed guns of all sizes at the narrowest point in the English Channel. Leaving behind in their … - Southern Water Bunker Update
UPDATE 2012. TheTimeChamber found themselves in Kent on family business and decided to check up on the current status of this site. Entry was the same, and power is still on in the bunker but it is comprehensively stripped of almost all fittings. On Google Earth it is possible to see a van parked in … - Everything is going digital…
It is funny what has happened to us, everything in this world has become digitally instantaneous. Â Information is available at the click of a button and our friends have become virtual representations. We can connect with each other before we can make a cup of tea. Apparently, a real world exists somewhere out there. In … - Asylum Hindsight
This post was inspire by The Winch, who popped up on Facebook and reminded a whole tract of explorers about the Asylum Hey Days! Following on from our trip down memory lane to Pyestock, and our slight regret that we never attached a blog to the original website, we are looking back at the Asylums. … - Memories of Pyestock & where it all began.
A few months ago, TheTimeChamber had its 5th birthday.  We even wrote a blog post on it, where we briefly mentioned how it all started. Since then there has been a  sudden influx of Pyestock photographs across the internet this summer, causing a rush of nostalgia for us. So we have decided to write a retrospective post about …Continue reading “Memories of Pyestock & where it all began.”
- Website Overhaul & Update
It has been a long time coming, but we have carried out a massive overhaul of the website. This is something we had been planning for a while, but due to certain circumstances, our hands were forced and we begun a rebuild. Â From the initial look, it may look like nothing has changed. Â But it … - Best of British!
Now, Best of British is not a magazine we normally read but we made an exception when given a copy by a relative. Imagine our surprise when amongst the pages we found reference to this very website. Seems we have caught someones attention, which is nice! See the article in question below: If your a … - Rolling over into our sixth year!
It is like owning a car that rolls over onto 100,000 miles, you can’t help but watch! This month sees us enter our sixth year as a website and we thought we would write you a post, whilst wearing our rose tinted spectacles, on how it all started and the years in between. Back in … - Whilst we have been away…
You may have noticed that the website has been a little quiet recently and been wondering what we have been up to? Â We haven’t quite made it into the papers, although we were asked for our Chernobyl photos, but we have kept ourselves busy and out of trouble. Â We have been out and about with … - When the world nearly annihilated itself……
So, you might know TheTimeChamber is interested in all things Cold War. We have read a lot of books and articles on the subject, and been to lots of museums and sites. This story is one that fascinates us the most though. Most people think that the closest we have come to Nuclear armageddon was …Continue reading “When the world nearly annihilated itself……”
- West Park Hospital demo/conversion update
Seems that the conversion and demolition of West Park Hospital is going well. There are a number of new build houses on site with people living in them, and an old villa has been converted into a rather swish house. TheTimeChamber took the opportunity to grab some progress shots today, the builders were not to …Continue reading “West Park Hospital demo/conversion update”
- Navigating Box Quarry – sense of direction not included
Box Mine is one of the largest Freestone Quarries in the Bath Area, it covers over 15 miles of under ground tunnels, dead ends, cranes and cross roads.  All of which looks very similar. Very, very similar. It is also a publicly accessible quarry and has a handily located pub right next door. This is unlike …Continue reading “Navigating Box Quarry – sense of direction not included”
- Something for the Weekend…?
Here at TheTimeChamber we will openly admit that we do not get out an explore as much as we used too, or would like. Â Somehow some people seem to be on the move almost constantly, devouring every single derelict structure in the country with their cameras. We are not entirely sure how they do this, … - A new containment structure for Chernobyl?
A pretty good graphic animation of the way that the old, crumbling sarcophagus covering Reactor 4 is going to be renewed and covered with a state of the art ‘shield’ to ensure the containment of the radiation for a long time (hopefully!) has been revealed. It features a complicated ventilation system to maintain the environment …Continue reading “A new containment structure for Chernobyl?”
- A Trip to Aldwych Underground Station
London Underground decided to open up Aldwych Station for tourists recently, luckily we got hold of some of the tickets and headed down with some friends and paid it a visit. Very rarely, unless you want to run the rails, does London get to see behind the scenes of the Underground Network. It would have …
It’s our brain dump of hopefully interesting articles, sometimes a photodump and other times a pool of ill thought out words. An electronic scrapbook. Our latest posts can be seen below.