I was probably the very last Urban Explorer do to "The White Lion", and what happened next led to its ultimate demolition a couple of weeks later.
For months I had been driving past this pub thinking it was sealed and being renovated. My comrade @anidiotexplores had been inside many months before when it was almost habitable.
It was a surprise when he informed me, that if renovation work had been planned it had still not commenced and it was currently in a state of 'open'.
It was a shitty day, one of those where the weather was never going to improve. I should have cancelled and rescheduled but made the mistake of driving the twenty-something miles over to @anidiotexplores' place and hoping it would cease.
Not a chance, but we decided to do “The White Lion” anyway as it was close to his gaff.
Most of the external images you see are from one week later during a period of 'no-rain' between our rain-filled visit and its demolition. In between those times, some dickheads decided to burn the place down.
In the aftermath, it made for more dramatic images, and thankfully my internal shots are from when the inside was quite intact but dripping with water.
This is an image of that actual fire that I can’t find a source for. @anidiotexplores sent it to me and may have taken it himself.
It depicts a suspect ghostly image in the top right side burnt-out room. Is it smoke or some spirit peering out wanting to say hello?
I climbed through the broken side window and hit the bar wishing I could pull a pint. Behind the bar, it was pissing down like it was outside. I wasn't going to venture back there as I was already soaked.
I guess the top right corner could have once been for live music. It was quite trashed.
Moving to the kitchen section, I noted the Christmas decorations. Does everyone jettison their proprieties at this time of year? It was shades of The Vampire Coven again.
My daughter loved these when she was younger. At least one kid used to live here.
The far side of the bar had fared even worse.
Dripping water does not lend itself very well to stills. I could not capture the torrents of water falling in this area.
As this property no longer exists I have no qualms about revealing address details. Letters from the taxman always interest me.
This one was quite dull but does tell me a few things. A kid was living here as I suspected (just), the letter is only around one year old and the mother appears to be a Miss. So where's daddy?
Is this him? Did they all bugger off into the sunset... without paying the council tax bill?
The slogan was written onto the wallpaper; a little unusual.
It was time to look at the rest of the pub. I could not find any more HMRC letters on this occasion.
The stairs were a little sloppy and slippery but were not overfilled with crap.
So there already had been a fire, on top of the forthcoming one that would seal the pubs’ doom.
The upstairs kitchen area with the units pulled away from the wall. Copper is desirable I suppose.
This living quarters room is where 'Mr. Ghost' was spotted. It looked like the homeless may have used it for a while.
Did the board hold the future business plans for "The White Lion"? Maybe if it was turned the correct way things may have worked out and it could still have been running.
A mattress, pillows, bed, PC, and a can of beer. What more could one ask for?
If you woke up to this every day then perhaps a new splash of paint would not go unnoticed.
The landing area was a little squelchy which is not surprising as the bar is directly below.
It's always best to live in the non-burnt areas of the upper housing.
It’s got to be the jukebox playlist surely?
‘...If these bastards who drink and nick the pint glasses would quit we wouldn’t have to keep buying them in 24 packs...’
Did you know, it’s not overly pleasant walking on this stuff?
I descended a second lot of stairs that had been spared from the fire.
Urgh… just to the left was the cellar. I thought twice about going down there on such a shitty day.
A few areas were surprisingly dry…
Unfortunately, that ended quite fast. Going for a swim in there was out of the question.
Ascending and making my way back to the bar, I jumped out of the window to find @anidiotexplores patiently waiting.
After getting a sole external, it was now a question of getting back to my car without getting more drenched.
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Another shithole is no more. Was pretty trashed by the time you got there. I noticed the consumer unit (fuse box) had been ripped off the wall. Probably wouldn't pass inspection for that.
The 'ghost' is a bit eerie. I don't believe in them, but some part of my brain gets spooked sometimes.
!PIZZA
Are we seeing the 'ghost' because we are looking for it? I couldn't see it at first.., it had to be zoomed for me to notice.
Our brains are programmed to see faces. Hence Jesus in a slice of toast.
I was going to mention the slogans on the walls. A lot of pubs have those. I guess it's trying to show they have a sense of humour.
I used to steal loads of glasses. Lol
Why do these gits always set fire to places? That smoke thing defo equals spirit of the damned tho.
If you get one from a pub, it's somehow genuine! Now you know.. they come in packs of 24.
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That image is creepy as all get-out! You are a detail man, aren't you? I cannot believe how wet it is inside there and sweet Jesus, that place is such a mess! Even when you are looking for something, I cannot believe they tear these places up like this.
I have some might fine glasses with bars' names on them. I was horrified that the friends I was going out to have a drink with when I was barely legal, used to sneak a glass in my purse or coat pocket in the winter when I wasn't looking. If I had been asked to empty my pocket, I would have been mortified! Only because they called me goody two-shoes. They were little thieves!
Anyway, I find those little pieces of mail interesting, some are so telling, others, divulge nothing. If it was only a year ago, was that place open only a year ago? You say it is already gone? Aren't you glad you got a peek, especially that basement! You do get into some pretty interesting places.
Yikes!
If there's some details I will find them! Paperwork tells a lot about whats happened and the stuff they leave behind.. I guess they don't want to see.
I genuinely thought the words on the all said “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as jam”.
What a soggy shithole though. And writing the words of a sporting legend on wallpaper should be illegal.
So many pubs will end up like this soon enough. Very sad, but these properties would make great residential conversions surely.
Ace post as ever!
Extra soggy due to the terrible weather. It was mid July and tipping it down.., never again.. though if I would not have gone, I would have missed that wonderful inside. It would have been toast.
@tipu curate 🍄
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 55/95) Liquid rewards.
it's fucking horrid when ya get drips hitting the back of your neck.and the smell of burning stays on you for hours. not pleasant.
One of the reasons I am usually a fair-weather explorer! The burning smell one gets accustomed too, we don't have a lot of choice given the level of Arson in the UK.
👍
Definitely a ghost!
Really?? Ha ha... it's looks downright creepy and dangerous!
Wow, old wreaked and burned places are creepy.
You think so? What else can it be.
That's definitely a spirit of some type... Gave me the chills the second I focused in on it after you pointed it out in the notes! C R E E P Y!
Really cool explore though. Great post!
How can my post get a high vote like yours?
There are various factors that affect the votes you get. Firstly you need to connect with people. I notice you do not comment much on posts by others. So how are people going to know you are here? Posting to the music community will get lost amongst the crowd.
Mr Chops is not typical at all. He invested a lot of money in Hive and that does get noticed by powerful people. He has also been to some big events and met some of those people. You have to market yourself and there are no simple rules for how that works.
The fact that you get few comments on your posts shows that not many people are looking at them, so you need to work on that. Try to get more engagement and better rewards may follow.
You have talent, but Hive is like the music industry in that only a few can make it really big. You have to put in the work to have a chance.
Those books sound funny.
Daaaammn, that water dripping from the ceiling. That's never a good sign.
I would imagine that it's not pleasant walking in that. No explanation required for that one. The pictures say it all lol
I make a point of never going exploring when its raining. There's too much outside activity such as wading through long grass. When you get there, you are soaked already.. it's not pleasant.
Quite an interesting post! Reminds me of the old zine about urban exploration I used to read about twenty years ago - "Infiltration". If I ever get off my lazy retired butt I'll have to get out and explore the ruins in my part of the northeastern US.
Thanks.., there's more the it than just generating a bunch of pictures
Here in the Philippines, I fear that hundreds, if not thousands of establishment will become like that place. The pandemic devastate almost all kinds of businesses here and now that it is slightly dissipating, these kind of abandoned buildings and stores are easy to find.
I am imagining living upstairs while the pub was still running. Coming home after work and having a few pints, meeting a fun lady and ask her upstairs for a nightcap. I'm sure it would get annoying after a while hearing all the Pub noise every evening. I'm also very surprised with some of the personal items left behind in a lot of your abandoned tours. Some of the items could be in a museum of artifacts !
The post looks interesting, it hurts that the place was set on fire!
A whole lot more cans of beer, if that's where I've got to sleep.
!PIZZA
They usually have something stronger set aside to ease the bad surroundings. If you are off your tree, its amazing what can be ignored.
Explorer's paradise
I can imagine the look on people's faces when the building was burnt down....it hurt though.
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This is called general chaos ;))
I don't know the story. Somebody post a link to a map or something. Where was the place?
There's a crypto wallet on the hard drive of that PC with a thousand bitcoins on it! 🤦♂️