Abandoned Hotel, Shrewsbury

A while ago, rooftop access to Barclays was cut off, as I think I mentioned in that blog post. As one of the best views in town, I was actually reluctant to let this gate and razor wire keep me from it, and while we did eventually find a means of getting back up there, a lovely discovery was made on the way.

I was scaling a building further down the street in the hopes that rooftop access to the entirety of Castle Street would grant me a route to the roof of Barclays.

However, as I was climbing, my colleague on the ground called up at me to stop and look behind me. Sure enough, the ledge I was on was situated right next to an open window. I instantly panicked. An open window suggests that the building is being used, and one would guess that anyone inside looking out from their window on the second floor would be unhappy to see that a man was outside on a ledge. However, closer inspection revealed that the window was actually smashed, prior to being opened, and that the window led into a very dusty little kitchen. This wasn't a building in use, this was an abandoned building that had been broken into.

Now it would be foolish to explore a crime scene, but I noticed that in spite of the window being smashed, there were no glass shards around. And yet someone had clearly smashed the glass to reach in and open the window. Either whoever had broken in had cleared up after themselves, or the properties owners had, in which case this window was probably due to be boarded up and this was the only time my friend and I were going to be able to explore the building.
Naturally, we climbed in through the window and explored.

All over, we found similar cases of doors with windows that had been smashed to reach through and unlock, but with no glass shards. Someone had cleaned up. The building itself was very maze-like and fun to explore.

There were also numerous secret passageways. A cupboard next to the toilet led to a crawlspace that led out into a corridor totally unconnectedto this particular bathroom. Another doorway at the back of a wardrobe led to a staircase that led to a secret attic.

While my phone battery was low, as I had not planned for this adventure, I only took a few pictures. However I must say again- We do not vandalise, steal, force entry or disclose means of access. Click a picture to see it big.

A reception desk with my friend in shot

Crawlspace next to the toilet

Hidden staircase in wardrobe that led to a hidden attic. We didn't explore due to pigeon infestation.

I had absolutely no idea what this building used to be, but a reception desk led me to believe it might have been a hotel.

In my quest for answers, I have e-mailed the Town Crier but I have yet to get a reply.

Rooftop access would have been possible, however the doorway to the roof was boarded up. And that is a shame, because the view would have been amazing.

It would also be amazing to see this place active again, fixed up and used. It exists within the town center but sadly it is no longer explorable. The windows are entirely boarded up. In some ways it's sad but in other ways it makes it all the more special that I got in and explored in the short time I had.

Shrewsbury Market Hall and clock tower.

In my last blog post I showed us all the view from St Chads Church, which is a tall building, and a common sight on the Shrewsbury skyline. The Market Hall's tower is also a common sight on the Shrewsbury skyline and given that most of the buildings near St Chads are residential properties which I do NOT climb, the Market Hall tower is more commonly seen in my pictures than St Chads purely because it's near areas that I do climb. So if you've been watching this blog you know what it looks like. If you saw the photo of it from St Chads, you'll know that it was covered in scaffolding at around the exact same time. The only problem was this meant we'd never get a clean photo of either tower without scaffolding on it, which is a shame since the architecture of St Chads is brilliant.

The Market Hall tower? Not so much. It was built in the 1960s, and it's considered very ugly by todays standards. In fact, Shropshire Council are contemplating demolishing it and rebuilding the tower again.

Now let me remind you of something I pointed out in the post about Riverside Shopping Center. Shrewsbury's Lord Hill column currently remains wrapped in scaffolding for the foreseeable future because Shropshire Council cannot afford to fix the statue on top and prevent bits of it falling and striking passers by. Why are the council planning demolishing huge chunks of Shrewsbury to rebuild them when it can't even afford to repair one statue? Their impulsive actions are going to leave Shrewsbury looking like a war zone, decorated with demolished buildings that can't be replaced.

In addition, while the current Market Hall tower might be considered ugly, so did the one that existed before it, when that got knocked down and replaced with the current one.
Now, let's compare the two.

 Shrewsbury Market Hall, as it looks now.

The old Shrewsbury Market Hall prior to demolition.

That's right- the old clocktower, indeed the whole building, does look considerably more epic and if anything this proves that whenever Shropshire Council think that demolishing something and replacing it is a good idea, it usually isn't. I mean who had the bright idea to demolish that in favour of the other?

In addition, in the 1920s they wanted to demolish parts of the castle that were considered ugly and medieval, and now it's preserved because it's an ancient structure that everyone loves, so tastes change and people shouldn't be too hasty to destroy the current building even if it is inferior to the old one.

Anyway, the current Market Hall is still explorable and the view from the top is epic. First though, I explored the parts of the interior that were off limits, and I did it alone in broad daylight before the scaffolding was even up, simply by looking like I was meant to be there. It was something of an infiltration, and a definite sign that my addiction to exploring was taking me down some risky routes.

Note- The group I explore with have a strict policy of leaving everything as it was, not vandalizing or stealing, and not exploring or violating any residential properties, nor do we force entry, merely utilize existing openings. Any entry on the blog that does detail a means of access does so under the assumption that the means of access can no longer be reached. Never would we reveal an existing opening over the internet, for fear of negative consequences against the property.

Click a picture to see it big. Sadly they get blurry at times- I was terrified of being caught and therefore shaky.
Interior shots-

Exterior Shots-

Alas, no means of getting up the tower revealed itself at this stage. That had to wait. And when it did, my group was dismayed to discover that it was heavily alarmed. There was no way of getting onto the scaffolding and up to the next level without setting off one. It looked impossible.

However, we reasoned that so many alarms were probably pretty costly, and a lot of people install duds as a deterrent. Luckily, the market hall was right next to Maplin, so we came up with the genius scheme of taking it in turns to climb up, do a bit of a jig in front of the motion sensors and then run away to watch from Maplin to see if security showed up. Even if they did, eventually they'd just assume there was a fault causing the alarm to go off if they kept on repeatedly getting called out to find nobody there, right?

Well we discovered that some were duds, and some weren't, and having tested them enough to raise awareness that someone was interested in getting to the top, we called off the adventure for another day.

And another day did come, and this time a second genius idea presented itself. Rather than take the ladders, we utilized a tiny crack in the scaffolding to emerge on the first level between two genuine motion sensors. From there we went up again, by pushing the slats on the level above to one side and pulling ourselves up the scaffolding in a directly vertical fashion.

And here's something I need to say- it's stupid. Don't do it. We're bonkers. Construction sites require safety clothing for a reason, and that's the fact that they're bloody dangerous places. I do not recommend anyone do this sort of thing rashly, and if you do, take full responsibility for anything that happens to yourself.

Needless to say, the view from the top was epic.

For navigation purposes, the photos are from facing St Chads Church, wrapped in scaffolding and looking like a giant tent, and then proceed clockwise.  As with before, click a picture to see it big.

Yes, the rooftop was sloped, and the wind made it quite scary. Each one of us got our photo taken next to the spire but as my friends and I wish not to show our faces they won't be displayed.

And wait, there's more!
The clocks hands had been removed from the clockface, leaving a nice big hole that allowed us to gain access to the interior of the tower itself.

But sadly, police vans began patrolling, and we decided that there was a small chance we'd triggered an alarm somewhere. And so we left, climbing back down the scaffolding. The road didn't loop around the building in a complete circle, meaning the police vans couldn't circle it very well, but they were doing their best! We had to time every move on the way down and luckily evaded them.

The scaffolding was later taken down, rendering the adventure completely unique, and the experience entirely ours. But this marked the last time our group came together to explore before our lives took us in opposite directions across the world. Sure, we remained friends, but Shrewsburys further explorations would be done by me alone.