In today’s Urbandoned video, we explore
an abandoned Borstal, a state-run, male juvenile detention centre on the east
coast of Northern Ireland, dating back to 1956. Having been closed for almost twenty years,
the facility is suffering from total neglect causing extensive decay and vandalism in all
of it’s many buildings. Still, there are many interesting details to capture that remain to
this day and probably won’t last too much longer. Join us as we venture within the
prison to discover what’s left. In our last episode, we asked the
question ‘Do you prefer visible camera shake whilst we move around or would
you prefer if we used a stabiliser?’ We had many intriguing responses, but
have selected this one from Apollo who used the word ‘raw’ to describe
footage that is recorded handheld. This perfectly depicts the feeling
we want to invoke with our content, but possibly in the future, we might fairly mix
stabilised footage and shaky camera together. As our Ireland uploads are coming to an end,
this week, we want to know ‘Where we should visit on our next Urbex trip?’ Give us some ideas
below to possibly feature in our upcoming video. Near the capital of Northern Ireland, right
besides the curving seaside, this dated structure is unused and overgrown. It was formerly known
as Lisnevin Training School, a government owned educational property for young offenders,
and later became a youth detention centre. Beyond the tall, impassible fence and through
the trees, all you can see nowadays is the outlines of various buildings, all of
which are abandoned. After we arrived in Ireland on our 2021 Summer trip, we headed
straight to the prison as the sun was setting. Alistair: Got the old CCTV cameras that
would have guarded the place. This is the main entrance, obviously
with many more CCTV cameras. Yeah, they would have definitely
done a lot of metal checks in here as different vehicles entered and left. Alistair: Reverse prison escape… After a short while, we managed
to get by the perimeter blockage, moving towards our first complex. Alistair: Quite easy access. Looks like a
little workshop with the benches. This place has been trashed
quite a bit, but it’s quite cool, just because it’s a prison - something we don’t
come across to often in England, especially one that’s easy. This is definitely
the definition of that. Alistair: This proves it was a workshop.
Even some machines are remaining from Halifax. The workshops indicated that the offenders
were able to carry out paid labour during their sentence. It is likely that they would also have
the option to work in the laundries and kitchens. Alistair: This is a huge space. Could be a gym. That looks really nice with the sunlight coming
through, but it’s sad that it‘s been graffiti’d. Signs of vandalism would only
be the beginning for this site. Due to the Borstal being in close proximity
of a small town, it appears that locals have taken full advantage of the unwatched grounds.
Earlier on, we had spoke to one who informed us that the police often check to see if
any trespassers are within the structure. Alistair: Some blueprints for the prison
on the floor in the gym. In 1956, the facility was opened by the
Northern Irish government. It was capable of holding 130 males, between the ages of
10 to 17, who were sentenced to a period of Borstal training. This would aim to
reform offenders who would ideally be released without finishing their time, due
to patterns of good behaviour and change. Despite this particular prison housing more
troublesome youngsters than others, parents around the area would refer to it as the ‘bad boys
home’ to threaten their children to attend school and bring in high grades. It became notorious
in the region, unsurprisingly with the ambiguous fence visible from the road and rumours of some
less than suitable events taking place inside. Theo: New area of the prison,
here. A lot of natural decay. Not too sure as to what this area would have been. Looks like a laundry room in here. Yeah, it’s
actually one of the old asylum-like dryers or washing machines in here. This is really cool. Alistair: Look at the thickness of this door. These corridors are so nice. I think they are
made by the barred windows - extremely long. Got a pink colour scheme, though which is interesting. These ones weren’t cells, but
every single door has a lock on it. Alistair: This is ‘courtroom one.’ That’s an
interesting feature - a single plastic chair, but it’s stuck into the ground. Let’s see
if the same thing is in ‘courtroom two.’ Yeah. Not too sure why that’s there. It
would make more sense if there was two chairs and these ones would be the same,
but these are consultation rooms. Alistair: ‘Medical unit.’ Wow! This is pretty cool, although, there’s
a big piece of graffiti behind it and it’s definitely been charred. It’s
even got the operating lamp. Except for this complete dentistry setup,
there was little to see in terms of items around the majority of the prison. Anything
in date or of value had been removed long ago, effectively sealing the property’s fate
without requirement for protection. Alistair: ‘Multilux.’ Still functions,
but there is no bulb in there. Alistair: Wide open again. This would have been the
kitchens and underneath these shutters, it would lead to the canteen, I’d assume. Yeah
- they could be shuttered off if they wished. Quite nice decay in here with
paint chipping from the ceiling. Theo: The decay in here is amazing.
Alistair: Yeah, I actually love the corridors.
Theo: I think the lighting we’ve got now has made it even better, to be honest.
Alistair: Yeah. Theo: This looks like the main lobby area.
Alistair: Yeah, you have got that control booth in the middle that would open and unlock the doors.
Theo: Central staircase, as well. Wow, look at that!
Alistair: Yeah, these bannisters and metal pieces are
really nice. It’s almost Art Deco. Here, we had reached the central point of
the Borstal because the trio of cell wings over two storeys orientate around
the control room in the middle. Alistair: Really cool control board left. This one is
for the alarms, so if anything went wrong, each space is labelled and they could
trigger the alarm to alert the workers. Theo: Really nice ironwork leading
into these holding cells. They’ve even got some sort of bed frame
left in there, as well. It’s really cool. All seem pretty similar and stripped, though. There’s a painting of some sort in here. Can tell it was a boys prison
just by having these on the wall. These dated remnants showcasing some
youths sentences held in the complex were quite upsetting, especially when you
research the causes for the site’s closure. Strangely, this property actually has a connection
with another derelict structure we visited on our trip. In May 1972, after disturbances at
the Crumlin Road Jail, a riot broke out at the Lisnevin Boys Prison, with 35 residents
clambering to the roof to hurl slates at staff. Subsequently, a more secure unit was added
to the site to prevent this behaviour. Fights breaking out between Protestant and
Catholic inmates were supposedly a frequent occurrence as well as allegations of sectarian
abuse from staff upon the young children. These rumours would crop up again a
couple years ago after the building came under the spotlight of the
Historical Child Abuse Inquiry. Perhaps, these elements were additional
reasoning for why the reformation was failing and the Borstal had a re-offending
rate of 89%. Inevitably, the juvenile detention centre closed in 2003, with the cell
buildings seemingly being vacant ever since. Theo: Heading upstairs now. A lot of natural
light coming in through these nice windows. It’s a shame they have been smashed. That’s
another central control booth by the looks of it - probably means there’s more holding cells up here. Yeah, same ironwork design. This time,
a blue corridor. This colour is amazing… Theo: It’s the first room I’ve seen with what
appears to be a see through window. Having said that, it’s more of a mirror
on this side and when you go through, you can actually see out instead. I wonder
what the purpose for that would have been. Theo: There’s a lot less water damage up here. All the
rooms seem to be in much more dryer conditions. Alistair: Upstairs now, some shredded
ironwork, again really pretty. I can see beds in a lot of these rooms. Yeah,
this is really interesting. Look at the murals, as well. I’ve seen certain things around this
place that indicated it was a young boys prison, but nothing more than this. I wonder
if they drew them themselves. Got superheroes on - trying to make
life out of the small, cramped cell. The various corridors of cells had been kept
colourful with playful Art-Deco gates as opposed to the typical bars. This was probably to present
a friendly environment for the young offenders, unlike the bland prisons of today. It seems
they were also allowed to decorate their room. Alistair: Got Superman, Spiderman and Batman,
but Batman is hidden behind an unmoveable door. Alistair: I wonder if these windows open… just about. It is so overgrown
outside and then when you step inside, the decay and overgrowth continues and all
these rooms have really nice peeling paint. This is pretty cool. It’s a
painting, probably done by one of the offenders in the long hours they
were here. It’s a shame that it’s been left. Theo: The window also has a plastic
covering over it with holes in, assuming for a bit of ventilation and air
intake, but definitely a different type of room. Alistair: There’s a lot of graffiti in here,
also a fair share of papers, dating back to 2001. I think this is class work of some
sort for students. They are learning about shapes there and then there’s word
searches and I think stuff for origami. Alistair: Got a height chart here for the prisoners to check their height, but you
can see some explorers have been doing it as well. After spending a few hours in the dilapidated
premises and with the sun passing below the horizon soon, we left the structure, but
our exploration was not finished yet. On the roadside at the front of the grounds
is an impressive Italianate mansion, constructed in 1863. The grand home does has
relevance to the prison and a plentiful history. It was used to help injured soldiers during
the Second World War and since then became a private Northern Ireland Prison Service
museum and a guard and dog training facility. Unfortunately, it’s ornate and promising exterior
doesn’t meet expectation once we had found an access point. Our hopes were quickly shattered
when we took only a few steps in it’s dark spaces. Alistair: We’re inside the ridiculously grand main building, but inside it is not ridiculously
grand. It’s modernised, graffiti’d, trashed and renovated. As you can see, this ceiling has
definitely been cleared up of it’s nice coves, which is sad to see, but I guess it’s still
a nice spacious room. It’s a pity that this building isn’t in use. It would make a great
hotel and it’s right opposite the beach. Alistair: This is kind of cool. I don’t
like the way it’s so polished, though. This room has a bit of grandeur.
Nice chandeliers still up. Alistair: You can see here, this space, at least, would have
been a museum. ‘Water jug painted by prisoners.’ They would have had a bunch of items in here
that prisoners worked on during their time. Alistair: Heading upstairs. At least, there will be more daylight
coming in here, because it’s less boarded. It is getting pretty dark anyway,
though. I like the very wide corridors. This was a classroom, one would assume
for the prisoners. Very stripped. Vandals had swiftly found their path
inside the large manor, so if nothing is done to protect it, the building may
become similar to those of the prison. For us, it was too modern for anything to
intrigue the eye, therefore we headed out. This was the perfect way to
start our trip across Ireland. After a long day’s travel, to wander into the
accessible property with lots of lost features, then to find a camping location near the beach
was too good to be true. We didn’t know it yet, but we would be enjoying the most successful
trip yet over the course of the next week. As for the Borstal, the front manor, the dog
kennels and training areas were shuttered in 2016, due to budget pressures. The
whole land wasn’t listed for too long until being bought in July two
years later for a sizeable £1.2 million. Currently, nothing has been done and the
43 acre property still remains abandoned. It’s dark history is still up for debate
with the HIA considering these horrible and recurring claims at more than 20 institutions
all over Ireland. Two weeks of public sessions occurred in 2016 with over 300 witnesses
giving evidence against the juvenile centre. As far as we could find, the results have been
kept private or are still under investigation. We hope you found interest in our
coverage of the Borstal in Ireland. If you did, feel free to like the video and
subscribe to never miss a future release. Here are some of our photographs
taken at the abandoned boys prison. If you like the look of them, check
out our Instagram page below where we share images of our explores months
before they are seen on YouTube. Thanks for watching! Our next video is
our most requested sequel exploration. We are heading back to Glasgow to visit more of
it’s disused School Board. See you next time!
