Abandoned, derelict, disused and forgotten buildings are all around us. It may just be a run down house around the corner from your own, it could be a church that couldn’t afford to stay open or it could be an entire housing estate. For many, these places are eyesores that should be demolished, banished from the sights of others but what are they really?
Derelict buildings from the outside may just look like a rundown, vandalised eyesore but when you look past that, you’ll find the beauty it holds, the memories trapped inside trying to scream out to people, you’ll find a story that needs to be told.
I’ve been photographing derelict buildings around the UK since 2012 after stumbling across one of those destroyed houses you look at when you drive past, that place where you think, “they need to knock that thing down”. I pulled up outside, climbed through the broken fence and peaked through the smashed french doors only to find a home full of memories. Photographs, games, furniture, school work. It was like the family just woke up one day and left.
I took some of the worst photographs of my life in that home, shot from my Galaxy Note 2, shaking like a leaf only to become addicted to seeing what was behind even more of our locked doors.
I am the founder of Urbex.Photography, I explore and photograph abandoned buildings throughout the UK to let the general public see what’s behind the doors after the last occupants leave. From World War 2 relics through to housing estates, mental asylums and prisons, the forgotten world is around us waiting for the story to be told.
Every day, I’m on the look out for the next dereliction fix, the next story to tell, the next memory to save. I don’t recommend that anybody follows in my footsteps, over the years I’ve had walls collapse on me, I’ve been confronted by axe wielding metal thieves and floors fallen through while I’m stood on it BUT I do highly recommend you take a look at my website dedicated to documenting our forgotten past, www.Urbex.Photography.
I share the photographs and the story from every derelict building I visit, I try to preserve the history and memories before they are lost forever and you’re support is paramount to keeping this going!
Check out the website or contact me for more information on my Urban Exploring adventures!
www.ShaunAshford.wales | Copyright © 2022 -
Crookham Court Manor, Circa 2014