Our first view of the side of
the château as we ascend through the woods from the crossroads... |
We break free of the
undergrowth into what was once the back gardens just to the left of a
large ornamental pond... |
A short flight of stairs leads us from what was
once a lawn up to the rear entrance of the house proper... |
Signage indicates that the house is unsafe to
enter...
|
The hallway runs from back to front of the house.
Here we see the first of the magnificent vaulted ceilings constructed from
lathe and plaster and painted in vibrant pastel shades... |
The paint is pealing very badly now... |
The master staircase still has the power to take
one's breath away despite it's advanced state of decay... |
If I look smug it's because I've wanted to visit
this place for quite some time now! |
Simple banister rails are not enough. Archways
open the landing on to the staircase and each alcove is finished in
magnificent detail... |
How sad it is that vandalism has reduced this
staircase to a fraction of it's former glory... |
Even the lathe and plaster ceiling is
disintegrating with the ingress of rainwater... |
Tonto on the landing! |
Me too! |
The landing opens onto a corridor running from
one side of the château to the other. Floorboards are practically none existant... |
The ceilings above this landing and corridor have
also gone in many places creating a serious hazard to progress... |
A second corridor runs towards the front of the
house and the access to the clock tower... |
Climbing the clock tower reveals amazing views
through the many windows... |
Much of the roof is damaged and in places the
slates are none existent... |
At this level within the tower it was far from
obvious whether there had ever been glass in these windows... |
A spiral staircase connects the tower roof with
the clock chamber. There is very little light here other than the flash
from my camera... |
The clock mechanism... |
The inside of the clock face at the front of the
tower... |
Out in the open air at the highest level of
the clock tower... |
The slate roof of this tower is in very good
condition... |
This area of the building needs little more than
a lick of paint and a bit of pointing... |
The drive way up to the front door viewed from the
tower... |
The stable block and
courtyard. The stable block roof has completely collapsed over almost it's
entire length... |
The spire of one of the
château's other towers
rises through a sea of greenery... |
The roof on this side is in
much better condition and the area inside the building immediately below
is much more intact as a result... |
There would have to be some serious
de-forestation around this building to get it back to anything like it's
former glory... |
|
The Gothic architecture is
breathtaking in it's beauty and the attention to detail and finish is
superb... |
The nearest neighbours are clearly prols because
their château is much smaller... ;-) |
The neighbouring
château is
still occupied and consequently it appears to be in a good state of
repair... |
Back on the first floor again. The wooden floor
here is very poor and not surprisingly this is below an area where the
roof is shot... |
One of the few bedrooms where
the original wallpaper is still apparent and in a surprisingly good state
all things considered... |
I framed this shot in the dark - you can
tell can't you! |
|
I'm not sure about the colour scheme but I
love the wood panelling! |
Blue seems to be a popular colour at
Château Miranda! |
Imagine waking up to this view! |
A rare area on the second floor which is in good
condition due to the integrity of the roof at this point... |
More wood panelling and more blue paint! |
The roof is so bad here
it has already brought down two floors... |
A ladder leads up from the
first floor to the attic rooms. Access otherwise would not be possible at
this end of the building as the normal stairs are rotten... |
The attic corridors are very variable in
condition... |
Back down on the first floor again and exploring one
of the wings... |
Rampant vandalism - I will never understand this
behaviour... |
It's not quite as disgusting as it looks! |
Raised baths in a huge washorrom... |
A seperate cubicle at the end of the washroom?
For shy boys? |
Odd that there are only two baths but loads of
showers? |
A H. & S. nightmare!!! |
Another staircase up into another tower... |
The view part way up... |
The tower slating almost always seems to be
good... |
|
The view from the tower. Is it
my imagination or is the time different on the clock now? |
What an amazing view! |
Picnic by
the pond - when we first entered the building we scared this German couple
so much they hid! |
This creeper looks lovely but I fear it is wrecking
the pointing... |
The stable block seen from the tower...
|
The way back down from the tower... |
Getting back down from the first floor is dodgy
to say the least! |
The interior of the building is so dark that only
a torch or the camera flash really shows up hazards like this properly... |
In the cellars now and everything is still blue! |
This is quite a distribution system - part of the
building's electrics... |
And the central heating... |
Not sure if the pressure is anything to worry
about! |
The power here is split between left, right and
centre of the building instead of by floors... |
Leaving the cellars via a covered way... |
More lathe and plaster arched ceilings - even
exterior corridors are elaborately decorated... |
Yet more vandalism - people should protect this
place, not trash it!!! |
Vaulting horses in an exterior store room. The
stable block square is still lined out for court games... |
The archway leads through into the stable
yards... |
The stable block interior comprises tack rooms
and so forth on the ground floor then what looked like a social club and
offices, or possibly accommodation on the first floor. But water ingress
has really trashed it... |
Exterior delights! |
I'm not sure if this is a sun
dial or what. This is situated at the front of the building where the main
drive leads up to the front doors... |
Some tree felling work is
being carried out around the property but the reason why is not obvious as
it does not seem to be concentrated on trees that are threatening the
building... |
The front doors lead into the
hallway with the gorgeous red vaulted ceiling... |
A large washroom is situated to one side of
the entrance hall but it has been totally trashed. The is also evidence to
suggest that arson has been attempted here... |
I despair - even the ceramic tiles on the walls
have been attacked... |
We wandered down a corridor
and came to a suite of rooms with lovely decor and ornamentation which we
think may have been for the headmaster or someone of similar standing... |
Another part of the same suite of rooms... |
View across the lawns from the same suite of
rooms... |
The guy who was last in this bath had serious
hygiene problems! |
And he needs to flush his toilet from time to time! |
|
A beautifully elaborate
moulding broken off part of a picture rail... |
Dumb waiter leading up from the cellars... |
In search of the other end of the same dumb
waiter, we are back down in the cellars now... |
|
Dish washing area adjacent to the kitchens in
the cellars... |
Boiler range in the kitchens... |
An industrial grade deep fat
fryer. Think of the "frites" this bad boy could churn out!!! |
|
Hot plate range and ovens... |
Galvanised
sinks... |
The cold store door has been smashed off it's
hinges... |
|
Just one of many classrooms we
found in the cellars. The presence of classrooms does tend to question the
holiday home theory and gives much more credence to the idea of it being
an orphanage or boarding school... |
Locker room... |
Another toilet block - the absence of urinals
tends to point to it being solely for the use of the girls... |
Changing room for PE class! |
Another classroom... |
A hand operated "Gestetner" style
duplicating machine... |
This part of the building screams "chapel"
however the contents of the interior suggested that it had been used as
offices... |
Upon reflection I don't think we went up that
particular tower so we will just have to go back and put that right! |
Yet another
view of the clock tower and if I'm not mistaken the time has changed! So
it would appear the clock is working... weird!!! |
|
Time to leave but not before I snapped a few
last exterior shots! |
By the time we were leaving the light had changed
totally giving the building the look of burnished gunmetal... |
The last view before we
disappeared back down the hill into the trees - what an amazing place but
how sad to see it falling apart for want of maintenance. I can't wait to
go back! |
The
family's descendants lived here until the Nazi occupation in
