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As parents, it’s natural for us to want the best for our children and for some of us, sending them to a private boarding school is simply trying to provide them with the best education possible. It’s natural to assume they would be kept safe on a day to day basis… After all, you would never think that a private boarding school for boys would become the centre of a national child sexual abuse scandal would you?…
Ladies and Gents, come and take a walk with us as we take a look inside at what can only be described as
THE MANOR FROM HELL!
Crookham Court Manor…
Visit Date: October 2014
Crookham Court Manor was first built in the early 14th century but was then destroyed in 1543. It stood in a sorry state until it was demolished in the 1850’s when construction of the current building commended spanning 50 years and 2 phases.
It has served several purposes over the years including a manor house, junior school and a school for children of people serving at Greenham Common. It was abandoned for some time after the US Air Force left the area and purchased in 1961 when it was used as a boarding school until 1990, after which it was then allegedly used as apartments. This however was not evident from our visit to this once stunning building.
You can see all of our images from this location within the gallery below. All of our images are available to purchase in both printed and digital format, for more information, please contact us.
In 1988 there was a very small publicised case of child abuse by several members of staff that had apparently been ongoing for more than 30 years but it was only when a new headmaster, Mr Gold, joined the school in 1987 that it was discovered and reported.
Three members of staff were convicted including the principle who was the owner of the building. Over 20 years later, the teacher who had been set free was also convicted when another victim came forward.
As we walked around this magnificent building we were left disappointed. Damage has been caused, metal starting to disappear and woodwork being chipped away for the intricate details it featured.
Crookham Court Manor had a strange vibe throughout, maybe this is because we knew the history prior to our visit, who knows.
As we walked through the corridors, entered each room, there was a very emotional feeling. We then walked into the ‘stage’ room and it hit us harder. We are now aware that this was the room where the most significant abuse took place.
The plans for the building is one consisting of demolition. Are we surprised? Not really. The building in general is grand, large rooms and high ceilings everywhere especially at the main staircase, but would you want to live in a building that has such horrid history and looks as it did when that abuse took place?
We returned to Crookham Court Manor 12 months after our first visit. This is what the building then looked like.
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