Tales of the Urban Explorer: Manningham Police Station

The thought of doing a Police Station was an exciting one. So long as one of your comrades was not going to lock you in a jail cell to rot, things should go smoothly.

I have said it before, SAW (The Movie) always springs to mind when I see bars.

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With FIVE successes already behind us and just 3 pm, this day was turning out to be one of the best ever.

I knew of one other explorer who had recently done Manningham Police Station but had not got very far.

We pulled up on a very busy road, parking the car someway from the old building.

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I gazed and looked up at the old etching on the circular turret stonework. ‘Police Station’ it said back to me. They don’t make architecture like this anymore.

The impressive gothic 1877 building occupies a corner plot and has been derelict for over 20 years since West Yorkshire Police vacated the site in favour of more modern facilities. – Source

It makes a change for me to NOT find some story about it being burnt lately.

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Getting in was ludicrously easy, but getting any farther than the entrance proved a lot more challenging. I can see why Lost & Forgotten Places did not get far.

There is a certain ladder down in the pit within his images. If you want to know what the significance of this ladder is... then read on.

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Immediately we were confronted with needles, but not used ones.

The sticker seemed content to leave his new and fresh batch behind. Perhaps he was coming back later for another score?

I could see the progression problem quite clearly. There was a dodgy unstable landing area where you could stick your neck out and look across the old boards.

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Either you balance on those boards and hope you make it to the other side without falling 10 feet into a heap of pigeon shit and bricks….

Or…, descend down the handily placed ladder into the pit of doom.

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The latter option was preferable but that beam was in the way. We decided both routes were death traps, and we wanted to live longer.

On the landing stage was yet another hole of questionable depth leading downwards.

'Let's lift the ladder and place it down the other hole?', suggested one of us. I can't remember who to give credit to for the idea.

We did just that, pulling the ladder up and edging it down the other hole. It firmly landed on 'something' in the pit of blackness.

Who’s going first then?’, I said to the others with a raised eyebrow. Nobody spoke so it was up to yours truly.

If this ladder slides then I am dead, I was thinking followed by, what the fuck are you doing. Memories and thoughts I have not shared with anyone until now.

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I cagily descended into the darkness, one hand holding my extra bright light with my trusty comrades holding and trying to steady the ladder.

It was a tight squeeze as this hole was not so wide but within 30 seconds, I was down and standing on something resembling a kitchen top. Some plates and cutlery were close and rattled when I landed.

Fuck, I did it

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@goblinknackers was next with @dizzydiscovery holding the ladder and following in tow.

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…’goblinknackers wisely wearing a mask, narrowly avoids stepping on the precious bone china’…

..and from here onwards, it was all downhill. I don’t know what we expected to find in a DERP of over 20 years.

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Are they old sleeping bags?, Seriously.., has someone spent a night in here?

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Around the corner, we ended up looking up to where we considered coming down the ladder in the original location.

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If this was a Police Station, then where were the cells?

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The old front door is now partially barricaded with slates.

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This modern-looking cleaning, hoover device would have its work cut out for it down here.

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A glimpse of @dizzydiscovery, and a view of the upper floors. The prospect of going up there was looking bleak.

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A stairway with planks full of pigeon shit took us to another floor.

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I couldn't quite make out what this metal plaque read, there was a little too much decay and rust.

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A little climb (using this chair) took us to a far room in which some mattresses and chairs lay in waiting. Some were still sealed.

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Learning about Biology may well prove useful if you live down here with its abundance of lethal bacteria.

I said goodbye to the priceless china and once again ascended the ladder, trying not to scrape my sides on the way up.

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What we found was quite pitiful, but the buzz was incredible. We left feeling like we were the conquerors.

This is what Urban Exploring is about, the adventure, the danger, the unknown, the experience, the history, the photography, and lastly, and most importantly.., the Pigeon Shit.

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Don’t go to Manningham Police station, it is a bloody death trap. You have been warned.

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41 comments
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Quality shit there! At least you didn't get locked in. I expected more from a cop shop.

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(Edited)

Piles of shit, it's supposed to be next to asbestos in danger levels. If so then it's far too late for me. No jail to be seen anywhere! !WINE

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Come on, be honest, you only do it for the pigeon shit...

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The only thing worse than pigeon shit is these birds themselves. They sneakily lie in wait and then fly out in your face scaring the shit out of you squawking loudly. Bastards! !WINE.

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since the lockdown here the pigeons have emigrated out from the city and now we have them in the suburbs - new this past 6 months - the return of wildlife! - do people hunt them?

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do people hunt them?

Teenagers with air rifles occasionally otherwise.. no.

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The Clash - throughout 1977, Strummer and Jones were in and out of jail for a myriad of minor indiscretions, ranging from vandalism to stealing a pillowcase, while Simonon and Headon were arrested for shooting racing pigeons with an air gun. The Clash's outlaw image was bolstered considerably by such events

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The Clash's outlaw image was bolstered considerably by such events

Haha, anarchy was real then! !WINE.

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Why were some of the windows and doors boarded up with bricks? Very interesting to see building abandoned. I find the photos to be a snapshot into history, I take photos of things to archive things, I value it extremely.

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Why were some of the windows and doors boarded up with bricks?

To stop the likes of me getting inside. Most places used wooden boards but they can be smashed and then the place is very open. Bricks are a lot more solid. TBH, it's quite unusual to see seals made of bricks.

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The idea of spending a night down there, if they did is quite horrifying! Nice lateral thinking with the ladder tho!

!WINE

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I didn't think of it at the time.

what if someone takes away the ladder while we are down there

It would have been an embarrassing call to the emergency services. It's similar with a window.

what if they board it up while I'm inside

I could use my fabled 'Kung Fu skills' to sort this little matter out, of course!

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The fear as well that if someone did do something like that and you went to phone the emergency services and you couldn't get a signal. Yikes!!!!

But that is close is when the Kung Fu skills would be pulled out of the bag :0D

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The fear as well that if someone did do something like that and you went to phone the emergency services and you couldn't get a signal. Yikes!!!!

In that case, I would need to drink out of that old bottle of Sprite and survive on pigeon shit until another explorer happened to pass by!

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The explorer would pass by and you would be this strange and filthy half man, half pigeon thing with an old sleeping bag wrapped round you.

They might not stop to help :0D

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Oh wow! Amazing. Such a beautiful historic building left to deteriorate and become derelict.

Are there any plans to restore it and provide it to the community for community use? We restore old buildings in Australia and provide heritage overlays on them. Quite often they are repaired and then turned into community spaces like cafes or entertainment areas.

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Are there any plans to restore it and provide it to the community for community use?

Quite often these things are planned and then the cash runs out. I see it time and time again. It's grade listed so can't be demolished due to it's historic legacy. Until someone decides to buy it, it will continue to rot away.

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Similar things occur here or someone sets fire too it. One of the first houses in the western suburbs was "accidentally" burned down and then it was deemed too expensive to rebuild so now a vacant block of land sits in its place. A shame.

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Beautiful building.
Kitchen worktop could do with some Cif though.

I’m amazed you did the ladder.
From all that I’ve had read of your adventures you always play it safe (as I would)... so a ladder in to the pitch black seemed out of character..

“If this ladder slides then I am dead, I was thinking followed by, what the fuck are you doing.” Indeed!

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It was more risky than usual, I didn't want to be beaten by it.., the challenge is always there!

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Some of those drink bottles look fairly new. Looks like people have been spending some time in there fairly recently. Scary.

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No holding cells, huh? Wonder what happened to people when they were arrested.

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I think the bars have disintegrated into dust over the years.

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"If those walls could talk" - Seems especially fitting with this one.

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This probably could have been kind of cool if it hadn't been all burnt out. We have an old police station near where I used to live. No where near this. It was State Police post and I have a feeling they didn't leave anything of interest. It is quite out in the open too, so getting in would be nearly impossible.

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I enjoyed the irony of the modern Steam Mop....... it was way past the point in time when that was required! Plenty of character in the buidling from the outside - but there is no character/ architectural heritage left inside. Thanks for sharing.

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Thanks for continuing to make Hive awesome.

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