Tales of the Urban Explorer: Rutland House

I should have visited ‘Rutland House’ in 2020. At the time, @dizzydiscovery and I had already ‘done’ Sheffield but as the city is a derelict wreck couldn’t manage it all in a single day.

Day two had never happened for any number of reasons leaving lots still to see, and during that two-year gap, many of our targets now didn't exist, due to renovations or demolition.

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We were in fact, looking for ‘George Barnsley & Sons’, another business connected to this building that was former student accommodation.

Rutland house was converted to the 'Rutland House Hall of Residence' in 1995. As student accommodation, the building was arranged as three self-contained flats over the ground, first and second floors.

The basement was used as storage, partly by the National Videogame Museum which is located nearby. The properties typically catered to foreign students.

Due to the ever-growing number of affordable and modern student accommodation buildings being developed across the city, Rutland House was closed in 2018. Since then, squatters have taken over the building and are refusing to leave.
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My occasional co-explorer @lpff says in his blog that the squatters are aggressive and prone to attacking intruders with knives. I rarely see anyone in properties, and would likely hear them before any encounter. As usual, I was unaware of the supposed knife wielders before my visit.

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I wouldn't normally expect access to a large house access via some huge open door like this one but will take anything that’s given.

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If this was ‘Rutland House’ then I am a flying monkey with huge pink hairy toenails. If this was the way in, it was a very strange route.

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Whatever this was, it was once some type of business and is now thoroughly vandalised.

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… and one that doesn't pay for their TV license. I mean it's only £154 a year to watch two channels that are commercial-free.., what a deal! This TV license scam is due to end in the year 2027, and it's about fucking time.

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Why would a garage or storage business need a TV anyway? The BBC seems to think that the common Englishman can't exist or live without TV.

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Tempting as it was to dig through the paperwork of ‘anonymous business #432’, I gave it a miss. It was all a little soggy for my standards.

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After noticing a handy hole in a solid door someone had made, probably with the use of a handy sledgehammer, and in the direction of 'Rutland House', we guessed it may just lead us there.

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Fortune had prevailed, and after some crawling, we found ourselves within the bottom floor of this squatter knife-wielding, drug-infested mess and making probably far too much noise.

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She does sound a little foreign and has a tax bill of over £700. That's not peanuts to a starving student living on beans and chips. I do wonder if Oana legged it back to her own country to escape this demanding payment.

If Hector, the taxman visits expecting his cash, Hector’ representative may get stabbed in the back instead by one of the reported frenzied protective squatters.

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Prices must have been cheap at ‘Rutland House’, I mean the facilities are not exactly pleasing to the eye.

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There is the internet, I suppose that's a plus if this old yellowing ADSL router still works.

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It’s always comforting to know there’s a backup router hanging around for emergencies.

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Leaving the dingy ground floor we ascended oblivions to whom, or what might be up those stairs.

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Switching my huge torch off, I could see more clearly now. The beds were unmade, but you can hang your clothes.

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Someone wanted to experience throwing a leather chair through a window. You don't get opportunities like this every day. As a negative consequence, the nights may be a little chillier in this particular room.

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The communal hang-out room is where you can do some hard drugs and chill on the leather recliners. If I was a squatter, I would not tear up my own furniture.

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I can see why ‘Rutland House’ is a better place to live than the normal derelict pubs I see sleeping bags in. There are some decent beds here without slash marks.

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The corridors are a little tougher to navigate than a regular house, but with free accommodation, albeit with no running water, connected gas, or electricity, it is good value living.

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Seeing not a soul, we descended, and headed back to the 'garage' area, taking care not to fall down the stairs. Sometimes there are rails and other times they had been violently ripped away.

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We took a few minutes to check out more of the ‘garage’ and found that it appeared to be made up of multiple businesses.

I found this on Amazon, who incidentally sells this ‘book’. There were many copies scattered around in one section of the 'garage'. Giles is a criminal so cannot be relied on according to this comment.

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Source

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We made out way to that ‘hole’ on the left and found the remains of what the ‘National Videogame Museum’ had stored in there.

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Sadly these old video consoles from the 1980s had been severely vandalised. I grew up playing on these things and wasted lots of money during this decade.

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The room was teeming with old full-sized arcade games, full of dust, scrawled writing in the dust, circuit boards ripped out of their hearts, and smashed glass; an absolute shame.

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We exited the 'garage' differently and entered 'George Barnsley & Sons', but that one is for another day.

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Mr. @slobberchomps despite the internal destruction, it would be nice if they recovered it to make mini-apartments for people who work and are alone because the building looks nice on the outside.

Here in my country, a building that is left alone is completely stripped, they leave only the structural shell, and they are left with a total loss.

Have a great day 🌞☕

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Here in my country, a building that is left alone is completely stripped, they leave only the structural shell, and they are left with a total loss.

It is getting that way, but takes years of abandonment for this to happen. Slowly things will vanish over time, even old yellowed routers.

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This was very colourful indeed. Those beds are still in good nick, but I had to wonder if that was a body wrapped up in the sheet at the head of the bed 😳

Lol @ giles norton, I wonder if he's on that place that won't be named and is scamming people there 🤣

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There were only 2 review of the Giles book, the other made me laugh.

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against the police, who at the end of the day want to get you no matter what.

Did Giles himself write this.. LOL!

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Hahaha he probably did! 🤣 He wasn't wrong by the sound of what happened to him

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Oh, I expected it to be like an office building on the inside. That's more like a warehouse. At least the lower level anyway. Not what I was thinking it was going to be at all!

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They rarely are what you expect them to be. This was very strange as we had been searching for the access to 'George Barnsley'.. and like some gateway nexus system warehouse.., it happened to be in here as well.

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That is pretty strange! At least there were some cool artifacts. Those pamphlets are the best!

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I'm please you didn't run into any of the 'residents' considering their reputation. If you had to guess how many people do you think were living in this building?

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There was a lack of sleeping bags. Maybe they had moved on somewhere? @lpff visited 2 years before me and since then, there was a fire. A lot can happen in that period of time.

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If we look from the outside, the building still has very good quality if it is cleaned again.Will the building be as beautiful or as good as this in the future, will it be used again.

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Haha you never fail to amuse! What an adventure!

If this was North America, there would have been more than knives in that place. Funny to see some areas completely cleaned up while others are littered with derelict living quarters. I am always moved to imagine who would live there, what got them there and wondering where they are when you visit. Gone probably for the best.

Here's to abandoned places and the adventures you bring us!

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If this was North America, there would have been more than knives in that place.

Yes, very lucky to be here when it comes to this stuff, as regards the level of loonies and the law!

what got them there and wondering where they are when you visit. Gone probably for the best.

Moved on I think. This place is luxury compared to some.., choosy bastards!

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It doesn't look that bad on the outside, but the inside needs some work to say the least. :) It looks like the beds are in good condition and have been "put to use" lately. I'm surprised there weren't more beer bottles/cans littered throughout.

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I'm surprised there weren't more beer bottles/cans littered throughout.

Could be the squatters were the teetotal type and preferred their heroin?

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I grew up playing with those games as well. They remind me of the atari saloons where I wasted money :)

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Lots of it, talk about addiction before the advent of the humble home computer.

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Warehouse abandoned, happening here more often.

Leaving filing system quite surprising, perhaps did a runner once they saw they owed Taxes.

Sub-divided for druggies to fall into then enjoy a disco party on the floor space.

!BEER

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Leaving filing system quite surprising, perhaps did a runner once they saw they owed Taxes.

I was not expecting to get in this 'warehouse' or 'garage', the whole area was a portal to different places, with 'George Barnsley' being the pinnacle - that's' next!

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Look forward to the next explore, remote out of city ones appear to be much more fun, but then this is an Urban Explore...

When you get to 'George Barnsley' you may find some really interesting old relics if not all stolen already.

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Why are there a lot of abandoned buildings in your place 😅.. And there's another one to see next time hehe !PIZZA

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Why are there a lot of abandoned buildings in your place

We do have to go and find them, Sheffield is a good 50 miles from where I live and hasn't been exhausted like Manchester.

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Slot thailandadalah situs judi online terpercaya yang sangat terkenal dengan taruhan olahraga, kasino, dan permainan slotnya

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This is a perfect way to destroy your newly formed account.

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What a mess. A cleaning service here would cost more than a house.

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Ngl finding hidden gems like this post makes me glad I made a HIVE account in the first place. Thanks for the BBC bit, it made me laugh so loud hehe.

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Could you answer my friend why is he getting downvotes by you?

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Who is 'my friend'?

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(Edited)

hi!

@purapapita. He did a post talking about it.

What's is trying to say is that is getting downvotes but doesn't know why.

I've been out of hive since some months (and also years, not to consistent), so i'm not really informed about lot of changes but he is a good man. Maybe is doing bad but don't know why, i'm triying to fin the answer because he didn't get what's he doing bad. I hope it could be solved!

Happy sunday, man. (English is not my mother tongue so if a said something bad, sorry).

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