09 March 2024 , 12:00
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An abandoned hospital in Kent has long been considered one of the most haunted locations in the UK - and visitors who dared to visit the spooky structure claimed they could "hear a little boy crying".
St Bartholomew's Hospital in Rochester, Kent, was a go-to spot for ghost hunters or adventurers due to its mysteries dating back centuries. Creepy footage and snaps from inside the hospital show a glimpse of the now-demolished building before redevelopment began.
One of the people who dared to visit the structure is urban explorer Kim 'KHUrbanX' Hargreaves, who enjoys documenting ruined and abandoned buildings across the county. Her haunting images paint a creepy backdrop to the endless spooky tales inside the hospital.
St Bartholomew's Hospital in Rochester has long been considered one of the most haunted places in the UK (Khurbanx)Taken in 2020 before work started, the pictures were shared with KentLive, and the explorer also published videos on her YouTube channel and Facebook page. Some visitors reported seeing a woman "walking through the wall in one side of the rooms", while others recounted a sinister story involving a little boy - aged six to eight with brown hair and a tatty white shirt, grey sleeveless pullover, grey short trousers, and long socks, which are down by his ankles - crying in the corridors.
The ghostly tales said he was always seeking his mum or dad. The legend was that his appearance usually meant there was going to be a death in one of the wards.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Images and videos show the interior of the now-demolished structure (Khurbanx)At the time of its closure, St Bartholomew's was the oldest operating hospital in the UK - having been open for well over 900 years. The building as it was when it closed was, of course, not the original structure from 1078 - but it had stood in Rochester in one form or another since the dawn of what would become the modern United Kingdom.
The hospital had already existed for 137 years when the first ever Parliament of England was formed - the precursor to our modern government. Having since been gutted for refurbishment, the interior looks a lot less like a former NHS hospital and a little more like something out of a horror film.
Some visitors said they could hear a little boy crying (Khurbanx)Many will know the hospital from their visits over the years as one person wrote on a post from Kim's social media pointed out that one room looked familiar - and may have been where they were based for their pre-nursing training in the 1980s. The looming Victorian-era structure is certainly atmospheric, with high ceilings and stark interior calling back to the building's 1800s origins. It is hard to believe that, at the time of filming, the hospital had only been disused for four years.
The new development means that many of these rooms will soon be completely refurbished. And if they are not extensively remodelled they will likely be gone completely, as the new flat block is designed to keep the original architectural style intact.
St Bart's, as it was known to locals, was built with charitable donations in the 19th century, having fallen into disrepair centuries earlier, despite continued operation. It was then brought under NHS control in 1948 under Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee.
The building has now been demolished and renovated (Khurbanx)At this time the site provided in-patient rehabilitation wards as well as a variety of specialised clinics. It was eventually sold for just £2.65 million in 2016 for redevelopment, a fee dwarfed by just how big the building itself is.
Going further back into the past, there is a once-long-forgotten Chapel at the heart of the original hospital. This older piece of history was built in 1115 by the Normans. It changed hands a number of times over the centuries, falling into ruin multiple times. It was refurbished in 1962, but once again fell back into disrepair.
In more recent years it was gutted and renovated and is now owned by Granite Gym. With the latest redevelopment of St Bart's ending the hospital's connections to its storied past, these videos and images taken before refurbishment began are a final look at centuries of history.