Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot
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Ghost Town: Aldershot's abandoned military hospital

Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot

You won't find many better examples of Britain's rich military history than the famous Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot Garrison.

The once state-of-the-art Hampshire hospital, which served Aldershot's various British Army camps, was opened on 18 July 1879 and named after Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, a cousin of Queen Victoria.

Arguably the town's best-known landmark, it became the first base hospital to receive casualties directly from the Western Front during the First World War and has been described as the birthplace of plastic surgery in the British Empire.

It is also reported to have pioneered the supply of portable operating theatres and supplies for frontline duties.

One of Cambridge Military Hospital's now empty wards
One of the hospital's now empty wards

Civilians were later admitted to the hospital after the end of the Second World War, which saw a decline in Britain's military commitments. 

But the building's long history as an active hospital came to an end in 1996 due to the high cost of running the old building, the emergence of more modern facilities in the local area and the discovery of asbestos in the walls.

The hospital's dimly-lit main ground floor corridor is a quarter of a kilometre long, extending as far as the eye can see.

Cambridge Military Hospital has been abandoned since the 1990s
Cambridge Military Hospital has been abandoned since the 1990s

And that's when nature began to take its course, with time causing paint to peel from the walls, and the slow but creeping spread of rust, damp and mould.

Cobwebs began to cover the darker corners of the hospital, which became infested with spiders and littered with dead flies, while one floor became thick with guano due to a pigeon infestation.

It is now set to be converted into 134 units of housing, around 47 of which will be affordable.

Cambridge Military Hospital's deteriorating walls
Cambridge Military Hospital's deteriorating walls

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