• HOME
  • ABOUT
  • THE SHOP
  • AFFILIATES
  • CONTACT
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • THE SHOP
  • AFFILIATES
  • CONTACT
EVILTWINLDN

EVIL EXPLORERS: PRESTON BARRACKS [BRIGHTON]

13/3/2014

0 Comments

 

Uncovering the secrets of the abandoned barracks in the heart of Brighton

Recently some of our Urban Exploration team visited the abandoned Preston Barracks, an old cavalry base and later a Territorial Army training centre in the centre of Brighton. When the barracks became disused and the majority of the base was demolished in the early 1990s to make way for a supermarket, it was occupied by a number of anti-fascist, anti-establishment and probably anti-bathing squatters. There are two remaining buildings in the complex, the first and smaller of which seems not to have been lived in and only shows signs of other intrepid explorers such as ourselves. We found a number of changing rooms and showers, social spaces complete with bars and kitchens as well a large sports hall. This building looks like it could perhaps have been part of the living quarters for the cavalry who were stationed here when the base was used by the army, and then converted into a recreational building for the TA. The majority of the damage that the building has sustained (aside from the odd broken window) seems to have been done by time. The paint from the walls and ceiling refuses to adhere and footing is made difficult by the sheer amount of broken glass as well as the dead pigeons who had made this building their home.
Picture
Picture
Picture
The larger of the two buildings is far worse for wear and as far as we can tell, has been a fairly active graffiti spot since the squatters were evicted in around 2003. The main entrance is covered in your run-of-the-mill Brighton tags (as well as some larger pieces from more prolific writers like Spyer), but as you go further into the building, the casual throwups seem to die down and make way for the anti-police sentiments and private jokes left by the squatters themselves. There seem to have been a few different groups of people occupying the building at any given time judging from the graffiti we found in the upper rooms. Unfortunately, there was also a lot of evidence of some hectic heroin use as we came across a tonne of hypodermic needles, sterile spoons and needle bins.

Some of the most interesting things we came across we came across were the Claim Forms for Possession of Property from when the squatters had evidently tried to claim the building as their own, (which state the date of their court hearing as 13/06/03). The forms come complete with the statement from the estate manager through Brighton & Hove Council about the occupiers themselves. 
Picture
He claimed that there were initially 2 individuals occupying the building who became aggressive to the representatives from the council, and when they returned to try and remove the occupiers a final time, there were up to 20 individuals living at the site who we imagine were either moved on by the council, or left of their own accord. 

The site has been incredibly preserved since the squatters were evicted over a decade ago considering the central location of the barracks within Brighton, but sadly plans for the redevelopment of the site are already in motion. There is surprisingly little written history about the site, and none about its most recent occupants and it would be a shame if their story went undocumented. So here’s to Joe Dog, Badgercore, Kolectio Barra Lliure and the ‘Psycotick Punk’ that was behind the door. We hope you guys are doing alright!


The EVILTWIN UrbEx Team

Check out the gallery below for a detailed look at both sites:

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    EVILTWINLDN.
    BLOG.001

    Here at EVILTWINLDN, we're always out and about, doing cool shit or stupid shit or both. We will be cataloguing all of the above and more on this here blog.

    Old Stuff

    April 2016
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Categories

    All
    35mm
    Abandoned
    Art
    Competitions
    Culture Gang
    Film
    Graffiti
    Guest Blogs
    Illustration
    Music
    On The Internet
    Out And About
    Photography
    Spoken Word
    T Shirts
    Urban Exploration
    Wilderness

    Tweets by @eviltwinldn

    RSS Feed

©EVILTWINLDN 2015 — All rights reserved. 
If you would like to steal any of our ideas, please do consult us first.