Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Westondonkey wrote:At the Leigh Hunt end of the tube, there was a wall, there was a gap and you could look over the top and this was called the 'Gym Tube' I think. There was a rumour that one of the maintenance staff AKA 'Bogwasher Bill' hanged himself there. As a result the tube is said to be haunted by 'Bogwasher Bill'

Roger Martin cleaned out one of the rooms, put in some printing equipment and called it 'The Gallows Press'

The trunk room was always a good place to smoke,being in the Royal Signals I got the job as Stores Wallah, the Army used to deliver field rations, and they still put cigarettes in them in those days,these were liberated along with matches. The prep block roof was always a good place to smoke, as were the upper floors of the Infirmary.

I remember the incident well !

I believe the section to the old gym and swimming baths (which surely would have left from under the dining hall and not by Leigh Hunt) was closed in the early 60's as it was under threat of collapsing...

Great Plum wrote:I believe the section to the old gym and swimming baths (which surely would have left from under the dining hall and not by Leigh Hunt) was closed in the early 60's as it was under threat of collapsing...

It did leave from under dining hall. The entrance is/was a crawl, but it soon became full hight but rather narrow (and hot due to the heating pipes from the boiler house near the old pool). At the far end was a stair into the boiler house. I took a cable through it to connect the CCF office to the PTS.

So was it never used as a tunnel for the pupils to get to the gym if it was wet? The 'skylights' are still there on Little Side...

Great Plum wrote:So was it never used as a tunnel for the pupils to get to the gym if it was wet? The 'skylights' are still there on Little Side...

Never in my time, Matt !

DavidRawlins wrote:When CH was built at Horsham, there must have been detailed architect's drawings, which would have shown all the tube system. Does anyone know where they are now? Indeed, who were the architects? and are their offices still in existent. If so they may have a copy. Itshould be safe to consult the plans now if the system is secure.
PS They were Aston Webb and Ingress Bell.

Wonder if the National Archives would have anything??

There can be no doubt that CH had at least one set of all the plans and will continue to do so, including both the originals and all the changes down the years since work was completed in 1902. The most logical people to have them woulde be either the Bursar or the Estate Management organisation. Failing those two, try the Clerk at the Counting House.

If you want to have a look at the recent refurbs to the boarding houses, the plans are on Horsham District Council's planning website...

Do I not remember something on this Topic, regarding closure, due to Asbestos contamination ?

Cleaning THAT out, to enable use, would have been a Mega Expense exercise !!

(I know !)

I believe that is one of the reasons why the tube is now closed to general access... (these days it is full of cabling, fibre optics, gas pipes and the like...) When I was there, 92-99, trunks and suitcases were still stored down there in some of the rooms... it was amazing how many volunteers there were to take them down there...

I believe that when they removed the centralised heating and moved over to individual boilers in what was the drying room,s they found that there was asbestos both in the lagging and incorporated in the glazed bricks used.

I definitely remember white suited and respirator wearing workmen going into the Leighhunt entrance and removing sealed yellow bags marked asbestos - we were told that it was no longer safe to use as a thoroughfare but i would hazard that once the pupils had been locked out for a year or so it was seen as a good idea to keep them out as no drying/trunk rooms needing access and had always been somewhere people smoked/brewed so with girls now on site.........

All the fire doors would be a bit of a block to use as a thoroughfare now!

Not if you were like a friend's older brother who, whilst exploring in the tube, found a whole bunch of keys in a door and realised that this opened every door down there... I believe he used this to his full advantage...

does anyone know of any possible open entrances to the tube still?

If there are any more "Entrances" ---- they might well have traces, or worse, of Asbestos.

Most of my work with the Atomic Energy Authority was the forensic identification and supervision of removal.

Believe me -- it is VERY nasty stuff, with a long latent period before you die of Mesothemiola !!

Atomic Energy -- Asbestos --- don't ask !!!