I’ve just moved house to a converted hospital in Camberwell Green. Brilliantly named Peacock House, there are high ceilings abound, plenty of room to swing cats, and a lot of old graffiti by the patients who were treated here.
New room. New bed. Old other stuff.
Two polystyrene globes on the shelf waiting to be used in experiments at the zoo.
This Player’s Navy Cut cigarette box has followed me around since I was about ten – I think it belonged to my grandfather at some point. I instantly feel at home when I put this into a new house.
A consequence of the ex-institutional nature is that the whole place is securely gated. There’s a lovely big balcony – the perfect place to eat/relax/work when it’s sunny. Being southeast England, I dare say this won’t be a regular occurrence.
The wall to the right is covered in graffiti with the names of patients who were treated here, dating back to the early 1900s.
Layers and layers of scribblings.
A lot of the chalk graffiti has survived.
At some point I’ll have some sort of housewarming, I guess. Until then, you’ll just have to make do with these photos on Flickr.