By the way, I was wrong about the 'Plate Glass Drawing Room' being next to the small dining room. The 'Plate Glass Drawing Room' was actually the replacement for the small chapel that was formerly at the front of the house before the new large chapel was built to the design of Pugin (I would be happy to explain further if anyone is interested) :)
I lived just six miles from the Towers, as a child in the '80's...but don't recall ever walking amongst the ruins..only having many a leisurely picnic in the grounds. I've really enjoyed your walk through, having not had time to do it all at the fireworks last week (though I think the buildings are largely closed off then, aren't they?). I did do Hex at last, which gave a glimpse of the history. It just saddens me to see some aspects of the park somehow cheapened, to suit the modern world. I'm glad the gardens are still open to enjoy, though...which I did last week, for the first time in decades. Thank you for the thorough commentary here, despite the limited access...you gave an interesting tour.
Thanks for your very kind comments, it's very much appreciated. Yes, they close the ruins off a while before the Scarefest event. They then don't open them until the next year when the theme park opens again. That's if they do actually open them for longer than a few weeks. It's been very hit and miss in the last several years. Adam :)
Really enjoyed this. As a kid in the 70s I'd often wander around the ruins with my Grandad. He was a potter there when Alton Towers had a pottery. So I pretty much had free access to everywhere back then. The magnificence of the house in its heyday is difficult to imagine. Even a young Queen Victoria (then Princess) was impressed when she visited in 1832 and she must of been used to opulence so that says it all
Thanks for your nice comment, I appreciate it. I read about the young Victoria visit. Apparently she ate off gold plates in the house conservatory. That must have been a great playground for you in the 1970s. I have a selection of pottery from the Alton Towers pottery so it stands a chance that some of it was handled by your Grandad. Great memories for you to have :)
A follow up...I saw a piece of Alton Towers pottery on ebay a few months ago and on the base it had a monogram AM. I had to buy it. My Grandads name was Albert Maddox. He didn't sign things normally because he produced so many items per day but this one, I think, may have been a one off for somebody or he may have just fancied putting his initials on one for once. Who knows? I'm just glad I got it
What is 'Scare Fest'? You mention the name several times in relation to much of the house being boarded up since etc. The Conservatory looks good, you say the roof was restored - do you who funded this & whether further restoration is planned? First glace around Ladys Garden gives the impression the house is fine & occupied - excellent view at 21:01 along with the east view at 21:56! This house is stunning!!!
Scarefest is a Halloween event where people pay to go in 'scaremazes' to get scared by actors in costumes etc. the ruins used to be free to explore until this event started and year on year eventually less and less of the ruins were open, until you pretty much stopped being able to go in at all. I don't believe there is any further restoration work planned for the conservatory, but I do have an old video on this channel showing its history and the restoration. The place has such an interesting history, which is why it's one of my favourite places. Thanks again, Adam :)
Lovely video showing such an odd space - used to love exploring this peculiar building. Such a shame the majority of it is shuttered off for most of the season.
Thanks for your kind comment. Yes, hopefully they might open a bit more of it up this coming season, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll be checking things out in the next few weeks so i will update if there is anything of interest. Thanks again for watching, Adam :)
@@AdamExploresBritain No probs mate, and thanks for keeping your eye out. Last time I managed to actually explore the site was in 2018! 2019, visited three times during their traditional "open" parts of the season - shut. 2020/21, both early-season visits were affected by covid and they were shut. 2022 - spent almost a week up there early season and surprise, shut. Same a month later!
@@237mo Yeah, it's been a nightmare for the past 3-4 years, and a bit longer if I'm honest. The more Scarefest has become popular the less time the ruins have been open and more of the rooms have been shut off. It's amazing how much of it used to be open going back around a decade ago or a bit more compared to now. It's just luck of the draw these days if they'll even be open at all. Fingers crossed they're going to start ripping some of that scarefest stuff out of there soon and open more of it up more often. Time will tell. I wish you good luck for your next visit :)
Such a grand house. I remember visiting as a child on a school trip in the 1970's. Would love to know where the Camera Obscura was? Found that fascinating. You looked down onto a table whilst the operator rotated the mirror on the roof. Great for spying on folks without their knowledge!
@@blakesheaven8393 No, it was dismantled. I think the camera part was put in the queueline for the Oblivion rollercoaster as a bit of themeing and is still there :)
@@blakesheaven8393 I would say worth looking for in the Oblivion queue if you're already there. Always good to find any excuse to visit Alton Towers though :)
Definitely. The stripping of the lead from the roofs was just appalling. In the context of how country houses were being treated during that period I can understand some neglect, but the damage to the roof was just too much and shameful, really.
@@AnthonyConstable I don't know of a single definitive place to get a full written account. There are bits and pieces in Michael Fisher's book 'Alton Towers: Past & Present' (the updated version of 'A Gothic Wonderland). I've also seen and heard of various accounts over the years in various places that add a bit more meat to the bone and confirm that the main damage was done by the Bagshaws years after the occupation of the Army for training cadets. Compared to some country houses Alton Towers was left in a somewhat reasonable state after the Army had left.
@@AdamExploresBritain yep that's what happened. After the war there was a shortage of pretty much everything and there was a quick quid to be made by stripping the Towers of anything sellable so a quick quid was made once it was returned to the owners
Thank you for this fantastic video. How fascinating .❤
You're very welcome. Thanks again, Adam :)
By the way, I was wrong about the 'Plate Glass Drawing Room' being next to the small dining room. The 'Plate Glass Drawing Room' was actually the replacement for the small chapel that was formerly at the front of the house before the new large chapel was built to the design of Pugin (I would be happy to explain further if anyone is interested) :)
I find your video of the Alton Towers ruins interesting. It must have been a grand stately home back in the day. Thank you for uploading.
Thank you, that's very kind. I enjoyed making it :)
I lived just six miles from the Towers, as a child in the '80's...but don't recall ever walking amongst the ruins..only having many a leisurely picnic in the grounds. I've really enjoyed your walk through, having not had time to do it all at the fireworks last week (though I think the buildings are largely closed off then, aren't they?). I did do Hex at last, which gave a glimpse of the history. It just saddens me to see some aspects of the park somehow cheapened, to suit the modern world. I'm glad the gardens are still open to enjoy, though...which I did last week, for the first time in decades. Thank you for the thorough commentary here, despite the limited access...you gave an interesting tour.
Thanks for your very kind comments, it's very much appreciated. Yes, they close the ruins off a while before the Scarefest event. They then don't open them until the next year when the theme park opens again. That's if they do actually open them for longer than a few weeks. It's been very hit and miss in the last several years. Adam :)
Really enjoyed this. As a kid in the 70s I'd often wander around the ruins with my Grandad. He was a potter there when Alton Towers had a pottery. So I pretty much had free access to everywhere back then. The magnificence of the house in its heyday is difficult to imagine. Even a young Queen Victoria (then Princess) was impressed when she visited in 1832 and she must of been used to opulence so that says it all
Thanks for your nice comment, I appreciate it. I read about the young Victoria visit. Apparently she ate off gold plates in the house conservatory. That must have been a great playground for you in the 1970s. I have a selection of pottery from the Alton Towers pottery so it stands a chance that some of it was handled by your Grandad. Great memories for you to have :)
If its from the 1970s then yes it's highly likely my Grandad made it.
A follow up...I saw a piece of Alton Towers pottery on ebay a few months ago and on the base it had a monogram AM. I had to buy it. My Grandads name was Albert Maddox. He didn't sign things normally because he produced so many items per day but this one, I think, may have been a one off for somebody or he may have just fancied putting his initials on one for once. Who knows? I'm just glad I got it
Absolutely cracking video, very informative and great to see a different perspective.
Looking forward to visiting Alton again next year 👌🏼
Thanks a lot Mark. I'm really glad you enjoyed it :)
What is 'Scare Fest'? You mention the name several times in relation to much of the house being boarded up since etc.
The Conservatory looks good, you say the roof was restored - do you who funded this & whether further restoration is planned?
First glace around Ladys Garden gives the impression the house is fine & occupied - excellent view at 21:01 along with the east view at 21:56!
This house is stunning!!!
Scarefest is a Halloween event where people pay to go in 'scaremazes' to get scared by actors in costumes etc. the ruins used to be free to explore until this event started and year on year eventually less and less of the ruins were open, until you pretty much stopped being able to go in at all. I don't believe there is any further restoration work planned for the conservatory, but I do have an old video on this channel showing its history and the restoration. The place has such an interesting history, which is why it's one of my favourite places. Thanks again, Adam :)
@@AltonTowersMemories Oh, I see, thank you! I'll look for the other restoration video 👍
Lovely video showing such an odd space - used to love exploring this peculiar building. Such a shame the majority of it is shuttered off for most of the season.
Thanks for your kind comment. Yes, hopefully they might open a bit more of it up this coming season, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll be checking things out in the next few weeks so i will update if there is anything of interest. Thanks again for watching, Adam :)
@@AdamExploresBritain No probs mate, and thanks for keeping your eye out. Last time I managed to actually explore the site was in 2018!
2019, visited three times during their traditional "open" parts of the season - shut.
2020/21, both early-season visits were affected by covid and they were shut.
2022 - spent almost a week up there early season and surprise, shut. Same a month later!
@@237mo Yeah, it's been a nightmare for the past 3-4 years, and a bit longer if I'm honest. The more Scarefest has become popular the less time the ruins have been open and more of the rooms have been shut off. It's amazing how much of it used to be open going back around a decade ago or a bit more compared to now. It's just luck of the draw these days if they'll even be open at all. Fingers crossed they're going to start ripping some of that scarefest stuff out of there soon and open more of it up more often. Time will tell. I wish you good luck for your next visit :)
@@237mo By the way, I just realized I was commenting from my other channel. Sorry about that haha :)
Such a grand house. I remember visiting as a child on a school trip in the 1970's. Would love to know where the Camera Obscura was? Found that fascinating. You looked down onto a table whilst the operator rotated the mirror on the roof. Great for spying on folks without their knowledge!
The camera obscura was around the courtyard of the Towers ruins :)
@@AltonTowersMemories Do you reckon it's still there and they've just shut the door on it? No working parts. It should still work if it is!
@@blakesheaven8393 No, it was dismantled. I think the camera part was put in the queueline for the Oblivion rollercoaster as a bit of themeing and is still there :)
@@AltonTowersMemories Oh that's tragic. Worthy of a trip to investigate perhaps?
@@blakesheaven8393 I would say worth looking for in the Oblivion queue if you're already there. Always good to find any excuse to visit Alton Towers though :)
The more I think about it, the more of a tragedy the 'ruin' of the Towers is. It was a scandal that shouldn't have happened.
Definitely. The stripping of the lead from the roofs was just appalling. In the context of how country houses were being treated during that period I can understand some neglect, but the damage to the roof was just too much and shameful, really.
@@AdamExploresBritain I don't suppose you know of any detailed written account of what happened?
@@AnthonyConstable I don't know of a single definitive place to get a full written account. There are bits and pieces in Michael Fisher's book 'Alton Towers: Past & Present' (the updated version of 'A Gothic Wonderland). I've also seen and heard of various accounts over the years in various places that add a bit more meat to the bone and confirm that the main damage was done by the Bagshaws years after the occupation of the Army for training cadets. Compared to some country houses Alton Towers was left in a somewhat reasonable state after the Army had left.
@@AdamExploresBritain yep that's what happened. After the war there was a shortage of pretty much everything and there was a quick quid to be made by stripping the Towers of anything sellable so a quick quid was made once it was returned to the owners
I got lost in there for 90 mins genuinely terrifying 🤣
Surprised there was enough of it open to get lost haha!
@@AltonTowersMemories it was 14 years ago 🤣 and I was pregnant. Love your channel I've been fascinated with this place ever since !
@@laurengg09 Thanks Lauren, that means a lot :) There was defo a lot more of it open 14 years ago, it was great :)
You could have queued for The Smiler in that time 💀
Unironically the towers are the best place to play hide and seek
Crouching in a corner of the waxworks room would probably be a good hiding place. Judging by the lighting the other day.
@@AltonTowersMemories love it, keep the vids coming, your channel is brill :)
@@shanesandwich Thanks a lot. Will do :)