Thornseat Lodge (also spelt Thornsett Lodge) was originally built in 1855 as a shooting lodge for local steel industry businessman William Jessop. It was used as a hunting lodge and passed down through generations of the Jessop family family. Located in the Bradfield area of Sheffield, it’s set out in plain sight on the top of a small hill overlooking the rural countryside.

Thornseat Lodge was sold in the 1930s to the Sheffield City Council, who converted it and reopened it as a children’s orphanage, which ran up up until the mid-1980s, but closed due to lack of funding. In 2004, it was purchased by businessman Doug Hague of Hague Plant Excavations Ltd, who had planned to restore the property and turn it into a country retreat. However, it seems the Lodge was too badly deteriorated for work to safely commence, and it has remained derelict ever since.

After circumnavigating past an abundance of thorny brambles, i reached the hugely imposing and decaying Thornseat Lodge. After triggering, and subsequently ignoring a rather annoying alarm, I found myself inside one of the most dangerous buildings I’ve ever explored. The floors are extremely treacherous and any wrong steps present sheer 10 foot drops to concrete below.

Unfortunately, the swimming pool located at the rear of the lodge was too overgrown to photograph. I believe this place won’t be standing for very long at all.