Bradford photographer's eerie images of abandoned Yorkshire buildings appear in new book Britain in Decay

Abandoned mills, churches, cinemas, schools and hospitals all feature in Simon Sugden's anthology Britain in Decay.

Mr Sugden, from Shipley, attempts to capture the interiors of old buildings before they are demolished or redeveloped.

He was allowed access to Drummonds Mill in Bradford before it was destroyed by fire in 2016, and recalls the poignancy of walking into the boardroom, where the mahogany furniture had been left as if in expectation of the wool barons returning for a meeting.

Other well-known buildings featured include the Odeon cinema in Bradford, High Royds mental asylum in Menston, the Terry's chocolate factory in York and Cookridge Hospital in Leeds. The Odeon is currently being redeveloped and the other sites have been converted into housing.

The images are interspersed with smaller but no less atmospheric buildings Mr Sugden has stumbled upon, including an old girls' school in the Leeds suburb of Headingley, a doctor's old farmhouse near Leeming in North Yorkshire and a disused part of RAF Church Fenton, near Tadcaster.

There are eerie shots of decaying dodgems that were part of the old Shipley Glen pleasure grounds before the quaint funfair attraction closed in 2005.

Mr Sugden was inspired to collate his work and approach publishers after he held a successful exhibition at Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley in the summer of 2019.

The event had already attracted the attention of Amberley Publishing, who agreed to print and distribute a book.

His original fascination was in preserving the history of Bradford's vast, abandoned mills as they awaited their fate, and images from several of these Victorian cathedrals of industry are included in Britain in Decay.

"They are such a big part of Bradford's history. I just love the mills - the smell, the atmosphere, the feeling of how they would have been, back in the day. I managed to get permission to go inside Drummonds Mill before it burned down. They are such stunning buildings, and there are only five or six left now. The city's skyline looks completely different to how it did in the 1960s.

"When I entered the boardroom, it was untouched. The directors' table was set out and the mahogany was still there. It was such a 'wow' moment, as I hadn't expected anything to have been left behind. There were still photographs on the wall."

Visiting the Odeon was also a poignant experience and Mr Sugden is keen to return.

"I got invited to go inside, and just to walk through the ballroom where The Beatles and so many others played was amazing. The walls have such ornate textures. I would love to go back and get a shot of the old ceiling before it is taken out.

"I'd also love to do the old Crown court in Sheffield, with the old cells and Victorian courtroom. I've tried to contact the owners before but haven't heard back.

"I've included a colliery in Doncaster, an attic room in a mansion in Yeadon, and the Crossley Evans scrapyard in Shipley - that image hangs in the manager's office.

"The doctor's house in Leeming was interesting - we found lots of old clocks and machinery. The tunnels of Sunbridge Wells in Bradford are in there, and Cookridge Hospital - there was a weird feel about that place.

"There was one nursing home in Leeds I went to that still had the Christmas decorations up, which was really sad."

Copies of Britain in Decay are now on sale priced at £20. Waterstones, WH Smith and Amazon are all stocking the title.

Britain in Decay - the Yorkshire buildings featured

- Shipley Glen pleasure grounds. This late Victorian funfair had rides including dodgems and a toboggan track. It shut in 2005, though the tramway built to serve it is still running.

- Drummonds Mill. One of Bradford's largest mills, it span wool from 1886 until 2001, when production ceased. It was then used for offices and community groups, and there were various plans to develop it for housing before it was destroyed by a fire in 2016.

- Bradford Odeon. This 1930s cinema was one of the largest in Britain when it was built. There was a huge auditorium, ballroom and restaurant and it attracted some of the biggest bands of the day in the 1960s, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. It is currently being developed into a new live music venue called Bradford Live.

- An old girls' school in Headingley, Leeds.

- A disused colliery in Doncaster.

- A mansion in Yeadon, Leeds.

- The Crossley Evans scrapyard, Shipley.

- A farmhouse occupied by a doctor in Leeming.

- Terry's Chocolate Works, York. The factory opened in 1926 and production ended in 2005. It has since been redeveloped for housing and other uses.

- Murphy's Machinery, Menston.

- Dalton Mills, Keighley.

- Malsis School. This private prep school at Malsis Hall, near Keighley, closed in 2014.

- Whetley Mills, Bradford. The mill has been converted for commercial use.

- Masonic Lodge, Bradford. The lodge has been demolished.

- High Royds, Menston. This Victorian pauper lunatic asylum, which later became a psychiatric hospital, is now housing.

- Sunbridge Wells, Bradford. These historic tunnels have now been redeveloped into a shopping area.

- Cookridge Hospital, Leeds, This former cancer hospital has been closed for over a decade and has been converted into housing.

- RAF Church Fenton. The World War Two air base closed in 2013 and is now a private airfield called Leeds East Airport.

- A nursing home in Leeds,

- A factory in Sheffield.

- Churches in Huddersfield and Bradford.

- An historic farmhouse near the A64 owned by the University of Leeds and used for research.