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A cluttered room with green walls features a whiteboard, a sink, and a simple desk with a red chair. Handwritten notes and a red star are visible on the whiteboard.

Thomas Browning Rose captures a bleak, abandoned college

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Date
9 January 2015

The term “ruin porn” gets thrown around a lot to describe images of abandoned buildings and architectural forms that have fallen into disrepair. The Atlantic have published essays on the psychological reasons we’re incapable of tearing our eyes from it, and Detroit has become the poster city for this captivating genre of destructive, bleak photography – in fact it seems to be a genre that’s almost exclusively American.

But London-based photographer Thomas Browning Rose has produced an alluring series of images of Rolle College in Exmouth, Devon; a former teacher training facility abandoned in 2009. Thomas’ photographs focus on the empty classrooms, hallways, gym and campus bookshop of the old institution, offering a voyeuristic exploration of a building that was once at the heart of the Exmouth community, and then controversially left to rot.

A row of skylights projects from the roof of a concrete building. Greenery and wild grass grow along the ledge beneath the windows.
Above

Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

An overgrown garden bed filled with tall grass and wildflowers sits between two red brick walls. A narrow concrete path runs alongside the bed, leading towards a yellow pipe and a distant doorway.
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Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

A view through a window into a derelict room with a collapsed wooden roof. A single grey plastic chair stands amidst piles of debris and insulation.
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Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

The words “UNIVERSITY BOOKSHOP” are written in black serif capitals across a glass window. Behind the glass, vertical blinds are partially closed.
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Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

A basketball hoop and backboard stand before a line of leafy trees. The scene is viewed through a reflective glass surface, layering the outdoor court over an interior space.
Above

Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

A close-up view looking up at a corrugated metal roof. The structure is supported by heavily rusted iron beams.
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Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

A concrete walkway bridge connects two buildings, creating a rectangular frame over a dirt path. Through the opening, a red brick building and greenery are visible under a pale sky.
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Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

Two white signs are pinned to a weathered green wooden wall. The top sign reads “ENGLISH” and the larger sign below reads “THEATRE & PERFORMANCE”.
Above

Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

A red brick house is partially hidden behind dense, dark green foliage. A set of stone steps leads to a blue front door, while another staircase with a metal railing climbs the side of the building.
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Thomas Browning Rose: Rolle College

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About the Author

James Cartwright

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James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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