An urban explorer investigating an abandoned museum was shocked to discover an unhoused family had set up home inside the crumbling building. Colin, who runs the Bearded Explorer YouTube channel, and his friend Ben were exploring the derelict Eastney Barracks near Portsmouth when they stumbled upon the makeshift living quarters.
A Surprise Encounter
The series of seven linked blocks was built as headquarters for the Royal Marine Artillery in the 1860s and later housed the Royal Marines Museum. In 2020, the museum's collection was placed in storage, and the building was sold to a hotel group for redevelopment. However, plans fell through, leaving the structure abandoned.
Colin and Ben entered through an open window, a common practice in urban exploration, which is generally considered trespassing—a civil rather than criminal matter, though it can lead to legal action. Inside, they noticed electrical devices charging, children's and adults' shoes, coats, and even carpet laid on the floor. "Someone is definitely living in here," Ben told Colin.
Nearby, dead pigeons and unsanitary rubbish added to the grim atmosphere. "I am literally terrified that someone is going to turn up any minute," Colin said. "This is terrifying." He decided to avoid the inhabited area, stating, "Whoever's living here obviously wants to be left alone."
A Building in Ruins
The vast building, reputedly haunted, had an unexplained odour that former staff described as a "depressing atmosphere." Colin noticed a strange smell as he explored the partially gutted structure. The once-palatial ballrooms with antique ornamental plasterwork were crumbling away. At one point, the explorers stepped through a roof access door onto a decrepit ceiling, realising they were one unlucky step from disaster.
The upper floors, supposedly haunted, were colonised by pigeons that entered through open windows. Colin was dive-bombed by an angry pigeon and said, "They're everywhere. Why does it smell so bad up here? It's not just pigeons. It's something else." Marvelling at grand staircases and floor-to-ceiling windows, he remarked, "This place is beautiful, but at the same time terrifying."
Abandoned Renovations
Doors were partially gutted, and new stud walls were started but abandoned. Sheets of broken plasterboard littered floors where builders stopped work mid-renovation. "It's been literally torn apart in here," Colin said. Some rooms remained pristine time capsules from a bygone age, likely abandoned even when the museum operated. "I don't think anyone's been in here for a long, long time," he added.
With crumbling ceilings, broken stairs, and shattered windows, the once-palatial Eastney Barracks is far from its former glory. "It's so sad to see a building of this importance falling into a state of disrepair like this," Colin concluded.
