Devil’s Den Farm, near Grange Farm

I didn’t have ‘find an abandoned creepy farmhouse’ on my to-do list for today, but that’s what happened. I’d actually set out to find a local spring (reputed to have mystical properties) but I overestimated my navigation abilities and squelched off through a very muddy field in search of the right road to follow. When I got there, I saw how narrow and busy the road looked, and decided I really didn’t want to plod along the verge to avoid the traffic. I’d seen a cracked old paved path from across the field and thought it might be a short-cut back towards home so I followed it – and really did not expect what I found at the end.

The path ran through a field and up a hill, and I saw it led up to a farmhouse and a collection of outbuildings. As I got closer, I could see that the farmhouse windows were all boarded over, and the barns and stables were in a terrible state of disrepair. It clearly wasn’t going to be the shortcut I’d hoped for, but I was intrigued… I’ve always been fascinated by abandoned places and have spent hours on websites where urban explorers venture inside creepy derelict asylums or empty ruined mansions so to find somewhere like that practically on my doorstep – what a delight.

I hadn’t seen a single person all the way along the track, and here at the house, there was still nobody in sight. The place had a definite oppressive atmosphere that didn’t just come from the vandalism and dereliction evident all around. I made my way up what must once have been the front path, lined with gnarled fruit trees and treacherously slippery underfoot with moss. I quickly came up against tall metal railings that formed a half-hearted barrier around the old house itself and all of the outbuildings – these might have been straight once, but time, weather and unruly hands had taken their toll and they now leant this way and that, and there were big gaps where it would be easy to step inside. Being both law-abiding and cowardly, I stayed on the outside of the railings but had to squeeze my way between them and a riot of overgrown brambles to get down the side of the house and peer up at the decaying boards covering the upper windows. I usually listen to audio books while I’m out walking, but I was more than a little spooked and put away my headphones so I could listen out for any sounds that there might be someone inside. All I could hear was birdsong and the wind, but I was a little alarmed to see that one of the metal grilles across a downstairs window had been partly forced, leaving a clear gap that it would be easy to get in through. I couldn’t help imagining someone – or something – wriggling out through that gap towards me, so I retraced my steps down the path and only then spotted the yellow warning tape strung through some of the trees, a disconcerting contrast to the froths of white blossom.

I followed the railings round to a yard in front of two tumble-down barns, daylight clearly visible through holes in their roofs. The yard itself was partly flooded with a vile, stinking muck that threatened to consume my boots and I had to place my feet with great care to get any closer. Even with a chill breeze blowing, the smell was overwhelming. I took as many pictures as I could with my phone carefully angled through the gaps in the railings – again, it would have been so easy to slip between them and get closer and for half a moment I was tempted but I remembered that I prefer urban explorations on the other side of the screen. I carefully retraced my steps, my bootprints visible in the evil slurry. I was still alone, but I really did not like turning my back on the house, and my neck was prickling all the way down the path. I kept glancing over my shoulder, certain I was being watched but only the boarded windows gazed silently out across the fields, and if they were staring back at me, they gave no sign.

Back home, I did what any self-respecting blogger would do, made myself a cup and tea and hit up Google. It didn’t take me long to discover that my abandoned farm is actually a Grade II listed building, and the house dates back to the 18th century but was built on top of a cellar about a hundred years older than that. The name on all the paperwork is Shenley Dens Farm, but maps dating back to 1814 have it listed with the more sinister name of ‘Devil’s Den Farm’. Apparently it had been lived in until the early 2000s but had then been sold to developers and left to fall into a state of total dereliction – being listed, it can’t just be demolished. Of course, there are plenty of videos online, so I spent a captivating couple of hours watching footage from people much braver than me who had managed to get inside. It’s an utter wreck within: unstable floors, crumbling walls, graffiti everywhere there’s still plaster to spray onto, but most of the walls have been ripped down to nothing. For me, the most disturbing thing was the number of thick metal scaffold poles holding up the floors above – the house really does seem to be on the verge of just collapsing in on itself. Incredible what a mere quarter of a century of neglect can do to a building that’s stood for so long. I understand the long-term plan is still to build houses on the site eventually, but until then, I guess the Devil’s Den will just continue its protracted slide towards ruin, and I’ll certainly be back to watch while it does.

Update, August 1st – this finding inspired a very spooky, very short story which you can hear me reading here.

Update, January 2025 – the story of Devil’s Den didn’t end there for me, although the house itself would be gone just a few weeks after this post. Read my posts about the fire that destroyed it, and what I saw after it was demolished.

Video Sources
I really enjoyed watching each of these, and found them a great way to see inside.

• A lengthy and detailed tour inside all the barns and the farmhouse! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHZjd5oiZWc 
• Some spectacular drone footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtXsKtRRyBM
• A parapsychology-adjacent exploration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Bjf06jPB7qY