Urban exploration (partially a test-run for posting to a photo community)
My friend Sarah has been enthusing about this abandoned warehouse she's discovered that she wants to explore. This January we finally got down there. It was so much more than an old warehouse - a huge factory complex which once employed 2000 people, just rusting and falling apart in the rain.
Once we got home I did a bit of research and found out its history. The place got opened in the early 60s and made car parts. (In fact there's a field nearby which would need serious treatment before they could use it because of all the asbestos dumped there).
By 2001 they only had 220 staff, and there was a trade union dispute over working conditions. Management sacked the union members, which sparked off a three year dispute. (Actually when I was an undergrad, I do remember a gateway which always had people with placards picketing it.)
Long story short: a tribunal ruled the dismissals were unfair, so the company closed. Another company with an almost identical name run by the same person opened. The tribunal smelled a rat and ruled they were the same company. This was the death-knell, and whole place closed in 2006. Looking at the things we found, we're sure a lot of areas have been closed up far longer than that.
Now the whole place sits vacant. In summer 2010 arsonists burnt the administration department. There was been a lot of vandalism, dumping and fly-tipping. There have been talks of building a residential development, and even a prison, but they all seem to have died away recently.
(Note: please forgive the quality of the photos - I only have a point and shoot camera which is getting a bit temperamental).
The stairs leading up from the car park.
Alarm switches in the guards' hut
Inside the fire-damaged admin wing
Whiteboard in the admin wing. Whatever they were planning evidently didn't work out.
Spirometer, still in the medical office. We also found an otoscope and loads of notes.
This is the factory from the outside. It was the size of several football pitches.
This is the inside.
There were loads of hanging canvas tubes, and more scattered on the floor. I haven't been able to figure out what they are for. If anyone knows, I'd love to hear from you.
More factory floor
We found loads of dumped rubbish, but there were some really weird things. I swear we didn't set up this photo - we found it like that. It was pretty creepy in places.
I wonder why they cleared most of the factory but left the fork-lift truck.
A tub of 'Mastico' sealant, forever half-spilled
Ah, a reassuring sign for any would-be explorers!
An office within the factory. The wall appears to have been broken from the inside, yet it was a long way from any entrances and there wasn't any sign of vandalism or demolition near it. Would have loved to have taken a look inside, but the railings from the walkway had been taken by metal thieves so I didn't fancy the climb.
Alley between the factory and the services building
Stands for gas tanks...
...and the boilers they once fed
Once we got home I did a bit of research and found out its history. The place got opened in the early 60s and made car parts. (In fact there's a field nearby which would need serious treatment before they could use it because of all the asbestos dumped there).
By 2001 they only had 220 staff, and there was a trade union dispute over working conditions. Management sacked the union members, which sparked off a three year dispute. (Actually when I was an undergrad, I do remember a gateway which always had people with placards picketing it.)
Long story short: a tribunal ruled the dismissals were unfair, so the company closed. Another company with an almost identical name run by the same person opened. The tribunal smelled a rat and ruled they were the same company. This was the death-knell, and whole place closed in 2006. Looking at the things we found, we're sure a lot of areas have been closed up far longer than that.
Now the whole place sits vacant. In summer 2010 arsonists burnt the administration department. There was been a lot of vandalism, dumping and fly-tipping. There have been talks of building a residential development, and even a prison, but they all seem to have died away recently.
(Note: please forgive the quality of the photos - I only have a point and shoot camera which is getting a bit temperamental).
The stairs leading up from the car park.
Alarm switches in the guards' hut
Inside the fire-damaged admin wing
Whiteboard in the admin wing. Whatever they were planning evidently didn't work out.
Spirometer, still in the medical office. We also found an otoscope and loads of notes.
This is the factory from the outside. It was the size of several football pitches.
This is the inside.
There were loads of hanging canvas tubes, and more scattered on the floor. I haven't been able to figure out what they are for. If anyone knows, I'd love to hear from you.
More factory floor
We found loads of dumped rubbish, but there were some really weird things. I swear we didn't set up this photo - we found it like that. It was pretty creepy in places.
I wonder why they cleared most of the factory but left the fork-lift truck.
A tub of 'Mastico' sealant, forever half-spilled
Ah, a reassuring sign for any would-be explorers!
An office within the factory. The wall appears to have been broken from the inside, yet it was a long way from any entrances and there wasn't any sign of vandalism or demolition near it. Would have loved to have taken a look inside, but the railings from the walkway had been taken by metal thieves so I didn't fancy the climb.
Alley between the factory and the services building
Stands for gas tanks...
...and the boilers they once fed