Considerate Trespassing

Pilkington Glass - Doncaster - February 2012

2012-02-11T22:49:00.000Z

History from Mutley

Pilkingtons were originally established in St Helens, Lancs in 1826.
Around the time of WW1 they looked to establish another site in the UK, supposedly to protect against European competitors entering the British market.
The site chosen for this was Kirk Sandall near Doncaster, favoured for its canal side location and ready access to local coal and sand. The plant opened at great cost in 1922, apparently consuming most of the company's reserves plus an additional £1m in new capital.
In 1923 Pilkingtons, in collaboration with Ford in the State, developed a continuous flow process for the manufacture of glass plate and a method of continuous grinding. Doncaster was quickly converted to this new technology, again at huge expense.

In the 1950's Pilkingtons developed the "float" method of glass production (the molten glass is poured onto a bath of molten tin at 1000C). This was much cheaper as it did not require the grinding and polishing processes. Pilkingtons quickly set about converting all their factories to this new technology...except Doncaster.
By 1963 Doncaster was the only Pilkington factory producing polished plate glass and by 1966 was only running at 56% of capacity and production was suspended and the plant mothballed.
Not sure what happened in the intervening years, but there was obviously an upturn in fortunes as the plant was producing up to December 2008.

Well I think this is the best place that I've been this year so far.

Visited with CANDF Geovdub and Only2eyes

HMS Bronington (M1115) - Liverpool - February 2012

2012-02-04T15:18:00.000Z

HMS Bronington is a Ton-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy, launched on 19 March 1953. This mahogany-hulled minesweeper is one of the last of the "wooden walls" (wooden-hulled naval vessels).

After being decommissioned from service, the ship was purchased in January 1989 by the Bronington Trust, a registered charity, whose patron Charles, Prince of Wales commanded this vessel in 1976.

The hull is constructed of mahogany with a combination of aluminium alloy and non-magnetic materials to provide maximum safety against magnetic mines.

The main armament was fitted on the fo'c'sle, a single barreled 40/60mm Bofor gun.

Bronington's main role was hunting for mines by using the high definition sonar. Once a mine was found the Clearance Divers would then make them safe by either using explosives or bringing them inboard and defusing them. Bronington could also sweep for mines by towing minesweeping gear which would cut the moored mines loose or by towing acoustic/magnetic influence sweeps which could imitate the characteristics of larger ships and set the mines off harmlessly.

For some time, the ship was berthed in the Manchester Ship Canal at Trafford Park, Greater Manchester, England. In 2002, she became part of the collection of the Warship Preservation Trust and moored at Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. Since the closure of the Warship Preservation Trust, she remains in storage

The ship is also listing at the moment so I believe its at least 10 degrees which makes for an interesting walk around inside, This place was one of the most difficult places to take a photo I've been what with the cramped spaces and setting up a tripod was made even more difficult because of this but still a good way to spend a Friday night.

Class and type: Ton-class minesweeper

Displacement: 440 tons

Length: 153 ft

Beam: 28.9 ft

Draught: 8.2 ft

Propulsion: 2 x Paxman Deltic 18A-7A diesel engines @ 3,000 bhp (2,200 kW)

Speed: Cruise 13 knots (24 km/h) on one engine. Max 16 knots (30 km/h) on both

Range: 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)

Complement: 32 men

Armament: 1 x Bofors 40mm gun

Bridgewater place - Leeds - January 2012

2012-02-01T21:23:00.000Z

Bridgewater Place, nicknamed The Dalek is an office and residential skyscraper development in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is the tallest building in Yorkshire, and has held this record since being topped out in September 2005. It is visible at up to 25 miles (40 km) from certain areas.

It was first announced in 2000 and, following several redesigns and delays with the construction process, construction of the building began in 2004 and was completed in 2007. It became the tallest building in Leeds, by a significant margin, and Yorkshire (although this does not take into account structures such as Emley Moor). Bridgewater Place has a height of 112 metres (367 ft) to roof level. Originally the tower was to have a spire which would have extended the height of the building to 137 metres (449 ft), however this was never built.

Bridgewater Place has 32 storeys, of which two are used for car parking, ten for offices and twenty for residential purposes.

I don't normally post "High stuff" as I don't think that you can get a scale of height from photos but here it is. Again sorry for the slow start to this year I have been trying recently weve been to 12 different sites to only find them sealed up or have the on site security collar us.

Dewsbury mill - Dewsbury - January 2012

2012-01-14T15:07:00.000Z

Well the first day out this year and unfortunately its not as "epic" as some towards the end of last but hopefully they should get bigger and better soon.

History from wakeylad

Built in 1863, these mills are typical of many in the wider area, which underwent a period of major growth as a mill town between 1800 & 1890. Usually family owned, many of these heavy woollen businesses helped Dewsbury grow to such an extent, that during this period, the population grew from 4,000 to 30,000. Sadly, the area went into decline after the wool crisis in 1951, which saw Australian sheep farmers begin to charge higher prices. There was a recovery in the late 1960s, sadly this was short lived. The mills of Dewsbury have now either been converted into apartments or demolished, this is one of few exceptions that has survived having closed after the 1973 oil crisis. In more recent years the site has been used as a stone masons yard, this also appears to have halted.

The Doncaster Grand - Doncaster - December 2011

2011-12-30T20:13:00.000Z

History from Friends of the Grand Theatre

The Grand was opened on the 27th March 1899. It started its life as a Circus Hall and then became the home of the Salvation Army, it was used for Political Speakers and eventually it was bought and turned into a theatre by a Mr J W Chapman, who at that time was the Lessee of the Old Theatre which stood in the Market Place alongside the Town Hall. It was designed by J P Briggs, who for many years had worked with Frank Matcham. It was built by a local firm of builders, namely Arnold & Sons, who incidentally, were in business up until a few years ago. It was one of the first theatres in the country to have electric lights and also a sprinkler system installed by Dawson & Taylor of Leeds. All staircases in the building are in stone as fire was a great hazard in those days.

Many famous names ‘trod the boards’ at the Grand including Charlie Chaplin, Sandy Powell, Nellie Wallace, Albert Modley, Max Miller, Henry Hall and his band with Betty Driver (who went on to play Betty Williams in Coronation Street, Tommy Handley, Frank Randle, Elsie & Doris Waters (Gert & Daisy), their Brother Jack Warner, Julie Andrews, Wilfred Pickles, Norman Evans and Morecambe & Wise to name but a few. Julie Andrews’ mother and father, Ted and Barbara Andrews appeared in Pantomime in December 1935, Julie was born in October 1935 and she was carried onto the stage as a baby and then appeared there again when she was 16 years old.

Its a case of local councils wanting to knock down a building for so called "regeneration" which we all know means either houses or some god awful shopping centre. Recently a group of people have started a campaign to return the Grand to its well, former grandeur so if you live near Doncaster or even if you don't and can just appreciate some good architecture visit their website http://friendsofthegrandtheatre.co.uk

and see if you can help in some way.

And a big thanks to Muttley for you know what.

Lincoln county lunatic asylum (St Johns) - Lincoln - Dec 2011

2011-12-27T21:32:00.000Z

Well this was a happy surprise as I really didn't think that I would be going out on any more explores this year but I guess I was wrong, We had an absolute fail at this place after spending an hour trying to get into what we thought was the admin block which turned out to be where the security live whilst on site (something we didn't realise at the time) but thankfully he didn't come out despite us trying to open the locked door to where he would have been sat. It then turned out we had been right next to it the whole time and all it would have taken was for one of us to just look to our right as we walked through a door way so that took up a fair chunk of the trip. Anyway here is some history on the place.

The Lincolnshire County Lunatic Asylum. The Asylum was built in 1852 and enlarged on several subsequent occasions. It was originally established jointly by Lindsey, Kesteven, Holland, Lincoln, Grimsby and Stamford, and managed by a Board of Visitors appointed by the contributing authorities. Kesteven and Grantham withdrew from the arrangement when the contract of Union expired in 1893 (eventually establishing the Kesteven County Asylum at South Rauceby, 1897). The hospital was set in grounds of 120 acres which included gardens, farmland and a burial ground. In 1940 female patients were transferred to other hospitals, mainly Storthes Hall near Huddersfield, to make space for an Emergency Hospital, and many did not return until well after the end of the War. Administration of the hospital passed to the National Health Service in 1948. By the early 1960s it was known by its final name of St John's Hospital. Patients were admitted from Harmston Hall Hospital when that hospital closed. St John's Hospital itself was closed in December 1989 with the remaining patients transferred to other establishments. The site was sold for housing and most of the buildings apart from the central block were demolished.

These are the stairs we spent about an hour finding

2011 Looking back.

2011-12-12T14:17:00.001Z

Well what a year is it has been. I've realised I'm probably not going to get out again this year now what with Christmas and new year etc so I thought I would do some kind of year in retrospect kind of thing.

I've met a lot of new people this year and I would like to say thanks to them people like Adders, Bubblehead, (His user name is) God, Dave, Alexmonty, Sam H, Boba low, Raddog, Oxygen Thief, JST, Kook, Cloughandfowle, Paul, Toby, Trankmast, Keitei, 2wid, Subversive photography, MJS, Geovdub, Fowle and by no means last my long suffering girlfriend for putting up with me coming back covered in who knows what and smelling of pigeon poo, Muck and on one occasion marzipan. So here's what I've done this year

So this year I've done

3 Pen factories

3 Churches

A Brewery

A power station

2 Hand tool works

A Cotton mill

A Pumping station

A Paper mill

An abattoir

A Lunatic asylum

A t.v studio

A Law court

2 Chemical works

A presbytery

A pallet works

2 Cinemas

An Aircraft testing facility

A Chocolate factory

A Rail depot

A flour mill

A cold storage building

An orphanage

A nursing home

A children's ward

A steel rolling foundry

A Drain

And a few tall buildings.

Not all of them have made it onto the blog for one reason or another or I just didn't take any photos when I was in there, But here are some photos of the people I've been these places with.

Thanks for looking and thank you to those who have supported me and retweeted me etc

And hopefully I will start next year the way that I've ended this one and have lots for you to enjoy.

Have a merry Christmas, a happy new year and as always happy trespassing.

Dalton pumping station - Sunderland - December 2011

2011-12-10T19:18:00.001Z

This Victorian Water pumping station was designed by Thomas Hawksley for the Sunderland and South Shields Water Company. The engine house contains a pair of 72" single-acting non-rotative Cornish beam engines by Davy Bros of Sheffield, dating from the 1870s when the complex was built. The engines used to pump water out of a 450ft well deep below. The site suffered for many years from subsidence due to nearby mine workings, after too many problems they closed the place down in 1941 pulled down a couple of outer buildings and a chimney and let it sit there since.The pumping station site was bought in 1995 with a view by its owners to transform it into a pub, however the building became Grade II* listed, which allegedly stopped its development.

This place is in absolute perfect condition it looks like they only closed yesterday, There were no pigeons or pieces of broken glass etc on the floor anyway which made it a very nice explore as we didn't have to worry about falling through any floors. I don't know what it was the Victorians but the detail in this place was fantastic even though only a hand full of people were really going to see it and all it did was pump water, so I think it is possibly the gaudiest water pump in the north east.

Whitingham asylum - Preston - December 2011

2011-12-04T12:00:00.000Z

Whittingham Hospital, whose grounds adjoin the village of Goosnargh, grew to be the largest mental hospital in the country, and pioneered the use of electroencephalograms (EEGs). During its time it had its own church, farms, railway, telephone exchange, post office, reservoirs, gas works, brewery, orchestra, brass band, ballroom and butchers.

In 1866, the three Lancashire lunatic asylums at Prestwich, Rainhill and Lancaster were deemed to be full. The building of Whittingham Asylum began in 1869, originally to accommodate 1000 patients. It was built from brick made from clay dug on site from a pit which later became a fish pond.

The hospital officially opened on 1 April 1873. The large site included an Anglican church, a Catholic chapel, a recreation hall (also used as a ballroom) and several farms.

The Whittingham Hospital Railway was a two-mile (3 km) private branch to Grimsargh, built in 1887, to provide coal and other goods. It also provided free transport for staff and passengers. It eventually closed in on 30 June 1957.

In the early years there was a brewery on the site. At the end of the first World War, a part of the hospital (later known as “St Margaret’s Division”) was used as a military hospital. It was again used for this purpose during the second World War.

By 1923, the hospital was known as “Whittingham Mental Hospital”. By 1939, the number of patients was 3533, with a staff of 548, making it the largest mental hospital in the country.

By 1948, it had incorporated Ribchester Hospital, and became known as “Whittingham Hospital”.

The Mental Health Act of 1960 deemed large institutions like Whittingham to be out of favour. Allegations of cruelty to patients led to a public inquiry.

During the 1970s and 1980s, new drugs and therapies were introduced. Long-stay patients were returned to the community or dispersed to smaller units around Preston. The hospital eventually closed in 1995.

Heres a video about how it was to be a patient in Whittingham in the 80's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiVNzTnbq6Y&feature=related

This place could be the most damaged building I think I've ever been in, The thing that makes

It even remotely worth the drive is the main hall/ball room.

The Saviours church - The north - November 2011

2011-11-28T01:25:00.000Z

I had to take this down briefly due to more reasons that I don't want to get into again. But now I think it should be fine being only one of two who actually know where this place is. Anyway this is the saviours church I don't know anything about the church such as when it closed and such all I do know is that churches are pretty difficult to get into what with the windows being about 8 feet of the ground and no access through any underground parts

anyway I'm starting to ramble so here are the pictures from the day.

Hickson & Welch - Castleford - November 2011

2011-11-26T20:30:00.000Z

Hickson and Welch Ltd was a chemical manufacturing company of long standing and a major employer in the Yorkshire town of Castleford. The company had decided that a batch still that had been installed in the nitrotoluenes area of the plant in 1961 was to be cleaned of accumulated residues – the first time this had been done in 30 years.

A tarry sludge of residue some 14 inches deep had been measured at the bottom of the still and reported to management, who assumed it consisted of a thermally stable tar. Neither the sludge nor the vessel’s atmosphere was analysed. The operators were told to apply steam to the bottom of the vessel to soften the sludge, and this was done. The residue could then be raked out manually through a manhole opening, accessible from a scaffolding platform.

Several men began cleaning the still, working from the scaffold, using metal rakes. After about an hour the vessel’s temperature gauge was seen in the control room some distance away to be reading 48º C. The men were told to cut off the steam, and did so.

By around 1.20, during lunchtime, most of the men had left the raking job and only one man remained on the scaffold. He stopped raking when he noticed a blue light inside the still, which immediately turned orange. He leapt for his life from the scaffold as a jet of flame suddenly roared out of the manhole, wrecking the scaffold and hurling the manhole cover into the centre of the control building. Like a giant blowtorch, the horizontal flame destroyed the control room and played against the wall of the main office block 55 metres away, setting it on fire. Simultaneously, burning vapours jetted upwards from the vessel’s rear top vent.

The jet fire is estimated to have lasted one minute before subsiding from lack of fuel, but by then several other fires had started. These were extinguished by the local fire brigade, who attended with 22 appliances and over 100 firefighters.

Sadly, it was discovered that two workers had been killed in the control room, their escape impeded by an inward opening door. Two other men who escaped from the room died later from the burn injuries they had suffered while escaping. In the office block the body of a woman was found in the lavatories where she had been overcome by smoke. Fortunately, no one else was in the offices during lunchtime. Several vehicles in the car park were burnt out.

We visited this site in the afternoon without realising it gets dark extremely quickly this time of year so here are a few I got before the light completely disappeared. I cant remember which chemical it is but this place stunk and I mean stunk of marzipan, As I write this I can still smell it on me.

Magistrates court - Sheffield - November 2011

2011-11-20T00:16:00.000Z

Originally built to replace Sheffield's first Town Hall (1807-8)

Extended in 1833 and again in 1866 with the addition of the Clock Tower

By the 1890's it became to small for a Town Hall, so in 1896 it was further extended and became Sheffield Crown Court. The courts were linked to the nearby Police offices by and underground tunnel (which is now bricked up at the other end) By 1990, the courts had moved to a new premises, the final entry in the Magistrates attendance book was 27th October 1995 Now a grade II listed building, it has also been named by the Victorian Society as one of their top ten buildings at risk

Whilst in here we had a visit from a police officer and his dog. He was actually very understanding about what we were doing in there and why we were and actually walked around with us for a little while whilst we took some more photos. Anyway our visit was cut shorter than we intended so I wasnt able to get as many shots as I would have liked but I think the few that I did get are still pretty good.

The Adelphi cinema - Sheffield - November 2011

2011-11-12T22:58:00.001Z

History from arthurlloyd.co.uk

The Adelphi Picture Theatre, in Vicarage Road, Sheffield was designed by the architect W. C. Fenton and opened for business on the 18th of October 1920.

The exterior was built from red brick with terra-cotta enhancements to the main facade. The auditorium was built on two levels, stalls and one circle, with a seating capacity of 1,350, and a projection room at the back of the stalls.

The Theatre was the subject of some restoration and redecoration in the late 1930s but after bomb damage during the second world war, and a brief closure of one month, the building was furthur renovated in 1946.

The last film presentation at the Adelphi, which had always been an independent Cinema, was a showing of 'The Karate Killers' and 'The Rounders' on the 28th of October 1976.

The Adelphi then became a Bingo Club for many years until it closed in the mid 1990s. It was then converted into a nightclub where live bands also performed on occasions, but closed down in late 2006.

The Adelphi is a Grade II Listed building and still stands today.

Cannon Brewery - Sheffield - November 2011

2011-11-12T22:38:00.000Z

Stones Brewery (William Stones Ltd) was a brewery founded in 1856 by William Stones in Sheffield, South Riding of Yorkshire, England, after he bought out his former partner's share of the business. Stones' success saw him die as one of the richest men in Sheffield. The brewery is famous nationwide for Stones Bitter, which was originally brewed at the Cannon Brewery, Sheffield in 1948 and was designed for Sheffield's steel workers. It was brewed there until the brewery's closure in 1999. The company was subject to a takeover by Bass in 1968, and is now a functionally dormant subsidiary of Molson Coors. Brewery conditioned Stones Bitter (3.7 per cent alcohol by volume) is brewed by Molson Coors at their breweries in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire and Burton upon Trent, and cask conditioned Stones Bitter (4.1 per cent ABV) is contract brewed by Everards of Leicester.

Stones Bitter was originally available across the south of Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, with distribution extended to the rest of the north of England in 1977, and nationwide from 1979. The beer reached its peak in 1992 when it was the country's highest selling bitter, selling 240 million pints annually. The beer has been considered to be "one of Sheffield's most famous exports". Stones notably sponsored the Rugby Football League Championship and its successor the Rugby Super League from 1986 until 1997. Since the withdrawal of the majority of marketing support by Bass in 1997 in favour of the Worthington ale brand, the beer has experienced a heavy decline in sales, which are down to less than 10 per cent of their peak, although it remains among the twenty highest selling ale brands in the United Kingdom.

National Gas Turbine Establishment (NGTE Pyestock) - Fleet - November 11

2011-11-07T20:22:00.002Z

History from wikipedia and ngte.co.uk

The National Gas Turbine Establishment (NGTE Pyestock) in Fleet, part of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, UK was the prime site in the UK for design and development of gas turbine and jet engines. It was created by merging the design teams of Frank Whittle's power jets and the RAE turbine development team run by Hayne Constant. NGTE spent most of its lifetime as a major testing and development center, both for experimental developments as well as supporting the major commercial engine companies.

Like many companies at this time, the newly merged venture was nationalised, and the search for a suitable site for turbine development began. Pyestock, a former golf course in a secluded wooded spot between Farnborough and Fleet was chosen, as the activities at the NGTE would be top secret and (one presumes) the surrounding woodland would dampen the phenomenal noise. Construction began in 1949, but the site was not as we know it. Instead of the massive test cells there today, testing was done on a much smaller scale in test "cubicles" inside buildings like the Plant House. When the possibility of supersonic jets arose, the site underwent a massive expansion to the north west, with the massive Air House and several huge test cells being built circa 1961.

For over 50 years Pyestock was at the forefront of gas turbine development and was almost certainly the largest site of its kind in the world. V bomber, Harrier and Tornado engines were all rigorously tested on site, the power of the air house allowed Concorde's engines to be tested at 2,000 mph, every single gas turbine installed in the Royal Navy were checked here, captured Soviet engines were discretely examined - and all this on terra firma, without a single plane taking off.

NGTE Pyestock closed down in 2000. The Pyestock campus is now in the state of being decommissioned pending the building of a large business/industrial park.

On the site there are around 15 buildings of interest and would take easily a few days to get around them all whilst simultaneously avoiding the security patrols, Anyway here are the pictures from a good day of lucozade and fitting Pyestock into popular songs.

Firstly

Cell 4

The largest test cell on site, Cell 4 was built in 1965, at a cost of £6.5 million, as part of the Concorde programme but also to test other supersonic jet engines. The massive test cell, unique in the world, takes up most of the huge steel clad structure and looks almost unreal with its mass of pipes, blast doors and electronics. It is connected to the Air House by those notorious blue pipes and was designed to simulate Concorde's flying conditions - Mach 2 (1522 mph) at 61,000 feet, but could test Concorde's engines at a maximum wind speed of 2,000 mph.

The sheer amount of energy required to run the air house (see below) at the speed needed was too great for the sites small power station to cope with. This meant that, although the power station could be used as an additional "top up", electricity had to be taken from the National Grid - an exceptionally difficult task. By the early 1970s, Pyestock had to negotiate with the CEGB, the Central Electricity Generating Board - the national electricity supplier - simply to have enough electricity generated. So as not to put such a strain on the grid, Cell 4 could only realistically be powered up at night.

Cell 3

Cell 3 is mostly underground and is a supersonic replacement of Cell 2, allowing for higher speeds and a greater engine temperature range. There is a fairly large building above ground. But that was just to allow engines to be lowered into the test chamber from a huge crane. The test chamber itself is almost entirely underground. We couldn't get and further down than two levels because it was flooded

The Air House

The Air House is an incredibly modern structure for 1961. The eastern side is sheet glass, and there are eight huge blue exhaust pipes rising the full length of the building that correspond to the eight compressor/exhauster sets inside. Those iconic blue pipes lead away from the building, which transported the fast moving air to/from the test cells.

The Air House had two functions; either blowing air or sucking air, all at very high speeds. It could produce wind speeds of up to 2,000 mph for Cell 4. There are eight identical GEC compressor/exhauster sets which aggregated to 352,000 horsepower, which was believed to be the largest installation of its kind in the western world.

This is the final design for the compressor/exhauster sets from the late 1950s. They are made up of an in-line arrangement (from left to right) of an 8,000 horsepower steam turbine, then two low-pressure compressors, a high-pressure exhauster, a 27MW 11kV synchronous motor that provided 36,000 horsepower, and finally the barring gear and the exciter (a small generator that provides a current needed to start the main motor).

The 8,000 horsepower steam turbine, which was powered by the sites boiler house, gave the compressor sets a kick start before it was synced with the grid. They could also be used whilst they were being run but this was expensive and only used on the supersonic tests.

Number 9 Exhauster

Pyestock's designers built the Air House on a huge scale, thinking it could supply adequate suction for the supersonic test cells. But they could not have anticipated the phenomenal force required by Cell 4 - even with all eight exhausters running the suction was insufficient. Their solution was to build another exhauster set (an exhauster is a large turbine that sucks air at very high speed) directly next to Cell 4. As there are eight in the Air House, this one was named number 9.

It is a Parsons "multi-stage axial-flow exhauster". It was used mainly by Cell 4 but also occasionally by Cell 3 and Cell 3 West. It was driven by a 6,000 horsepower synchronous motor, with power being taken first from the sites Power Station, and then when 3,000 rpm was reached it was synchronised with the National Grid.

The Power Station

As the scientists and engineers started desiging the new Pyestock, the site's appetite for electrical power was obviously foremost in their minds. A 45MW feed (at 33kV) was available from the Weybourne Lane substation, but there were concerns about the stability of this load during peak hours. Therefore, one of the first buildings designed and built was the Power Station. It would provide electricity for the establishment to bolster the existing supply and, as the generating equipment was itself a turbine, allow further experimentation and investigation. The Power Station was effectively another of Pyestock's gas turbine testing cells.

The Plant House

The original north west corner of the new Pyestock site was occupied by the Plant House. It shared little architectural similarities with the other buildings erected at Pyestock, being built mostly of brick. This gave the Plant House its unique appearance as a huge, squat blockhouse brooding in the corner of the site surrounded by the blued-painted, steel-cladded, multi-windowed buildings which characterised the rest of Pyestock.

Its design mirrored the Compressor House of the old Pyestock site. In this building a hall housed the necessary plant for air supplies and down one side of the building individual cubicles contained test rigs where experiments were performed on individual components or scaled-down gas turbines. The Plant House was a scaled up, symmetrical version of this building with a centralised plant hall, two valve bays either side, and rows of cubicles on either side of those.

The Plant House was initially intended for combustion and aerodynamic experimentation and its solid brick construction reflected the requirements for a sturdy building in which to carry out these tests.

It also featured a very strange button with a "rude" word on it.

Main stores

As a storage building was useful during the construction of the first phases of the site, it’s no coincidence that the Main Stores was one of the first buildings erected. Additionally this ensured the Main Stores was near the southern entrance, so deliveries didn’t have to venture far into Pyestock itself.

Its structure was simple: a double storey central hall traversed most of the length of the building and was the main storage space; it was flanked either side with single storey side rooms which offered specialised storage areas (such as the glass store) or were converted into laboratories.

Externally the building was a squat elongated steel framed shed with brick walls for the side rooms. All the exposed metalwork was painted in Pyestock’s signature blue. The central hall had a heightened ceiling allowing axial windows to be installed in the first storey.

It turned out to be a popular design, as the building's form was repeated again to the north.

And finally here are some external shots.

The chemical works - October 2011

2011-10-30T09:58:00.001Z

I cant say where this is for several reasons that I'm not willing to go into so I apologise for the no history aspect of this post and who knows, Maybe at some point I may be able to divulge its whereabouts and its real name but for now just "The chemical works" will do.

Masticator Drain - Leeds - October 2011

2011-10-22T21:54:00.002+01:00

The Meanwood Beck is a stream in West Yorkshire, which flows through Adel, Meanwood and Sheepscar into the River Aire in central Leeds. In older texts it was sometimes referred to as the Sheepscar Beck, however that term has fallen out of use. The beck was a source of water for the village of Headingley and two of its earliest bridges led straight to it. The beck has shrunk considerably over the years as water is collected in the many drains in the centre of one of Britain's largest cities. It provides water and drainage for Meanwood Valley Urban Farm.

In the 16th to 18th centuries it provided power for corn mills. In the 19th century it supplied water for a chemical works and tanneries.It suffered a serious pollution incident on 29 March 1999 when an oil tank at the University of Leeds' Bodington Hall was overfilled and 10,000 litres of oil flowed into the Beck. It is also a habitat for the indigenous European crayfish, which is currently threatened in the UK by a plague carried by the Signal Crayfish introduced from America.

The photos here are from two separate trips down this week. The beck starts out open and eventually as it draws closer to the city centre it gets culverted over. Passing under the bus station and heading towards its eventual outfall into the river aire next to the royal armouries and Clarence dock. The name of the drain comes from the Archimedes' screw which features in the drain system.

George Barnsley and sons Cornish works - Sheffield - September 2011

2011-10-03T11:27:00.000+01:00

George Barnsley and Sons Ltd. (founded 1836) They were in Cornish Place on the Don and specialised in forge filing and cutting tools for leather workers and shoe makers. One George Barnsley was Master Cutler in 1883.:
George Barnsley and Son is listed in the 1837 Sheffield directory as a file manufacture situated on Wheeldon Street, The 1849 listing records a move to Cornhill and the 1852 to Cornish works Cornish street they had by this time also increased there product range to include steel files, shoe and butchers knives.

They are again listed in 1944 as manufactures of files and blades shoe knives and leather workers tools.
In the 1948 listing the business had become George Barnsley and Son Ltd George Barnsley died at his home at No 30 Collegiate Crescent on 30th March 1958, he lived there with his wife Mabel and mother-in-law Elizabeth. He was a partner in the firm which were steel and file manufacturers and the business was converted into a limited company about 10 years before his death.

This is the last post of my little day trip to sheffield so I would like to take the oportunity to thank my friend Keïteï and point you towards her blog Here.

Thorpe Marsh power station - Doncaster - September 2011

2011-10-02T09:54:00.001+01:00

Thorpe Marsh Power Station is located close to Doncaster in South Yorkshire. It was a coal fired 1 gigawatt power station but has been demolished with only the six cooling towers and two ash slurry hoppers remaining.

The Power Stations construction was started in 1959 and the first phase completed in 1963 and the second in 1965. Thorpe Marsh was built as a prototype to all the large modern power stations built along the river Trent and most the coal fired stations in the United Kingdom. Thorpe Marsh had two generating set which were powered by coal as well as a gas turbine set which used a static industrial version of the Rolls Royce Avon aero engine.

Safety at the plant became a major concern when four workmen died at the power station on 7th January 1973. Although a verdict od accidental death was recorded for all the men who died the Central Electricity Generating Board was taken to court for allegedly breaching the safety provisions of the Electricity Regulations of 1908 under the Factories Act.

The Central Electricity Generating Board operated Thorpe Marsh until 1990 when National Power took over following privatisation in 1990. National Power closed the power station in 1994 selling the land to Able UK in 1995. A majority of the power station at Thorpe Marsh was demolished, all but the six cooling towers, two ash slurry silos, railway siding and the large switching station close by. The cooling towers, which are 340ft high and 260ft in diameter, have been left due to fears of the demolition explosions would rupture the banks of the nearby River Don, the canal and damage the railway tracks close by.

Thorpe Marsh now sits awaiting an uncertain future even though proposals for a car distribution depot or using the site for land fill have been raised, neither have been popular.

The power station's cooling towers were featured in the final episode of the 1999 ITV drama, The Last Train, and in the first episode of the 2009 Channel 4 drama Red Riding.

Firth Vickers "Staybright" works - Sheffield - September 2011

2011-10-01T10:05:00.001+01:00

Firth Vickers were a major name in Sheffield's steel empire, and perhaps best known for the invention of Stainless steel in 1912. They branded this 'Staybrite' which gives this works its name.

Firth Brown Steels was initially formed in 1902, when Sheffield steelmakers John Brown and Company exchanged shares and came to a working agreement with neighbouring company Thomas Firth & Sons. In 1908 the two companies came together and established the Brown Firth Research Laboratories and it was here, in 1912, under the leadership of Harry Brearly they developed high chrome stainless steel. The companies continued under their own management until they formally merged in 1930 becoming Firth Brown Steels.John Brown founded his company in the 1840s to manufacture steel files. Over the years the emphasis moved to the manufacture of rails, made from steel provided by the new Bessemer process, and later to rail coach springs. Ship cladding and shipbuilding interests came into the company portfolio and finally, in the 1950s to general construction.

Following an eight year role in successfully selling files and cutlery around the world in 1844, John Brown started in his own right a steel making company in Orchard Street, Sheffield, on the site of the present Orchard square shopping development. There was no room for expansion on the site and his second works was opened in Furnival Street, a short distance away. Business expanded rapidly and more new premises were needed, this time in Holly Street, just over the road from his original works. Having works scattered throughout the city centre area made for production problems and because of this, on 1 January 1856, he opened a totally new works on a single site on the edge of the city, in Savile Street which he named Atlas Works.

Murphys Machinery - Menston - August 2011

2011-08-16T00:54:00.000+01:00

First of all a big thank you to Paul, If you're reading this I can't extend my gratitude any more.

G.L Murphy’s Machinery Ltd. was an industrial parts manufacturer established in 1930. They were based in this mill, named Imperial Works, on the rural outskirts of Menston in West Yorkshire. The company made tools, belt driven machinery, transmissions and electrical equipment, specialising in items for tanners and leather manufacturers in addition to glue and gelatine plants. They produced batch runs of specialist components and carried out renovation work on various machine parts.

And here is what could quite possibly be the largest collection of 60's soft core porn in West Yorkshire

Facit mill - Rochdale - July 2011

2011-07-09T16:29:00.003+01:00

Sorry all I can find is that this building used to be a cotton mill. We were only able to get into the boiler room this time but I'm going to call this unfinished business.

St Peters church - Wakefield - July 2011

2011-07-09T15:58:00.000+01:00

The foundation stone was laid on the 13th September 1822 by one Francis Maude, The church then opened around 2 years later. The church eventually closed in December 2001 due to insufficient funding for the repairs needed to the building and the rising cost of keeping the church warm.

Ive managed to avoid churches for pretty much 20 years and now I've been in two in a week.

Again I apologise for the lack of history I think I might just be having a bad day finding things but

as always I will update this as I find more history.

W.H Shaw - Diggle - July 2011

2011-07-09T15:20:00.000+01:00

So far all I can find on this place is that it used to make pallets for distribution, I do apologise for the lack of information and history on this site but I'm coming up with nothing every time.

St Marys catholic church - Leeds - July 2011

2011-07-03T12:15:00.001+01:00

History taken from the Leeds Irish historical and cultural society

Mount St Mary's is one of the architectural treasures of the city of Leeds. It is a grade two (starred) listed building dating from 1853. The laying of the foundation stone was an act of faith in itself as the founders of the church, the missionary order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate had little idea as to where the money was to be found to complete the building. The church stands high on the crest of Richmond Hill and can be seen from many parts of the city. The slope below the church had been known for hundreds of years as 'the Bank'.

For many, Mount St Mary's is the Famine Church, the original chapel was established at a time when Ireland was only beginning to recover from the Great Hunger brought on by the failure of the potato crop in successive years from 1845 to 1851. Hundreds of families, many of them suffering from the effects of starvation and 'famine fever, found some in what became Mount St Mary's parish.

The story of how the church came to be established in the first place, on the initiative of men from the neighbouring St Saviour's Anglican church who were received into the Roman Catholic Church is more than just a footnote in English Church history. These were the people who persuaded the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to establish a chapel in Richmond Street, the Bank.

It is impossible to calculate the contribution that Mount St Mary's made in creating a community out of the mass of desperate refugees who found themselves living on the Bank or in other parts of the parish. It was not just the ministrations of the clergy that went to forge this new community. It was the work carried out in caring for the sick and the poor, the setting up of the schools and the orphanage. Most of the latter work being carried out by the Sisters of the Holy Family. One must not forget either, the sodalities and societies within the parish that did so much to bind the community together. Despite the widespread poverty and deprivation that persisted so long, it became a community with a strong identity and contributed so much to the development of the city of Leeds.

This was the first time I had been out for an explore in over a month so for this place to be the one the break the dry spell was fantastic. As per usual I visited this place with Boba low.

St Gerard's children's hospital - Coleshill - May 2011

2011-05-30T17:31:00.000+01:00

Apparently this building was for the treatment of crippled catholic children.

This building is yet another on the site of the Father Hudsons society grounds.

St Edwards home for boys - Coleshill - May 2011

2011-05-30T17:10:00.001+01:00

This history is taken from the Father Hudson society website.

Father George Vincent Hudson founded Father Hudson's Society.

From a lowly beginning, this man sowed the seeds of a Great Midland's Charity, which still flourishes today. Father Hudson is remembered for his vision and humanity and as a man who gave his life to the care of many thousands of children in desperate need.

Father Hudson was born in 1873 to a Worcestershire family. He was educated at Oscott College in Birmingham and was ordained a priest on 1st November 1898.

With the growth of the factory system, increasing urban development and the exploitation of child labour, Father Hudson feared for the children who found themselves destitute through no fault of their own - helpless, friendless and powerless. From his earliest days in the small parish at Coleshill he formulated ideas to reach out and help innocent victims of circumstance.

At the turn of the century Pope Leo XIII invited the Bishops of the World to consecrate the new century to Jesus Christ by some special work of charity. The Bishop of Birmingham at the time, Bishop Ilsley, knew Father Hudson's ideas and so asked him, to undertake the rescuing of the children for the Diocese of Birmingham

So it began. Stretching from Stoke on Trent in the north down to Oxford in the south, the Birmingham Diocesan Rescue Society was formally set up in 1902. Father Hudsons devotion to the children and his patience and energy guided its development : so the society became colloquially known as Father Hudson's Homes.

Father Hudson remained at Coleshill from 1898 to 1934. During that time it grew and expanded including St Vincent's, a home for working boys in Moseley Road, Birmingham, St Edward's Boys Home in Coleshill and St Gerard's Hospital for children. A network of 'agents' were set-up throughout the diocese to report on any cases that arose for referral to “The Homes.”

In 1925 two new schools were established in Coleshill through the Society and many of the Sisters undertook training in general Nursing for the Hospital. The children's homes grew including new homes for girls at Coleshill and foster care ('boarding out') began.

Ive since doing this I have found out some more about this place and to why it shut down.
The reasons behind its closure are "troubled" to say the least one such story is that a preist was then convicted of
abusing 18 children between 1957 - 1965. if you would like to read the story of a man who suffered at the hands of the staff here you can by following this link

http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/tm...name_page.htm

St Josephs care home - Coleshill - May 2011

2011-05-27T16:51:00.000+01:00

First of all let me apologise for the lack of new things recently I'm currently

packing/organizing for moving so the exploration is on the back burner for a while.

Im struggling to find information on this place so far, All I've found is that it is one of the many buildings under the care of the Father Hudson's society this one being the smaller of the 3 that stand empty. The documents that we found scattered around inside pointed to around 2001/2002. Again I will keep looking for more information and post it here when I do.

O.T.P (on track plant) Depot - York - April 2011

2011-04-24T19:12:00.001+01:00

The York on track plant depot of OTP for short was basically used as a centre for the maintenance for the railways in and around York. From what I could gather from old newspapers and calenders around it shut in 2009 and moved just across the road as I found out when we walked back into the centre of York

To be honest I didn't really think I was going to get enough photos for a full report as I thought it was just a couple of old trains sitting around but I was pleasantly surprised when we got there and found that the whole site had shut down. Anyway on with the pictures.

Again I visited this place with my fellow

explorer and friend Boba low.

Terry's of York (With clock tower) - revisit April 2011

2011-04-05T17:20:00.001+01:00

Terry's was a chocolate and confectionery maker in York Built in 1926, the factory also doubled as a aircraft propeller factory during the second world war. The site was originally run by Joseph Terry Junior son of one the founding members Joseph Terry. The company and factory were then Bought out by Kraft foods in 1993. The factory continued to function until September 30th 2005 when all manufacture was moved to other Kraft facilities in the People's Republic of China.

This time was the third time I have been to Terry's and it seems third time is a charm as I managed to get to every part of the building including the clock tower roof this time. It was quite strange for me to be stood up there having been born in York and seeing it when I was younger to be on top of it was strange.

Also thank's to Boba low who accompanied me his blog can be found here

And we also bumped into another explorer his blog is here

The Palladium cinema - Birmingham - March 2011

2011-03-26T21:40:00.002Z

This information is taken from Cinema treasures

Originally opened on 15th November 1911 as the Hockley Picture House, it had 506 seats. It was re-built and enlarged to the plans of architect L.L. Dussault, re-opening as the New Palladium Cinema on 8th November 1922. The opening film was Isobel Elsom in "The Game of Life". The 3-storey building had a tiled mansard roof on top of its facade. Inside the auditorium, there was an elegant decorative scheme and seating was locating in stalls and circle levels. The projection box was located beneath the circle, above the rear stalls seating area.

From 22nd October 1936, it was taken over by the Associated British Cinemas(ABC) chain, and was re-named Palladium Cinema. It continued to operate successfully as an inner city neighbourhood cinema for many years.

The Palladium Cinema was closed on 13th February 1965 with Gerald Hatray in "The Spy" and Francoise Arnoul in "Daggers Drawn"(A Couteaux Tires). It became a bingo club, which operated until closing in the late-1970's. The building then lay empty and unused for many years, and still stands in a deteriorating condition in 2011.

It was used as a Whole sale market place for clothes in the 80's by a company called associated stockbuyers and judging by the catalogues we found they mainly sold "leisure wear" consisting of horrid shell suits.

The detail here is something you rarely see these days.

Brandauer Pen-makers - Birmingham - March 2011

2011-03-26T21:20:00.000Z

This is the last of the old Birmingham pen factories that are left standing that I have been to. The building was built under the supervision of Charles Brandauer in around 1860. The building continued to make high quality pen nibs until 1960, when the company began making precision engineering parts instead. The building was bought in October 2010 for refurbishment (most probably apartments) but works have stopped since a fire went through some of the factory floors in the main wing of the building, The interior has been stripped of most of the original features since the purchase. The company still trades under the name Brandauer in a new factory just around the corner from the original factory.

For more information this blog is run by a family descendant of the Brandauer name

The living history of C.Brandauer

Digbeth cold storage - Birmingham - March 2011

2011-03-06T19:57:00.001Z

As the name says it was once a cold storage building. I've found out that it was built in 1899 by an Ernest C. Bewlay. But I shall keep looking and update it when I can.

I visited this place with two other explorers here are their own blogs.

Adders-Dead End Street

Bubblehead-Unauthorised entry

Adders.

Digbeth police station.

Myself

This set of scales were built in HERE.

John Heath Pen-makers, Birmingham March - 2011

2011-03-06T01:55:00.000Z

This was once one of the many pen factories that existed in Birmingham.

At one point 75% of all written word was with a pen made in one of the Birmingham factories. This one being John Heath's which became known as Kingfield Heath at some point in the 80's who were manufacturers of stationary equipment. The remaining paperwork we found ends at 2001 so this would be when the factory closed I presume. Time hasn't been good to this place as all of the glass ceiling in the main factory floor has all come down and smashed. And there was not a pen or any stationary in sight.

George W Hughes Pen-makers, Birmingham - Feb 2011

2011-02-13T00:05:00.002Z

George W Hughes began manufacturing pen nibs in smaller factory in St Paul's square in the jewellery quarter area of Birmingham in 1860. The company then moved to a new bigger site again in the jewellery quarter.The building was split into 3 different units over time including a jewellers on the top floor, The building stopped producing pens in 1960 and has since stood empty. I visited this place with a friend of mine who also has an exploration blog which is Here.

I.T.V Central studios, Birmingham, Jan 2011

2011-01-08T18:01:00.010Z

Built in 1969 by A.T.V in readiness for colour broadcasting This was the home of programmes such as Bullseye, Family Fortunes and Tiswas for a short time. The studios were then inherited by Central in the 1970's. These remained Central's main studios up until 1996 when the company built a new studio in Nottingham. The studios were then closed in 1997 due to the completion of a digital studio complex also in Birmingham.

Dalton Tower Birmingham Dec 2010

2011-01-07T00:08:00.004Z

Dalton Tower is one of three high rise residences and is located in the middle of the Aston university campus. It stands at 60 meters tall with 20 floors. Stafford tower is still in full use but Both Dalton and Lawrence towers are due to be demolished by a controlled explosion in may 2011.

Terry's of York (revisit Dec 2010)

2011-01-05T13:57:00.001Z

Mitchell and Butlers, The Ben Johnson, Birmingham My 2010

2010-11-08T22:58:00.001Z

All the information that I've found on this place is that it's been called the Ben Johnson, The King Edward and Chapter eleven over the years.

Mr Marvels Theme park, Scarborough August 2010

2010-11-08T22:45:00.001Z

Mr marvels was once a popular place for tourists to visit whilst in Scarborough I'm not too sure when it was built but I have found evidence that points to the late 80's The park used to have one of the largest roller coasters in North Yorkshire at some point in its life. The park closed in 1999 due to a lack of interest and tourism in the area. I used to go there as a child with my little brother and it was a real shame to see it like it is now.

I used to ride the bumper cars in this little area.

Lallians flour mill, Birmingham, April 2010

2010-11-08T22:14:00.001Z

There is not a great deal of information on this place so, All I know about this place is that it was built around 1850ish some things point towards it being a brewery in the beginning but all I know is that towards the end of its functional life it became a mill to produce chappati flour by H.S Kang and son's. The reason for its closure was a fire that destroyed most of the roof on the delivery area of the mill.

Cooperative weights and scales factory, Birmingham, November 2010

2010-11-08T21:49:00.001Z

Built in 1899 this place is another strange one that I can't really put a definitive history of its use as it seems to have been many things at different times and people say different things about it. But from what I can gather is that one of its main uses was the building of weights and scales for the co-operative. Another use I've read about is that it once used to build pianos and also a furniture factory. The building was heavily fire damaged in 2007 losing the top floor and the roof. Then a week later high winds caused part of the wall to collapse into the factory.