Bridon Wire, Ambergate, Derbys, June 2015

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HughieD

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This is the second report from Ambergate, Derbyshire. This time it's the old wire-making factories of Bridon. Here's the history.

Originally the wire manufacturing facilities were set up by Richard Johnson & Nephew in 1876 and at its peak the factory employed over 500 people. They specialised in telegraph wires, fencing and suspension cables and famously put in a tender for the suspension wires for the Brooklyn Bridge. J&N produced the telegraph cables laid underneath the English Channel during World War II. Typically suspension wires were made from steel, due to its tensile strength, and for telegraphy wires copper was used due to its higher conductivity.

It was acquired in 1990 by Bridon and became "Bridon Ropes, Johnson & Nephew Wire Works Ltd" until wire-making ended in 1996. Bridon continued to use its Ambergate site as a storage and distribution centre until it was fully closed down around 1990.

The site is split by the River Derwent, and parts of it are still in use i.e. the eastern part. It was bought from Bridon by the Lichfield Group in 2001, which then set up a plastic extrusion factory. The western part is mostly derelict and the factories are very extensive and cover a large area. In the past the factories have been accessible hence the glut of reports around 2008 and 2009. However the main factories including the wire-spinning shed and the lead bath/ tempering facility are now sealed up quite well. Some parts could be accessed with a bit of climbing, such as the labs buildings on the right of the path and the main large factory on the left (as you approach from the road end with the river on your right). However with time a bit on the tight side and a lack of a decent touch, I declined this challenge.

Here's the pictures:

View from the gate:

18993942492_ee3f1850f7_b.jpgimg9958 by HughieDW, on Flickr

A stopped stop-cock:

18999327475_9665a18ab3_b.jpgimg9928 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Inside the smaller of the two big factories:

18811372770_5566b1dfa3_b.jpgimg9932 by HughieDW, on Flickr

18973000866_968e2b49e9_b.jpgimg9929 by HughieDW, on Flickr

18811432970_3c0265cd48_b.jpgimg9931 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some random external piping:

18378351953_f9aab1fa73_b.jpgimg9933 by HughieDW, on Flickr

A folorn looking storage shed:

18811255460_8f2432e053_b.jpgimg9934 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Kick down that door!

18378207103_e7392db91c_b.jpgimg9936 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Couple of internals of the labs part:

18812537269_1e0bc7c6c6_b.jpgimg9938 by HughieDW, on Flickr

18993243312_2d7de10f66_b.jpgimg9939 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Along the sides of the big factory (the wire-spinning shed?):

18811102710_3523365fba_b.jpgimg9937 by HughieDW, on Flickr

19001663101_114c227553_b.jpgimg9940 by HughieDW, on Flickr

19001444911_b490aa9490_b.jpgimg9950 by HughieDW, on Flickr

18812165899_d52c0b349d_b.jpgimg9953 by HughieDW, on Flickr

And a couple of external close-ups:

18993125652_8e718432d9_b.jpgimg9943 by HughieDW, on Flickr

18810776890_fed203c051_b.jpgimg9948 by HughieDW, on Flickr

I declined the scramble to go in, next time perhaps:

18972304796_e204254a38_b.jpgimg9944 by HughieDW, on Flickr

And a few more externals:

18810660408_136a297812_b.jpgimg9954 by HughieDW, on Flickr

18810578330_2bbe100b15_b.jpgimg9957 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Thanks for looking...
 
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You've done it again, a great report. Me and Ruine went as we live about a 2 minutes walk away, though when we go there is never a way into the warehouses!
 
Cheers mate. Yup...it's a biggie and I only really scratched the surface here.
Your gonna have to go back Hughie, I've got a spare Lenser head torch send me a POB No and I'll send it on to you, Loved your post, Thanks
 
Nice, I love this place, all overgrown. I passed through it once back in 1998, but only took a few photos because it was on 'film', it cost to develop and I was skint! Here you go, a few period shots from 16 years earlier:

4143616463_e383248dd6_z.jpg

4143615123_14dc28af84_z.jpg

4144374934_e71240db67_z.jpg

I went back a few years ago and was pleased to see it manly unaltered.

cheers
 

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