Dunlop, Manchester 12/22

[Bignickb]

Charles Macintosh invented a way to allow a rubber compound to fuse with fabric and create a workable waterproof outfit for inclement weather. In 1825, he built a factory in Manchester (What a smart move! where else would you make a killing on Raincoats. Lol)
Sadly there were still issues with the material but a tip from Charles Goodyear solved it and they patented the idea Before he could.
The main building was taken over by Dunlop and the signage is still mounted, along with the wall mounted cable supports.
A lot of the buildings were demolished but some still remain today as lavish apartments conveniently close to the city centre, the section I visited has been left to rot though for reasons that evade me.
I previously saw some explorer's clip in here and they stated that there may be an underground tunnel to the centre; There was an tunnel but it was an underground flue that led to the hexagonal chimney across the road from the Chorlton mill.
The site also has a grisly past; in 2016 a fashion shoot took place there after some people broke in to do a model shoot. Unfortunately they came across a young man who had hung himself, but rather than use common sense, class it as a crime scene and call the authorities - they just took the pictures elsewhere in the building and didn't announce the find until hours later!
Today, I was trying out a few bucket list sites and after many failures I decided to have another look at this place.
It is beautifully deteriorating and is a great find, it even had a cellar space to explore.
Suffice to say - it was very creepy and I got the same feeling from when I was on an old bridge that was also a popular suicide spot.
On with the pics!

Beware of pop bands hiding here.


Transformer.


Steps to the third floor, where the body was found.


Top floor! That paint erosion around the switch in the shape of a noose creeped me out!


The cellar; it looks like they just pushed debris from a nearby demolition against the walls and it burst through the windows!




First Floor:


Sketchy looking stairs:


Still sketchy, but stable:






Cable holder, there are still lots of these on the exterior:

 

[Nyrian]

"Beware of pop bands hiding here."

No. No, no, no. That was bad. You should be ashamed.

Photos are great though. Especially as it looks like really low light you're working with. What camera?

 

[night crawler]

Creepy of what

 

[Hayman]

Since those who broke in and found the young man hanged knew they should not have been there in the first place, it is understandable they did not immediately stop
what they were doing, and report their find. Some people might find their continuing with the shoot to be wrong, but the man was already dead - probably for some time - and a few hours made little difference to the police knowing about it. What if the group had not reported it at all? Had this group not come across the body, who would have? And when? It is quite possible that a Derelict Places member might have been the first person to find it. Perhaps not until 6 years later. Someone else who also should not have been on the premises. What would he or she have done?

It is curious that showing still photos and film footage of World War One victims - dead or injured - does not raise complaints, but more recent material is considered
not right to be seen. Different times, different morals?

 

[Nyrian]

We've called police out to abandoned places we've been in when something is up. It's not been a problem with any of the five officers we've dealt with. Merseyside and Lancashire. Yes, if they left the place they shouldn't be in then reported it anonymously - that's wouldn't be so bad. But the way the story comes across (I wasn't there to see their actual reaction) is that they just carried on. That's a lack of compassion. 'He's not getting any deader and we don't want our day out ruined' seems very detached. But that's how people brought up on smartphones seem to me. Someone has a heart attack and everyone starts filming to get 'likes' before calling for an ambulance or just stares at it like it's YouTube video already. Four teens robbed a newsagents in Liverpool on Friday and everyone just watched the kids run by carrying bottles and crisps. I'm old. I didn't. I could only grab one and return what he had stolen. But people looked at me like I was weird. Everything has become distant and something just to watch and move on.

(That turned into more of a general old person's "youth today!!" grumpy rant than an actual critique of this situation. Oh, well.)

 

[Bignickb]

"Beware of pop bands hiding here."

No. No, no, no. That was bad. You should be ashamed.

Photos are great though. Especially as it looks like really low light you're working with. What camera?

I have a Nikon D90 with a Sigma 10-20mm Wide angle. I went at night but as it's all boarded up - it's dark in there also during the day! I use a CN-160 LED light with Camcorder Batteries and will get a good few hours light from it. I've come across the Police and even Dogs a few times, it's best to be civil and really apologetic for wasting their time. As it's a civil matter, they can only arrest you if you've broken in or stolen something.

 

[Bignickb]

Since those who broke in and found the young man hanged knew they should not have been there in the first place, it is understandable they did not immediately stop
what they were doing, and report their find. Some people might find their continuing with the shoot to be wrong, but the man was already dead - probably for some time - and a few hours made little difference to the police knowing about it. What if the group had not reported it at all? Had this group not come across the body, who would have? And when? It is quite possible that a Derelict Places member might have been the first person to find it. Perhaps not until 6 years later. Someone else who also should not have been on the premises. What would he or she have done?

It is curious that showing still photos and film footage of World War One victims - dead or injured - does not raise complaints, but more recent material is considered
not right to be seen. Different times, different morals?

The main issue I have is that it was a Crime Scene and if there had been foul play - evidence could have been destroyed or deteriorated over time. I'm really glad that I wasn't the one who found the poor guy. I would have smelt the odour in advance; my neighbour croaked and wasn't found for a while so I know the smell. And it isn't something you forget. I also don't agree that they 'Broke In!' Most of the windows weren't obstructed until After the event so they could have literally Walked In.

 

[HistoryBuff]

Awesome pics, very interesting find. Nice work.

 

[Hayman]

The main issue I have is that it was a Crime Scene and if there had been foul play - evidence could have been destroyed or deteriorated over time. I'm really glad that I wasn't the one who found the poor guy. I would have smelt the odour in advance; my neighbour croaked and wasn't found for a while so I know the smell. And it isn't something you forget. I also don't agree that they 'Broke In!' Most of the windows weren't obstructed until After the event so they could have literally Walked In.

As for the fashion shooters having broken in or not, I was simply quoting "The site also has a grisly past; in 2016 a fashion shoot took place there after some people broke in to do a model shoot". What was the "event" after which "they could have literally walked in"?

Suicide has for many years not been a crime, so what was certain about the site being "a Crime Scene"? The only crime may have been the fashion shooters being on enclosed premises without authority.

 

[Gibbo]

Suicide has for many years not been a crime, so what was certain about the site being "a Crime Scene"?

Hanging isn't an exclusively suicide death. It's for the police to decide if the death was suspicious or not.

 

[Hayman]

We've called police out to abandoned places we've been in when something is up. It's not been a problem with any of the five officers we've dealt with. Merseyside and Lancashire. Yes, if they left the place they shouldn't be in then reported it anonymously - that's wouldn't be so bad. But the way the story comes across (I wasn't there to see their actual reaction) is that they just carried on. That's a lack of compassion. 'He's not getting any deader and we don't want our day out ruined' seems very detached. But that's how people brought up on smartphones seem to me. Someone has a heart attack and everyone starts filming to get 'likes' before calling for an ambulance or just stares at it like it's YouTube video already. Four teens robbed a newsagents in Liverpool on Friday and everyone just watched the kids run by carrying bottles and crisps. I'm old. I didn't. I could only grab one and return what he had stolen. But people looked at me like I was weird. Everything has become distant and something just to watch and move on.

(That turned into more of a general old person's "youth today!!" grumpy rant than an actual critique of this situation. Oh, well.)

You are right that according to the report, the fashion shooters saw the hanged body then left it alone and carried on with the shoot. As for them being "detached", none of them knew the deceased, so what was there to be attached to? I am reminded of the millions of flowers bought and left in public places by thousands of people who had never even seen Princess Diana - supposedly because of their grief at the death of a stranger.

I attended the funeral of four soldiers killed by terrorists. As a fellow soldier, I felt 'attached' to the victims. I have had someone I knew as a guest at my parents' hotel drop dead beside me from a heart attack while out walking together. I tried CPR but to no avail, and went with the body to the hospital, having to phone my parents for them to tell the wife and children. The only 'attachment' I felt was to doing what I felt
I should have done.

I have come across road traffic accidents, some of them fatal. As a lifelong transport photographer who has supplied RTA photographs to the police as records of accidents, I have taken photos of wrecked vehicles. Of

Hanging isn't an exclusively suicide death. It's for the police to decide if the death was suspicious or not.

True, but there was nothing in the report to suggest it was otherwise. And, as I said,
the short delay in continuing with the shoot changed nothing about whether it was suicide or not.

 

[BikinGlynn]

The main issue I have is that it was a Crime Scene and if there had been foul play - evidence could have been destroyed or deteriorated over time. I'm really glad that I wasn't the one who found the poor guy. I would have smelt the odour in advance; my neighbour croaked and wasn't found for a while so I know the smell. And it isn't something you forget. I also don't agree that they 'Broke In!' Most of the windows weren't obstructed until After the event so they could have literally Walked In.

to be fair there is no way they could of broke in if someone had already gone in there & not come out!
unless someone let him in to hang himself & locked it up behind him which seems unlikely lol

 

[BikinGlynn]

Ok here's a similar story about 6 months ago we were called down to our company's abandoned premises that we still own to "a incident".
my boss & one of the fabricators went down with the intention of sealing it up. there was one police officer there & a guy had hung himself from the old racking.

Unbelievably the police officer let them in & they took pics of the body (which had been cut down) though he was covered up so could just see his feet.

Apparently the guy live streamed it & someone recognised where it was so he was found immediately.
for the same reason they did not suspect foul play so it wasn't treated as a crime scene.

Also they only had a few officers originally there & the one when our guys arrived, it never appeared in papers either as they keep suicides low key presumably so others dont use the same place.