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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:
img9958 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A stopped stop-cock:
img9928 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Inside the smaller of the two big factories:
img9932 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9929 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9931 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some random external piping:
img9933 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A folorn looking storage shed:
img9934 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Kick down that door!
img9936 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Couple of internals of the labs part:
img9938 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9939 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Along the sides of the big factory (the wire-spinning shed?):
img9937 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9940 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9950 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9953 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And a couple of external close-ups:
img9943 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9948 by HughieDW, on Flickr
I declined the scramble to go in, next time perhaps:
img9944 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And a few more externals:
img9954 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9957 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Thanks for looking...
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:
img9958 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A stopped stop-cock:
img9928 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Inside the smaller of the two big factories:
img9932 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9929 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9931 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some random external piping:
img9933 by HughieDW, on Flickr
A folorn looking storage shed:
img9934 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Kick down that door!
img9936 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Couple of internals of the labs part:
img9938 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9939 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Along the sides of the big factory (the wire-spinning shed?):
img9937 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9940 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9950 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9953 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And a couple of external close-ups:
img9943 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9948 by HughieDW, on Flickr
I declined the scramble to go in, next time perhaps:
img9944 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And a few more externals:
img9954 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9957 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Thanks for looking...
Last edited: