Cerebos Salt - Sharwoods Factory

Cerebos was established in the mid 1800's and brine was found accidentally at Greatham nr Hartlepool by mistake. They bought the site in 1903 and the factory of was opened in 1906. In the 70's Cerebos & Saxa Salt production moved to Cheshire and RHM ( now premier foods) bought the site. They made thinks like, capri suns, suet, cereals, soup etc. In 1997 Sharwoods bought the site and produced Chutneys untill 2001 when ut closed. Up untill this year, the place was full of eqipment and hadnt been touched, but now the place is completly trashed and has been partly stripped. As we approached we noticed that a large green shutter was up, not realising anyone was around. The diggers had been there a while, just as we were about to walk around the back a white van pulled up. A man got out told us we wernt aloud round there and said we could only take pictures of the front. Then as we were leaving he said (bizzare!) that if we got the maonaise out of his van we could go round the back while he was on his lunch break. We rushed around the back guessing it was only him around and as we went to enter, lots of demo men told us the police were called and that we had not long to get away. Whether they had or not remains a mistery to me but we got away quick. The annoying thing is that we have been around the full place before but not took any phots . Guess i will have to wait for a bank holiday. I know this has been covered by other people but here are my shots.

Around the back


Damaged pump house


The workshops where we were caught


All machinery has been removed


Looking down to the station without white van


Looking up with van


Ornate admin entrance


Admin is now stripped


Admin


Through open shutter


Distribution Wharehouse and Admin


Flat Tyres


Forklift Stores


It is decieving from the front!!!!!!!


These concrete blocks used to hold diesel tanks


Hobo's pick odd places to live!


MASSIVE stripped wharehouses


Workshops in a sorry state


This IS NOT my photo but i am using it show you the scale of how many people it used to employ: in 2001 the canteen


In the 20's/30's

Nice pics I hope someone is salvaging the wood panelling

I imangine so. Them giant papers in the workshops were amazing, they would make a great feature wall in my bedroom. They are soo god damn big though. Even though taking them would be illegal do you think it would be helping preserve them? I said that in the most i dont want to be a thiefiest way possible

ah, looks like the enevitable is happening at last, they seem to have been stripping this place for an awfully long time, havent they?
I wonder where those giant papers came from... they werent there last time i was in! Saying that it was a couple of months ago now like.

Nice pics jacko!

that pic from the 20's... think it was taken in here?

**Mudlark** said:

ah, looks like the enevitable is happening at last, they seem to have been stripping this place for an awfully long time, havent they?
I wonder where those giant papers came from... they werent there last time i was in! Saying that it was a couple of months ago now like.

Nice pics jacko!

that pic from the 20's... think it was taken in here?

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Hmm hard to tell but i think not because it looks like the hanger like shed thing they are in is made from corregated iron.

great report. Love the wood paneling in the admin building. Looks like a massive site. How long before there is houses in it's place

jonney said:

great report. Love the wood paneling in the admin building. Looks like a massive site. How long before there is houses in it's place

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Well... Judging by the slow rate at which the demo men are going i say it should be donw by christmas, but no one will touch the site, its all contaminated and its been like that for over 100 years but who knows...