Disused Industrial Site,Essex - April 2013

Derelict Places

Help Support Derelict Places:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

steve2109

Veteran Member
Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
742
Reaction score
1,428
Location
West Suffolk
Wasn't sure if I should post this yet as another report popped up from here yesterday but what the hell ! I actually visited this place thinking it was just the one building at the front but was surprised to find that there was loads at the back ! made for a good couple of hours wander round and I still didn't cover the whole site as there looks like more newer building close by are now disused !!

History is from Prettyvacant' s excellent write up:

The former Wardle Storey’s site has a rather complicated history regarding its many various different uses and owners. It was a bit like trying to trace a very hectic family tree, with different name changes, mergers and separations leading down different routes, and without any written documentations easily available I have tried to put this together with some element of accuracy! I was very lucky to bump into a couple of guys out walking their dogs who lived locally and knew a great deal about the site, one of them had worked on the southern site as an electrician for 44 years. So I must thank them both for their time, as I did grill them for a while as they were full of facts, I mentioned that I would put some pic’s on this site so they said they would check them out...so cheers again guys!

The 130 acre site is situated on a peninsula of land with its southern edge on the estuary of the River Stour, and is divided into two sites separated by the main East to London train lines. It was Brooklands Farm prior to BX Plastics purchasing it in 1887 in order to relocate their plastics production London factory, as nitro cellulose explosives was used during the processing practices and London wasn’t considered a safe place to use such dangerous compounds. The company built an extensive array of factories, workshops and warehouses, which during their heyday were busy full off machinery, various materials and chemicals, with over five thousand employees, which seems an impossible scale to imagine compared today’s factories. Down the road Brantham village was purposely built to house the massive workforce.
During the sixties the company held patent on several plastic products and manufacturing processes, Margaret Thatcher worked there for a short time as a research chemist during the 50’s (I could think of a better use for some of them explosives...). The company was acquired by the British Xylonite Co.Ltd during the 1980’s. Xylonite, the USA version of Celluloid, had many purposes including tubes for insulating electrical cables, jewellery and various household items.

During the 60’s and 70’s many sales and mergers took place including Union Carbide in the petrol chemical industry, the Bakelite Corporation the pioneer of the plastics industry, The Distillers Company and the most significant in 1977 was the Storey brothers of Lancaster, with Brian Taylor paying only a penny for the whole site! (This was a legal technicality as you cannot “give away” anything legally, to make a binding contract requires consideration, or a payment...so one penny legally binds a contract). Later, in 1997 Alchemy a milling and turning plastics and metal company bought out Wardle Storey’s.
Sadly the site closed down in 2007. The following year the first phase of demolition had begun..

IMG_6125_zps034c73d1.jpg

IMG_6124_zpsec3ce13e.jpg

IMG_6122_zpsf7379d0d.jpg

IMG_6121_zpsb59c5484.jpg

IMG_6119_zps9e6f1922.jpg

IMG_6117_zps407fed11.jpg

IMG_6114_zpse78d47a6.jpg

IMG_6113_zps5044b13c.jpg

IMG_6110_zps9644f368.jpg

IMG_6106_zpscdb1d529.jpg

IMG_6105_zps9d54fa80.jpg

IMG_6102_zps82062f7c.jpg

IMG_6101_zpsb14cc984.jpg

IMG_6100_zps806ca3a8.jpg

IMG_6099_zps8cb8f9b3.jpg

IMG_6098_zps73555030.jpg

IMG_6097_zps3c090287.jpg

IMG_6096_zps9136fc7a.jpg

IMG_6095_zps54728668.jpg

IMG_6093_zpsf67c98de.jpg

IMG_6088_zps9d330f27.jpg

IMG_6086_zps04dc556a.jpg

IMG_6084_zps71c6de07.jpg

IMG_6081_zps24768b43.jpg

IMG_6079_zps2de3174b.jpg

IMG_6075_zpscb5b83c8.jpg

IMG_6073_zps713f3f42.jpg

IMG_6071_zps115171f8.jpg

IMG_6070_zpsf5547387.jpg

IMG_6069_zps409287b7.jpg

IMG_6065_zps79bb225b.jpg

IMG_6064_zpsfe413808.jpg

IMG_6063_zps50b55bd8.jpg

IMG_6061_zps34b5aca7.jpg

IMG_6056_zps516adc32.jpg

IMG_6055_zps65746ec7.jpg

IMG_6053_zps1edc6e83.jpg

IMG_6052_zps462ed3ed.jpg

IMG_6041_zps5eb13ec8.jpg

IMG_6036_zps159fac6e.jpg

IMG_6034_zpsaedc298b.jpg

IMG_6033_zpsc97c4672.jpg

IMG_6032_zpsa2ddbc17.jpg

IMG_6031_zpsaf864ff2.jpg

IMG_6030_zpse6617b3c.jpg
 
Great site and pics, yet more British manufacturing sadly gone for ever:sad: . You threw me with the location though, it ain't in Essex at all, but Suffolk. :GEEK:
 
fab photos....

i went here a few weeks ago ~ the ici lab i went into occupied most of my time...but looked as if about to be demolished!

am back soon to complete my explore of the whole site as time ran out last time

wish i had known sooner of the site as very close to me really :)
 
has anyone else been into the ici lab building which sits in front of the old wardle site?

if not i may have to try to cobble together a report to post up for DP
 
Ah yes i remember it well Steve;)...i actually like the place even though its pretty trashed..theres still sum interesting bits if u hunt about...as you do, c u found sum:mrgreen:
 
it is very trashed but plenty to see if you look around....i may go back for a 3rd visit soon as still a building i missed! (shocker!)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top