Valley Foundry December 2018

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mookster

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Hat tip to Mikeymutt for the intel on this place, it's a real little hidden gem.

The company at this premises began manufacturing cast iron pipes in the 1940s. In the 1980s there was a management buy out and the company was renamed, it then closed again around two decades later and once again changed hands and was renamed, and it remained in operation until it closed for the final time a few years ago.

The site is split in two by a lovely iron railway bridge with the casting storage sheds and workshops on one side and the main foundry building on the other side. Parts of it look to have been closed a lot longer than a few years, perhaps they weren't used after the early 00s closure I don't know. All I know is that the sheds are a treasure trove of thousands of wooden cast moulds - some stuff recognisably pipe shaped or cover shaped and other stuff that is more tricky to identify! The foundry itself although stripped of all it's heavy machinery has pretty much everything else left inside.

There were a couple of little surprises inside as well such as the Second World War-era stretchers being used as shelving units and the railway sleepers being utilised as flooring in the upstairs storage area of the main foundry. Little things like that is part of what I love about exploring smaller scale British industry.

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Thanks for looking :)
 
Great pics as always Mookster, interesting looking place this, seems like a good place to get lost in looking at all of the weird artefacts!
 
Oh bloody hell (sorry!) those patterns are priceless! They need to be stored in a collection - Beamish Museum in the North East displays such things - that shows their importance.
I'm shocked that they're left open to the elements like that. It's making me wonder about actual engineering drawings. I'll bet they have heaps of those which are important to the country too..

Interesting look on the place this. Liking how you've mooched in different places. There's a lot of expensive gear still on site it seems. I've spotted 'boring' looking items which if purchased would cost a lot of money. Kinda surprised to see that!

Interesting report on the site this. Loving how you've looked into corners and into rotting sheds. It's old sheds and outbuildings which often deliver the good historical items.

Nice report this. Thanks for going to the trouble :)
 
It's making me wonder about actual engineering drawings. I'll bet they have heaps of those which are important to the country too..

Actually paperwork and blueprints etc was the one thing lacking here disappointingly! There was only a single A4 sheet on a noticeboard that had the actual name of the company on it and that was on the floor covered in mud and filth, had I not found that I doubt I'd even know something as simple as that!
 
Very nice mate glad you enjoyed it.i knew it would be your sort of place
 

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