- Joined
- Dec 13, 2015
- Messages
- 141
- Reaction score
- 481
History
I couldn't find an awful lot of history on this place I'm afraid, I actually thought it was a paper mill until I got home and did a little research. Here is some Wiki copy and pasting.
The business was established by Edward Packard, one of the first to manufacture superphosphate derived from coprolites, in 1843. In 1863 he was joined in business by his son, also named Edward, who was instrumental in developing the business and rationalising the United Kingdom's fertiliser industry. The business was incorporated in 1895 under the name of Edward Packard and Company Limited.
In 1919 it bought a fertiliser business founded by James Fison of Thetford in 1808 and in 1929 the parent company's name was changed to Packard and James Fison (Thetford) Limited to reflect the acquisition.
Fisons owned parts of the Somerset Levels where they extracted peat. In 1970 one of their staff Ray Sweet discovered the remains of a timber trackway. It has been dated to 3807 or 3806 BC, and is now known as the Sweet Track. A portion is now in the collection of the British Museum.
In the early 1980s the Company decided to focus on pharmaceutical products and its fertiliser activities were sold to Norsk Hydro in 1982.
The Explore
Myself and a non-member Oz set off with a few locations to check out. The first, some interesting looking platforms seems to be used by a transportation company, the second, a car graveyard eluded us and the third, Shadwell Park looked very much un-abandoned. So I checked my map and off towards Ipswich we went.
After a couple of drive bys, some umming and aahing over where we should park and a quick scramble through the undergrowth, we were in the grounds. We made our way into the building quickly, there are a few local businesses that overlook the site and we didn't want to be seen hanging about outside. Once inside, we had the run of the place, and what a place it is. Surprisingly unvandalised and with predominantly good graffiti art on the walls (none of that tagging bullshit) this was a nice little explore. The building is constructed of steel and timber, with timber flooring throughout which is showing the signs of wear in places. We slowly but surely worked our way up on the look out for damp looking spots, by the time we got to the loft space, we didn't dare venture far from the stairs. It's worth noting that on the 2nd? floor, there is evidence of a fire that has left the floor in a bad way, how this place hasn't been razed to the ground yet I don't know.
On with the pictures:
Why is there always a sofa?!
All in all a nice chilled out explore.
As a side note, I know this isn't a photography forum but as you can see in some of my pictures, I've ended up with a really noticeable haze around windows. Any of you HDR gurus care to offer some tips?
I couldn't find an awful lot of history on this place I'm afraid, I actually thought it was a paper mill until I got home and did a little research. Here is some Wiki copy and pasting.
The business was established by Edward Packard, one of the first to manufacture superphosphate derived from coprolites, in 1843. In 1863 he was joined in business by his son, also named Edward, who was instrumental in developing the business and rationalising the United Kingdom's fertiliser industry. The business was incorporated in 1895 under the name of Edward Packard and Company Limited.
In 1919 it bought a fertiliser business founded by James Fison of Thetford in 1808 and in 1929 the parent company's name was changed to Packard and James Fison (Thetford) Limited to reflect the acquisition.
Fisons owned parts of the Somerset Levels where they extracted peat. In 1970 one of their staff Ray Sweet discovered the remains of a timber trackway. It has been dated to 3807 or 3806 BC, and is now known as the Sweet Track. A portion is now in the collection of the British Museum.
In the early 1980s the Company decided to focus on pharmaceutical products and its fertiliser activities were sold to Norsk Hydro in 1982.
The Explore
Myself and a non-member Oz set off with a few locations to check out. The first, some interesting looking platforms seems to be used by a transportation company, the second, a car graveyard eluded us and the third, Shadwell Park looked very much un-abandoned. So I checked my map and off towards Ipswich we went.
After a couple of drive bys, some umming and aahing over where we should park and a quick scramble through the undergrowth, we were in the grounds. We made our way into the building quickly, there are a few local businesses that overlook the site and we didn't want to be seen hanging about outside. Once inside, we had the run of the place, and what a place it is. Surprisingly unvandalised and with predominantly good graffiti art on the walls (none of that tagging bullshit) this was a nice little explore. The building is constructed of steel and timber, with timber flooring throughout which is showing the signs of wear in places. We slowly but surely worked our way up on the look out for damp looking spots, by the time we got to the loft space, we didn't dare venture far from the stairs. It's worth noting that on the 2nd? floor, there is evidence of a fire that has left the floor in a bad way, how this place hasn't been razed to the ground yet I don't know.
On with the pictures:
Why is there always a sofa?!
All in all a nice chilled out explore.
As a side note, I know this isn't a photography forum but as you can see in some of my pictures, I've ended up with a really noticeable haze around windows. Any of you HDR gurus care to offer some tips?
