Another one of those places which made me ponder as I travelled past on a packed smelly bus to my grotty Derby suburb, well after a few recces and some non-starters me and Saigon_Ob decided to have a mosey about these quite prominent structures which sit amongst a fairly unexciting modern business park.
Along with the Railway works, Pride Park as it is now known was also home to Litchurch Gas Works, operated by the Derby Gas Light and Coke Company. History is a bit vague on the gas works, though from looking at some old photographs of the area it has existed at least since the 1950s and most likely longer then that. It seems to have scaled down since the 1950s, and one of the gasometers looks like it has been replaced since then. The original works near Friar Gate were demolished with only a small section of wall surviving as a 'memorial' within a 1980s council estate.
A nice if somewhat exposed explore, it was interesting to walk around these structures as they had intrigued me for many years. Unfortunately the tanks were both fully compressed so no inspiring views apart from the surrounding business park. There is many rumours that these could be taken down in a few years - I feel it would be a great loss but I guess developers will be developers, personally I would like to see any replacement buildings resemble the tanks in shape
On the ground
Saigon on the steps which would lead to the extended sections
The railings for the many sections, note the liquid between each part (oil?)
Looking towards Derby City Centre
And the 'third gasometer' aka Pride Park Stadium
And finally more steps to nowhere... much like the rest of Derby
Along with the Railway works, Pride Park as it is now known was also home to Litchurch Gas Works, operated by the Derby Gas Light and Coke Company. History is a bit vague on the gas works, though from looking at some old photographs of the area it has existed at least since the 1950s and most likely longer then that. It seems to have scaled down since the 1950s, and one of the gasometers looks like it has been replaced since then. The original works near Friar Gate were demolished with only a small section of wall surviving as a 'memorial' within a 1980s council estate.
A nice if somewhat exposed explore, it was interesting to walk around these structures as they had intrigued me for many years. Unfortunately the tanks were both fully compressed so no inspiring views apart from the surrounding business park. There is many rumours that these could be taken down in a few years - I feel it would be a great loss but I guess developers will be developers, personally I would like to see any replacement buildings resemble the tanks in shape
On the ground
Saigon on the steps which would lead to the extended sections
The railings for the many sections, note the liquid between each part (oil?)
Looking towards Derby City Centre
And the 'third gasometer' aka Pride Park Stadium
And finally more steps to nowhere... much like the rest of Derby
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