- Joined
- Dec 28, 2007
- Messages
- 133
- Reaction score
- 82
Yorkshire chemicals was a leeds based manufacturer of dyes for the textile industry and was formed over a hundred years ago. In the 1970's, it exported dyes to 52 Countries, and has owned manufacturing plants in several parts of the world. However, cheaper imports from Asia eventually saw profits dwindle and depsite apparantly considerable restructuring the company was taken into administrative receivership during October 2004. The two Leeds sites, Head offices and manufacturing plant at Kirkstall Road and manufacturing plant at Hunslet, were purchaed by the developer Gladedale Group.
I have made several visits to Yorkshire Chemicals redundant premisies over the last nine months but now the sites are scheduled for demolition and work is well under way at the eight acre Hunslet site, which will become known as 'the works'. I recently took what may be a final opportunity to visit the rooftop of Shed 47, the tallest of the buildings on this site.
Shed 47 was the most modern of the two Yorkshire chemicals sites in Leeds. In was modernised to help YCL stay competitve in the dyes market by making products more technically advanced that other manufacturers were struggling to produce.
Inside shed 47, many dangerous chemicals were handled. Sulphuric acid, Hydrochloric acid, Sodium Nitrite and Pyriline and others are all present. Hence these safety rules;
Access to the roof was gained by the staircase shown in the picture. Care was needed using the stairs as the handrails were badly damaged in places, probably due to the removal of scrap metals. When the site was operational the workers would have had the benefit of a lift.
Once on the open roof, there are several machine and control rooms as well as storage tanks.
This is assumed to be fume extraction equipment;
The prurpose of this equipment is a mystery;
The site had the benefit of a borehole for water, which was pumped to the top of shed 47. This is part of the treatment equipment;
Looking down from the roof, these tanks were noticiable. They have now been cleared as part of the demolition work.
Ice was required in parts of the processes in this building. The Stal refrigeration plant was sited up here too. The refrigerant, as commonly used on industrial plants, was Ammonia. The control room for this plant is on the other side of the windows in the picture;
The night of our most recent visit was miserable as far as weather is concenened, I didn't take my tripod up and the rain is also playing a part on the lens.
A view of Tetley's yard. It seems that around Yorkshire Chemicals was a designated blast zone in case of an accident and no residential property was allowed within that zone. A condition when the land was purchased for development was that it was not to be used for chemical production. Consequently the blast zone restriction is now lifted and I wonder what the future will hold for Tetley's brewery, since it stands between 'the works' development and Leeds city centre.
Other night views;
Demolition work is presently taking place seven days a week. Here operatives can be seen removing a pipe gantry in fromt of shed 47;
It seems a shame to me that Britian is rapidly loosing it's manufacturing industries, and the skilled trades that were part of it. One look at the miles of pipework strewn over the site makes me believe that engineering construction on this scale will never be seen again in this country. That said a city centre seems an unwise location for a facility with potential hazards such as those that seem to have been present on this site.
I have made several visits to Yorkshire Chemicals redundant premisies over the last nine months but now the sites are scheduled for demolition and work is well under way at the eight acre Hunslet site, which will become known as 'the works'. I recently took what may be a final opportunity to visit the rooftop of Shed 47, the tallest of the buildings on this site.
Shed 47 was the most modern of the two Yorkshire chemicals sites in Leeds. In was modernised to help YCL stay competitve in the dyes market by making products more technically advanced that other manufacturers were struggling to produce.
Inside shed 47, many dangerous chemicals were handled. Sulphuric acid, Hydrochloric acid, Sodium Nitrite and Pyriline and others are all present. Hence these safety rules;
Access to the roof was gained by the staircase shown in the picture. Care was needed using the stairs as the handrails were badly damaged in places, probably due to the removal of scrap metals. When the site was operational the workers would have had the benefit of a lift.
Once on the open roof, there are several machine and control rooms as well as storage tanks.
This is assumed to be fume extraction equipment;
The prurpose of this equipment is a mystery;
The site had the benefit of a borehole for water, which was pumped to the top of shed 47. This is part of the treatment equipment;
Looking down from the roof, these tanks were noticiable. They have now been cleared as part of the demolition work.
Ice was required in parts of the processes in this building. The Stal refrigeration plant was sited up here too. The refrigerant, as commonly used on industrial plants, was Ammonia. The control room for this plant is on the other side of the windows in the picture;
The night of our most recent visit was miserable as far as weather is concenened, I didn't take my tripod up and the rain is also playing a part on the lens.
A view of Tetley's yard. It seems that around Yorkshire Chemicals was a designated blast zone in case of an accident and no residential property was allowed within that zone. A condition when the land was purchased for development was that it was not to be used for chemical production. Consequently the blast zone restriction is now lifted and I wonder what the future will hold for Tetley's brewery, since it stands between 'the works' development and Leeds city centre.
Other night views;
Demolition work is presently taking place seven days a week. Here operatives can be seen removing a pipe gantry in fromt of shed 47;
It seems a shame to me that Britian is rapidly loosing it's manufacturing industries, and the skilled trades that were part of it. One look at the miles of pipework strewn over the site makes me believe that engineering construction on this scale will never be seen again in this country. That said a city centre seems an unwise location for a facility with potential hazards such as those that seem to have been present on this site.
Last edited by a moderator: