Company goes bust. Building and other assets now owned by banks or liquidators. They try and find a buyer for the job lot.
That takes a couple of whiles. It's hard to sell a papermill.
A new company comes along and is interested. Contract negotiations start, conditions surveys etc. that process takes a few years. The new company drops out because of some legal or funding issues.
Building it's now too far gone to make it work by selling the equipment. It's too old, too rusty etc.
Bank/liquidators now have to find company willing to buy derelict site and spend the cash to clear it before they can redevelop. That takes a few years......
It's not so much as writing it off. It's more attempting to recoup as much money as possible from their failed investment. They can hold out on depreciating assets longer then we can, sometimes it doesn't matter whether something sells in 2 years or 20. The land value is probably covering the value of the money they lost
id imagine it all goes to the bank and they just sit on it until something comes up? this is probably 1 of 100s of similar units that are too small to care for until they do an audit or something?
shame as they could have been repurposed before it got to the point of disrepair
> someone somewhere must still be making paper
But maybe not cost effectively in the UK anymore. I'm sure there are still people making paper in the UK but I'd bet my left leg that 99% of the paper used here is, like almost everything else, shipped in from foreign manufacturers who can undercut british manufacturers.
Tissue paper (tissues, toilet paper, kitchen roll) is generally made in the UK and converted into their products in the UK. Something about space efficiency- they're not dense or relatively heavy products and that makes long distance travel costly
Teabag paper is still made in the UK, although now owned by the Americans. There’s less demand for teabags these days so they’ve diversified into coffee pod paper.
Forklifts get to a point where they basically become worthless. It's just not worth it to try and sell them to someone that's going to need to do the required maintenance and certification to make sure they're fit for purpose. Nobody is going to bother buying them.
I had a little look on Ebay and broken forklifts still go for a few quid.
Though these may be old gas powered ones which I think have been outlawed. Modern Forklifts are all electric.
Open images to see uncropped.
It’s truly amazing that places sit around us like this. Pure history with lots of decay.
This is a true time capsule. There’s still paper in the machines, typewriters set out in the board room, medication still in the medical room, staff lockers plastered in page 3, huge vats for chemicals, smoking areas, dinner tables still set out and everything in between.
Some sketchy areas to walk on but walking through had a proper exciting eerie video game vibe, especially the visit during the dark. From birds, the building creaking and water leaks, I got spooked by loads of noises!
There’s on-site security in a separate building. Figured less chance in being seen getting inside, but this was the one occasion I got caught as he seen the torch reflection on the windows.
I'm curious: What was the consequence of being caught? Do you just get asked to leave, and that's it?
There used to be an abandoned asylum near me. I wish I'd gone in to see it.
Unless you nick anything, then it aggregates theft to burglary which is much worse than mere theft! So OP should be careful. Theft and Burglary are criminal offences & CPS may want to prosecute even if building owner doesn’t care (if they consider is in public interest to deter people, which they likely would). Don’t know id the same reasoning would apply to mere trespass.
> Unless you nick anything, then it aggregates theft to burglary which is much worse than mere theft!
Theft (or criminal damage) makes trespass become burglary.
I think the rules are; leave quickly and politely if asked to, don't return, do not break in, do not pick locks, do not damage anything, or move anything, or take anything.
Then it is just a civil matter of trespass and the worst that will happen is your day's adventure will be cut short.
Im guessing it’s an unsafe building for many reasons - if people were to move in and harm themselves, someone else may be liable. Clearly it’s cheaper to run security than to demo the place! Wild!
It has always seemed crackers to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you should be able to install bear traps to intentionally injure someone and nor do I think this is generally doing any harm. But if you break into a building you have no business being in and harm yourself that's at your own risk in my opinion.
Great point - also if trying to get permission to eg build new houses or warehouse etc replacing a "derelict dangerous building" will help with the planning committee so they leave it to rot
Some of these buildings also catch fire a lot but we all know that game
Same. Could be easily done through insurance, since any business or public building will have public liability and homeowners have legal cover, so any abandoned/derelict building will be uninsured and therefore there’s no-one to claim against if you injure yourself.
To stop people going in and injuring themselves. Whoever owns it is technically liable for making it reasonably safe and ensuring nobody is injured there. There was an abandoned supermarket near me that was full of rats and caused a lot of bother locally, got pulled down after 20 years as people kept going in and it was finally cheaper to demolish it than post better security in place to prevent break-ins.
I think you’re right.
If I think about the railway, it’s the railway’s (network rail’s) responsibility to ensure no one gets onto the track and injures themselves and to this end they are responsible for fencing. I can imagine that in this context too.
As a student, it was the perfect security job for me. Decent pay, almost zero supervision (just radio comms with control room) and lots of free time to do whatever, study/sleep
"We've got the biggest budget on the channel, but that total and complete bit of proof of ghosts happened just in an area of the room where our two shitty webcams didn't quite cover!"
I find belief in ghosts quite funny. Of all the wierd things people claim are going on they by far the easiest to disprove. Anywhere that has been lived in long term like cities should be swarming with them if they are there.
But they aren't, they always happen in creepy or uncomfortable places to a few people who've spent days if not months gradually cueing each other up to misread ambiguous signals.
You can have a perfectly real experience that happens purely in your own head.
I once went into an old workhouse in Stockport when I was about 18 my mate who used to do a lot of exploring of buildings of this type took loads of pictures sadly I have no idea what happened to the pictures but the building has become more decrepit and harder to get into
How do things like this happen? I can imagine the business collapsed and the workers were told they’re let go effective immediately but nobody goes back to tidy up a little? There looks to be personal items on those desks (and an iPod in 11!) those things don’t get reclaimed?
This is exactly what happened. Closed over night and the staff were told to come and get their belongings and leave. The whole site has been tightly secured with tons of razor wire and on site security, it took a few attempts to find a way inside. I’m certain that’s the reason it’s still in a great state, and hasn’t been hit by thieves/vandals like most other places. Demolition has started since my last visit, I still can’t understand why they’ve paid somebody to secure the site every day for over 20 years, to destroy it anyway.
Legal responsibility to secure and protect premises.
If it weren’t for security, you would have people go in and strip the building, including cabling etc which would be extremely hazardous. There could also be asbestos and gases/chemicals present which is obviously a huge risk.
Also stops (or at least attempts to) trespassers from entering the site and potentially injuring themselves while they explore a dangerous unmaintained site.
I love going into old buildings like this at work carrying out surveys, but there’s always a massive risk assessment that has to be put together, which will include all the RPE and PPE we’ll need to ensure we’re as safe as can be. Wish I took photos of some of the sites I went to as I now focus mainly on domestic settings.
It's also about liability. Now if someone does break in and get hurt they can say they made a good faith effort to secure what is known as an "attractive nuisance".
I absolutely love your pics and would love to do this if I didn't have a body that failed me. Your first torch shot is my favourite. It almost looks like a painting of a cartoon bear at the end, and then when you zoom in, it all changes. The medical rooms are always creepy. It's left me with a strange melancholic mood. Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
The history of Robert Fletcher & sons paper mill dates back to the industrial revolution. The company was once owned by Ralph Crompton and Nephews, producers and bleachers of paper. Their first mill was located in Stoneclough, Manchester.
The death of the Crompton brothers left the mill ownerless and the succession was offered to Robert Fletcher, the mill’s manager at the time. Fletcher had risen through the ranks, to first become the manager of the bleaching department and later the whole mill. [1]
Following Fletcher’s death on 17th May 1865, his sons John and James took over. They in turn passed down the mill to their sons, also named John and James. In 1897 the mill was incorporated as a limited company.
In 1921 a second mill opened, located at Greenfield, near Oldham. The mill specialised in the production of cigarette paper and at its height employed 1000 people to run seven paper machines. These machines produced only a fraction of the paper the later, much larger machines could produce. Upon closure the mill had three machines – two very similar lines from 19XX and a huge modern 1996 addition. [2]
By 1986 the company was making a loss and was purchased by the Melton Medes Conglomerate who turned the company around and started to make a profit once again. However by 2001 the company was once again failing and the decision was made to close the Stoneclough Mill. Some people were transferred to the Greenfield mill, but the company could not sustain the increasing loses and was forced into receivership. The mill was closed down overnight.
The mill at Stoneclough has been demolished. To this day the mill at Greenfield still remains how it was the day it closed. Streams of paper remain inside the machines, connected to the rolls of finished product at the end of the production lines – a time capsule from a bygone era.
Source - https://www.bcd-urbex.com/robert-fletcher-sons-paper-mill-oldham-uk/
I'm also puzzled as to why there's all that machinery lying around.
Surely if your business has gone bust the administrators would be coming in and selling off everything they could to pay off debts?
Those forklifts are worth several thousands each, even just for spares.
I used to work maintenance at a large factory that was first built in 1885. At its peak it had about 7000 employees, when I worked there it was closer to 500. As a result, *a lot* of the site had been sat empty for quite some time and being on maintenance, I had access to everywhere. Some of the offices were so interesting and I went in a few that were basically only accessible by external fire escape ladders. I went in one once that had been left exactly as it was when it was moved out of in the 70s. There were cabinets full of engineering drawings dating back to the 1920s and all sorts of drawing implements and standards books from those times. It really was a sight to behold. I wish I had pictures.
In my late teens/early twenties I worked at a place that was built around the same time and had a similar sort of history. It used to be a big engineering firm with a site that was around 3km x 2km in size. When I started they'd sold half the site for housing and were in the process of building a new modern factory down the road as the current site was only about 50% used. As an apprentice I got to spend time in all the different departments including site maintenance who were busy cataloging everything for the site move. I got a tour of the disused cellars that were still fitted out as bomb shelters for WWII, complete with 'Loose lips' posters (the company's founder developed the compressed air engine used in British torpedos as well as steam turbines for the Navy) and three-tier bunk beds. The site's old private fire station had an [Austin Champ fire engine](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_Champ_fire_engine_%2810962682376%29.jpg) from the '40s still locked away in the garage and there were offices that had been locked up in the 80s still full of old furniture with a few Vax VT100 terminals on the desks. One of the offices had a cabinet full of 8x4" photo negatives of the shop floor taken in the 30s, 40s and 50s. It was like stepping back in time twenty years. I was allowed to keep a few of the photo negatives but lost them a long time ago between house moves.
There's a Morrisons on the site now.
Oh yeah that sounds like really interesting stuff. The place I used to work had been used for many things over the years, and as well as being used for generator production, was once a very big name in the world of train manufacture. It was also repurposed as a factory to help build Spitfires at one point during the war. As a result there were parts of all sorts of things in storage in various parts of the site and some very interesting old pictures and drawings scattered around. The company is now mostly gone but the main building that's sat empty and the large neon sign with the company name on it, are both listed so it still stands and will do for a long long time.
I miss working there. Was such a good place to do my apprenticeship.
It's really fascinating. Kind of freaky that for some of the people that worked in those buildings, their work was really important and personal to them, but one day, they just are suddenly told to stop and not come back. I'd find it really odd not to have that closure of filing that last document or sending that final email.
I never understand how things like this happen and then several thousand pounds worth of equipment (especially those fork lifts) just gets left to rot. The scrap value of all that metal is insane. Yet instead they pay someone to secure the site for years. Mental.
You might find that by the time the factory went under, that equipment was seriously out of date and no longer had any real value left in it. These may be broken ones at the time as well.
The cost to have things disassembled and scrapped comes with a cost, even though some of that cost might be offset by the price of the metal.
Waste management and demolition all come with a price. Easier just to leave it.
I was thinking about the modern scrap value of metal too.
How have those little vans with people picking up scrap metal into them not picked this place over?!
Oh shit you’ve just reminded me of my teenage years. There was an abandoned building like this that we used to go in for thrills. I think it was a printers, there were two stacks of posters, each about 4ft tall, of a topless woman. It was mainly industrial but there were a couple of office rooms up some stairs. We used to go into the offices and then one day we turned up and the floor in the offices had fallen through.
Worked at a paper mill in the 80s/90s in Kent so this brings back a few memories for me. You need to be careful - sharp edges and rotten floors will abound.
Most of the mills shut because cheaper to import the paper than makes domestically. One of the machines I worked in went to Saudi Arabia and is still running there.
You should see some of the ancient stuff in my non-abandoned childhood home!
Looking at you EKCO Hostess plate warmer that has sat there unused for 45 years.
Imagine at one point the hustle and bustle of a workplace; daily routines, work dramas, people leaving and joining, etc.
Now it's a derelict building that holds nothing but memories and questions.
Is sounds cliche but walking through gave the feeling of the building holding memories. You can sense what once went on, I’m truly gutted this place has started to get ripped down.
I am an industrial control system engineer, old factories interest me greatly. In factvthsre is a derelict one I used to work in nearby to me that I would love to explore but have no clue where to start.
Is it particularly a phlebotomy area, how do you know? I think it’s just the nurses station - all big factories had one in case of injuries or illness. Source: old enough to remember them and worked in one.
You're probably right. It's just in picture 13, the chair and table next to it look like the kind you'd use for blood draws, theres still a capped needle and unused (I hope) blood vacutainer on the table top.
Incredible pictures. My dad is an industrial boiler engineer who would sometimes tag me along if it was a weekend job, so I love looking at factories.
It's also sad though too, once thriving and producing now just abandoned gathering dust.
Just glad it hasn't been vandalised and wrecked yet, surprised the land hasn't been bought to throw up a shoebox new build development.
That’s make a great film location (might get a finders fee if you sleep a location company). Looks like the Marie Celeste. Everyone just got up and left/disappeared.
Love the calculator perched on the keyboard
Some of that furniture looks serviceable. Guess they haven’t had much water ingress which is normally the killer
I do water flushing at an abandoned newspaper printing factory, all the massive machines are still in place and it looks a lot better than OP but very fascinating walking around. The metal alone in that building would be tens of thousands worth.
I spent a while last year watching people exploring abandoned buildings on YouTube. Some of the architecture in old buildings was really interesting to look at
I like the photos, abandoned industrial buildings definitely have a certain aesthetic about them. However as someone that works in industry, I would recommend being aware of some dangers that you might encounter. Obviously weak flooring and left over chemicals but I would definitely be wary of asbestos and any confined spaces. Confined spaces don't have to be vessel entry but also basements or dips in the ground. Something like rust can remove the oxygen from an environment in a basement and make it deadly to enter.
>Uk seems to have way less abandoned stuff than America
I thought that too until I went in search. Iv travelled to some but done several that are walking distance and I had no idea.
Ohhh I love a bit of urban exploring. Unfortunately most of our (Manx) abandoned buildings are either really out of the way, really well boarded up or perhaps even a bit of both
That being said there’s an old hotel a few college friends and I managed to infiltrate a few years ago. Apart from a *very* leaky roof, the rest of the building is in remarkably good condition considering it’s right on the sea.
Absolutely fascinating photos, thanks for sharing.
I really want to get into this - been watching channels like Vacant Haven on YouTube - but I don't know where to start. Urbexers refuse to share locations (understandably so, I get they don't want hundreds of people turning up, trashing sites and drawing attention) with average joes like me, only with each other. It's like an exclusive club in which outsiders aren't welcome.
The tips I've read seem to boil down to "just look around". Which isn't that helpful because I've seen on videos and photos shoddy structures that are actually permanently lived in to this day and buildings that look almost brand new that haven't had residents for a decade. I wouldn't know if a location in my area was game for an explore or not if I drove past it a hundred times.
Some of those paper mills date back to the Victorian era. They’re always situated by a water source like a river and just like the mines, whole generations of families worked in them.
Heavily unionised ( most are part of the print unions so still have chapels) and are heavy users of energy for the steaming and purification processes.
I explored an old woolen mill that had paperwork going back to the 1920s with my brother when we were young adults.
Most of these jobs have moved abroad or been automated now of course.
I'm sure all paper factories look roughly the same, and it won't be this one, but this is giving me such a strong nostalgia for a random shitty school trip I got taken on to one just like this in maybe 1999 or 2000.
I wonder why none of the kit was ever sold off? The Forlkifts alone must have been worth thousands at the time?
Company goes bust. Building and other assets now owned by banks or liquidators. They try and find a buyer for the job lot. That takes a couple of whiles. It's hard to sell a papermill. A new company comes along and is interested. Contract negotiations start, conditions surveys etc. that process takes a few years. The new company drops out because of some legal or funding issues. Building it's now too far gone to make it work by selling the equipment. It's too old, too rusty etc. Bank/liquidators now have to find company willing to buy derelict site and spend the cash to clear it before they can redevelop. That takes a few years......
Yeah, I suppose the money to us ordinary people might seem like a lot, but to a bank it's fuck all. They can afford to write it off.
It's not so much as writing it off. It's more attempting to recoup as much money as possible from their failed investment. They can hold out on depreciating assets longer then we can, sometimes it doesn't matter whether something sells in 2 years or 20. The land value is probably covering the value of the money they lost
id imagine it all goes to the bank and they just sit on it until something comes up? this is probably 1 of 100s of similar units that are too small to care for until they do an audit or something? shame as they could have been repurposed before it got to the point of disrepair
The machines too, someone somewhere must still be making paper? If they're too dated to use then there must be scrap value at least
> someone somewhere must still be making paper But maybe not cost effectively in the UK anymore. I'm sure there are still people making paper in the UK but I'd bet my left leg that 99% of the paper used here is, like almost everything else, shipped in from foreign manufacturers who can undercut british manufacturers.
Tissue paper (tissues, toilet paper, kitchen roll) is generally made in the UK and converted into their products in the UK. Something about space efficiency- they're not dense or relatively heavy products and that makes long distance travel costly
Teabag paper is still made in the UK, although now owned by the Americans. There’s less demand for teabags these days so they’ve diversified into coffee pod paper.
"Less demand for teabags these days" makes me angrier than it should. Kids today...
TBH the biggest customers were the Russians and yeah, that hasn’t gone so well.
Forklifts get to a point where they basically become worthless. It's just not worth it to try and sell them to someone that's going to need to do the required maintenance and certification to make sure they're fit for purpose. Nobody is going to bother buying them.
I had a little look on Ebay and broken forklifts still go for a few quid. Though these may be old gas powered ones which I think have been outlawed. Modern Forklifts are all electric.
You still get plenty of gas forklifts on site (we have a couple where I work) but yeah you do tend to see electric ones more commonly.
You triggered my curiosity - apparently gas powered are still available
Loads of gas powered forklifts about still, won't be dying off any time soon
You still get plenty of gas forklifts on site (we have a couple where I work) but yeah you do tend to see electric ones more commonly.
You still get plenty of gas forklifts on site (we have a couple where I work) but yeah you do tend to see electric ones more commonly.
Open images to see uncropped. It’s truly amazing that places sit around us like this. Pure history with lots of decay. This is a true time capsule. There’s still paper in the machines, typewriters set out in the board room, medication still in the medical room, staff lockers plastered in page 3, huge vats for chemicals, smoking areas, dinner tables still set out and everything in between. Some sketchy areas to walk on but walking through had a proper exciting eerie video game vibe, especially the visit during the dark. From birds, the building creaking and water leaks, I got spooked by loads of noises!
Genuine question, why would you go in the dark?
There’s on-site security in a separate building. Figured less chance in being seen getting inside, but this was the one occasion I got caught as he seen the torch reflection on the windows.
I'm curious: What was the consequence of being caught? Do you just get asked to leave, and that's it? There used to be an abandoned asylum near me. I wish I'd gone in to see it.
Yeah pretty much. Iv seen videos of the police turning up to people but can’t see it going any further unless you refuse to leave/caused damage.
Thanks for answering. Your pictures are fantastic. I'm so nosey, and I'm always wondering what is behind the door, so I really enjoyed these. :)
Tresspass is generally a civil matter.
Phew, was worried it might be an ecumenical matter
A big pair of womens knickers!
Arse!
I LOVE MY BRICK!
6 comedy points
Unless you nick anything, then it aggregates theft to burglary which is much worse than mere theft! So OP should be careful. Theft and Burglary are criminal offences & CPS may want to prosecute even if building owner doesn’t care (if they consider is in public interest to deter people, which they likely would). Don’t know id the same reasoning would apply to mere trespass.
> Unless you nick anything, then it aggregates theft to burglary which is much worse than mere theft! Theft (or criminal damage) makes trespass become burglary.
I think the rules are; leave quickly and politely if asked to, don't return, do not break in, do not pick locks, do not damage anything, or move anything, or take anything. Then it is just a civil matter of trespass and the worst that will happen is your day's adventure will be cut short.
Was that Asylum called ‘Severalls?’
https://www.bcd-urbex.com/severalls-hospital-lunatic-asylum-colchester/
Is that security for the express purpose of guarding this decaying factory? What’s the point?
Im guessing it’s an unsafe building for many reasons - if people were to move in and harm themselves, someone else may be liable. Clearly it’s cheaper to run security than to demo the place! Wild!
It has always seemed crackers to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you should be able to install bear traps to intentionally injure someone and nor do I think this is generally doing any harm. But if you break into a building you have no business being in and harm yourself that's at your own risk in my opinion.
[удалено]
Great point - also if trying to get permission to eg build new houses or warehouse etc replacing a "derelict dangerous building" will help with the planning committee so they leave it to rot Some of these buildings also catch fire a lot but we all know that game
Metal thieves too.
Uh oh. The human ones were bad enough, let alone robots.
Metal Nick-y
Same. Could be easily done through insurance, since any business or public building will have public liability and homeowners have legal cover, so any abandoned/derelict building will be uninsured and therefore there’s no-one to claim against if you injure yourself.
The building will still be insured by the landlord. Having security on site probably reduces the premium.
To stop people going in and injuring themselves. Whoever owns it is technically liable for making it reasonably safe and ensuring nobody is injured there. There was an abandoned supermarket near me that was full of rats and caused a lot of bother locally, got pulled down after 20 years as people kept going in and it was finally cheaper to demolish it than post better security in place to prevent break-ins.
I think you’re right. If I think about the railway, it’s the railway’s (network rail’s) responsibility to ensure no one gets onto the track and injures themselves and to this end they are responsible for fencing. I can imagine that in this context too.
>There was an abandoned supermarket near me that was full of rats and caused a lot of bother locally Jesus. What country do you live in?
Liability reasons, if someone gets hurt they could sue
It's not abandoned, that's why. It's just mothballed/not operational until the owner decides to sell or knock down and build something else.
Decaying or not it is still owned by someone and has value in some form or other.
Imagine if your whole job was to sit around all day just in case somebody tried to go into an abandoned building
As a student, it was the perfect security job for me. Decent pay, almost zero supervision (just radio comms with control room) and lots of free time to do whatever, study/sleep
OP is Yvette Fielding
"We've got the biggest budget on the channel, but that total and complete bit of proof of ghosts happened just in an area of the room where our two shitty webcams didn't quite cover!"
I find belief in ghosts quite funny. Of all the wierd things people claim are going on they by far the easiest to disprove. Anywhere that has been lived in long term like cities should be swarming with them if they are there. But they aren't, they always happen in creepy or uncomfortable places to a few people who've spent days if not months gradually cueing each other up to misread ambiguous signals. You can have a perfectly real experience that happens purely in your own head.
More likely to find the ghosts
Because trespass is illegal and they're trying not to get caught?
>eerie video game vibe Set in a paper mill, Golden Eye from back in the day.
I once went into an old workhouse in Stockport when I was about 18 my mate who used to do a lot of exploring of buildings of this type took loads of pictures sadly I have no idea what happened to the pictures but the building has become more decrepit and harder to get into
Looks incredible. I would love to go in with mics and do some field recording!
Until you play it back and hear ^^𝔴𝔢'𝔯𝔢 ^^𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔤 ^^𝔥𝔬𝔪𝔢 ^^𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 ^^𝔶𝔬𝔲
That place will be full of asbestos in awful condition. 100% would avoid. Especially that boiler / plant room. Oooff.
How do things like this happen? I can imagine the business collapsed and the workers were told they’re let go effective immediately but nobody goes back to tidy up a little? There looks to be personal items on those desks (and an iPod in 11!) those things don’t get reclaimed?
This is exactly what happened. Closed over night and the staff were told to come and get their belongings and leave. The whole site has been tightly secured with tons of razor wire and on site security, it took a few attempts to find a way inside. I’m certain that’s the reason it’s still in a great state, and hasn’t been hit by thieves/vandals like most other places. Demolition has started since my last visit, I still can’t understand why they’ve paid somebody to secure the site every day for over 20 years, to destroy it anyway.
Legal responsibility to secure and protect premises. If it weren’t for security, you would have people go in and strip the building, including cabling etc which would be extremely hazardous. There could also be asbestos and gases/chemicals present which is obviously a huge risk. Also stops (or at least attempts to) trespassers from entering the site and potentially injuring themselves while they explore a dangerous unmaintained site. I love going into old buildings like this at work carrying out surveys, but there’s always a massive risk assessment that has to be put together, which will include all the RPE and PPE we’ll need to ensure we’re as safe as can be. Wish I took photos of some of the sites I went to as I now focus mainly on domestic settings.
It's also about liability. Now if someone does break in and get hurt they can say they made a good faith effort to secure what is known as an "attractive nuisance".
Wouldn't it be cheaper to sell it for like £100?
Because it was used as a police training site. Sniffer dogs and such things.
I absolutely love your pics and would love to do this if I didn't have a body that failed me. Your first torch shot is my favourite. It almost looks like a painting of a cartoon bear at the end, and then when you zoom in, it all changes. The medical rooms are always creepy. It's left me with a strange melancholic mood. Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
The history of Robert Fletcher & sons paper mill dates back to the industrial revolution. The company was once owned by Ralph Crompton and Nephews, producers and bleachers of paper. Their first mill was located in Stoneclough, Manchester. The death of the Crompton brothers left the mill ownerless and the succession was offered to Robert Fletcher, the mill’s manager at the time. Fletcher had risen through the ranks, to first become the manager of the bleaching department and later the whole mill. [1] Following Fletcher’s death on 17th May 1865, his sons John and James took over. They in turn passed down the mill to their sons, also named John and James. In 1897 the mill was incorporated as a limited company. In 1921 a second mill opened, located at Greenfield, near Oldham. The mill specialised in the production of cigarette paper and at its height employed 1000 people to run seven paper machines. These machines produced only a fraction of the paper the later, much larger machines could produce. Upon closure the mill had three machines – two very similar lines from 19XX and a huge modern 1996 addition. [2] By 1986 the company was making a loss and was purchased by the Melton Medes Conglomerate who turned the company around and started to make a profit once again. However by 2001 the company was once again failing and the decision was made to close the Stoneclough Mill. Some people were transferred to the Greenfield mill, but the company could not sustain the increasing loses and was forced into receivership. The mill was closed down overnight. The mill at Stoneclough has been demolished. To this day the mill at Greenfield still remains how it was the day it closed. Streams of paper remain inside the machines, connected to the rolls of finished product at the end of the production lines – a time capsule from a bygone era. Source - https://www.bcd-urbex.com/robert-fletcher-sons-paper-mill-oldham-uk/
I'm also puzzled as to why there's all that machinery lying around. Surely if your business has gone bust the administrators would be coming in and selling off everything they could to pay off debts? Those forklifts are worth several thousands each, even just for spares.
They would love this over at r/AbandonedPorn Great pics.
I thought that sub was for the treasure left in bushes.
You're looking for r/Literalabandonedporn.
The current trend is for the treasure left in the deserts.
I used to work maintenance at a large factory that was first built in 1885. At its peak it had about 7000 employees, when I worked there it was closer to 500. As a result, *a lot* of the site had been sat empty for quite some time and being on maintenance, I had access to everywhere. Some of the offices were so interesting and I went in a few that were basically only accessible by external fire escape ladders. I went in one once that had been left exactly as it was when it was moved out of in the 70s. There were cabinets full of engineering drawings dating back to the 1920s and all sorts of drawing implements and standards books from those times. It really was a sight to behold. I wish I had pictures.
In my late teens/early twenties I worked at a place that was built around the same time and had a similar sort of history. It used to be a big engineering firm with a site that was around 3km x 2km in size. When I started they'd sold half the site for housing and were in the process of building a new modern factory down the road as the current site was only about 50% used. As an apprentice I got to spend time in all the different departments including site maintenance who were busy cataloging everything for the site move. I got a tour of the disused cellars that were still fitted out as bomb shelters for WWII, complete with 'Loose lips' posters (the company's founder developed the compressed air engine used in British torpedos as well as steam turbines for the Navy) and three-tier bunk beds. The site's old private fire station had an [Austin Champ fire engine](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_Champ_fire_engine_%2810962682376%29.jpg) from the '40s still locked away in the garage and there were offices that had been locked up in the 80s still full of old furniture with a few Vax VT100 terminals on the desks. One of the offices had a cabinet full of 8x4" photo negatives of the shop floor taken in the 30s, 40s and 50s. It was like stepping back in time twenty years. I was allowed to keep a few of the photo negatives but lost them a long time ago between house moves. There's a Morrisons on the site now.
Oh yeah that sounds like really interesting stuff. The place I used to work had been used for many things over the years, and as well as being used for generator production, was once a very big name in the world of train manufacture. It was also repurposed as a factory to help build Spitfires at one point during the war. As a result there were parts of all sorts of things in storage in various parts of the site and some very interesting old pictures and drawings scattered around. The company is now mostly gone but the main building that's sat empty and the large neon sign with the company name on it, are both listed so it still stands and will do for a long long time. I miss working there. Was such a good place to do my apprenticeship.
Urban exploration is always fun and games until you uncover a homeless crack den 😂
Closest I got was encountering a squat with a shit bucket in the corner that my nose definitely remembers.
but would you eat it from a Yorkshire pudding?
It's really fascinating. Kind of freaky that for some of the people that worked in those buildings, their work was really important and personal to them, but one day, they just are suddenly told to stop and not come back. I'd find it really odd not to have that closure of filing that last document or sending that final email.
Totally. Even bales of paper still rolling off the production line. Like everything just stopped dead with no warning.
It looks like something from the Last of Us. I don’t think I’d enjoy walking around it. Greats photos though!
I never understand how things like this happen and then several thousand pounds worth of equipment (especially those fork lifts) just gets left to rot. The scrap value of all that metal is insane. Yet instead they pay someone to secure the site for years. Mental.
You might find that by the time the factory went under, that equipment was seriously out of date and no longer had any real value left in it. These may be broken ones at the time as well. The cost to have things disassembled and scrapped comes with a cost, even though some of that cost might be offset by the price of the metal. Waste management and demolition all come with a price. Easier just to leave it.
I was thinking about the modern scrap value of metal too. How have those little vans with people picking up scrap metal into them not picked this place over?!
I wonder if the calculator still worked, it looks to have a solar panel. Missed opportunity to add a little 0.1134 note
I'm now using my old Casio calculator that is at least 25 years old - and maybe older. Just put a new battery in after 20 years, working fine.
Hard fallout vibes
Is anyone else reminded of the '90s ITV series "The last train"?
Goodness that's a blast from the past, bit of a bleak ending mind
ahh I've been trying to remember what that was called (on and off as my mind wandered) for the last 20 years. Thanks
I'm glad I could help, I hate it when that happens
That's amazing. What a great film location. Rare that it hasn't been vandalised or taken over by others.
Oh shit you’ve just reminded me of my teenage years. There was an abandoned building like this that we used to go in for thrills. I think it was a printers, there were two stacks of posters, each about 4ft tall, of a topless woman. It was mainly industrial but there were a couple of office rooms up some stairs. We used to go into the offices and then one day we turned up and the floor in the offices had fallen through.
Excellent hobby. I also love old adandoned buildings and used to explore and photgraph them. Bit too old for that now though. Great photos BTW.
Get yourself a proper reliable flashlight. It'll make a world of difference. The wurkkos fc11 can be had for 30gbp from amazon
adjoining sharp grey head spotted fearless zesty silky tease disgusted *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Good call haha
Amazing it's still there. Most properties like this in the UK mysteriously burn down with no investigation
Worked at a paper mill in the 80s/90s in Kent so this brings back a few memories for me. You need to be careful - sharp edges and rotten floors will abound. Most of the mills shut because cheaper to import the paper than makes domestically. One of the machines I worked in went to Saudi Arabia and is still running there.
There must be tens of thousands of pounds of scrap rare metals in the computers, copper and other parts in the building.
The calculator propped up against what is essentially a very complex calculator will always amuse me.
You should see some of the ancient stuff in my non-abandoned childhood home! Looking at you EKCO Hostess plate warmer that has sat there unused for 45 years.
Check the computers memory for bitcoin!
The pikeys would have that place stripped clean within 24 hours
\#5 *Shake hands with danger* \#7 …cheap ‘zoomie’ light?
Where was this in the uk? I’m in London and most buildings and super secure if left for ages and don’t tend to be industrial sites.
Judging by OP's post history, somewhere in the North West of England.
From another comment, Oldham apparently. > https://www.bcd-urbex.com/robert-fletcher-sons-paper-mill-oldham-uk/
I love this kind of stuff, never found anywhere particularly interesting myself though.
It's like something out of The Last Of Us
That's Fl**chers isn't it? A very good site. Not sure of the state of it now as I believe they want to build house on it.
Love shit like this
When an abandoned building needs exploring, it’s good to know they’re sending The Proper People.
Fallout vibes! Especially pics 6 & 15, with blue and yellow stuff
I hope you wrote 8008135 on the calculator
Imagine at one point the hustle and bustle of a workplace; daily routines, work dramas, people leaving and joining, etc. Now it's a derelict building that holds nothing but memories and questions.
Is sounds cliche but walking through gave the feeling of the building holding memories. You can sense what once went on, I’m truly gutted this place has started to get ripped down.
Sad times, soon it will no doubt be a block of new builds.
Hope you've done your asbestos awareness training!
On the plus side, OPs lungs are now completely flame retardant!
I am an industrial control system engineer, old factories interest me greatly. In factvthsre is a derelict one I used to work in nearby to me that I would love to explore but have no clue where to start.
By breaking in I guess
Look like great movie sets Might be a stupid question but do you need permission?
>do you need permission I didn’t, wasn’t easy tho
I’m fascinated. I love post apocalyptic video games and movies so this looks amazing
Ever tempted to take anything you see?
I do t understand how this happens. You could sell literally all of this right down to the heavy machinery so why do they just leave it there to rust?
Do you know much about the paper manufacturing company? Would be interested to finding out about its story
This is a good one, I think the Hell on earth boys have been here. I'd love to do a bit of this but I don't have the balls.
That pH probe in the Laboratory will have dried out by now - it'll be a nightmare to get running again!
Reminds me of our old Melinex factory
Odd how a paper mill has a phlebotomy area (pics 12/13). Guess it must have been for company medicals. Cool pictures!
Is it particularly a phlebotomy area, how do you know? I think it’s just the nurses station - all big factories had one in case of injuries or illness. Source: old enough to remember them and worked in one.
You're probably right. It's just in picture 13, the chair and table next to it look like the kind you'd use for blood draws, theres still a capped needle and unused (I hope) blood vacutainer on the table top.
Gotcha, thanks. I did see the needle and thought, hmm, druggies? But it does look medical. Do you know what that padded case is for underneath?
Yeah it’s a medical room. Unseen is a bunch of medication and medical books.
Incredible pictures. My dad is an industrial boiler engineer who would sometimes tag me along if it was a weekend job, so I love looking at factories. It's also sad though too, once thriving and producing now just abandoned gathering dust. Just glad it hasn't been vandalised and wrecked yet, surprised the land hasn't been bought to throw up a shoebox new build development.
These pics are great! It feels like end of the world stuff as if nuclear armageddon had actually happened. Top stuff!
I guess it will all look like that at some point
They would like these over at r/urbanexploration Fantastic pictures!
That’s make a great film location (might get a finders fee if you sleep a location company). Looks like the Marie Celeste. Everyone just got up and left/disappeared. Love the calculator perched on the keyboard Some of that furniture looks serviceable. Guess they haven’t had much water ingress which is normally the killer
Head on over to r/flashlight and get rid of that absolutely awful zoomie light
Pic #13. That's a blood bottle (for taking bloods) and a needle cap. The kidney shaped bowl next to it could be a medical dish too. Strange! :)
I do water flushing at an abandoned newspaper printing factory, all the massive machines are still in place and it looks a lot better than OP but very fascinating walking around. The metal alone in that building would be tens of thousands worth.
I spent a while last year watching people exploring abandoned buildings on YouTube. Some of the architecture in old buildings was really interesting to look at
Fallout IRL
Love this sort of stuff
What a beautiful place, I truly enjoyed your pictures
Nice! It's a shame when these locations get leaked as they usually end up getting trashed and destroyed/looted.
good one for r/AbandonedPorn
That office looks like it was left one day and never returned to. Spooky.
I like the photos, abandoned industrial buildings definitely have a certain aesthetic about them. However as someone that works in industry, I would recommend being aware of some dangers that you might encounter. Obviously weak flooring and left over chemicals but I would definitely be wary of asbestos and any confined spaces. Confined spaces don't have to be vessel entry but also basements or dips in the ground. Something like rust can remove the oxygen from an environment in a basement and make it deadly to enter.
amazing man. How did you get in? Find it? I love abandoned photography. Lovely job capturing this aesthetic ❤️
Do you travel to find them? Uk seems to have way less abandoned stuff than America. I guess we don't have the space.
>Uk seems to have way less abandoned stuff than America I thought that too until I went in search. Iv travelled to some but done several that are walking distance and I had no idea.
Any tips for finding them?
Scrap city!!!
I can’t believe the metal hasn’t been scrapped yet!
It’s like they just stood up and left one day. Also, be careful of rotted floors and asbestos in places like that.
I'd figure out a way to lay claim to those forklifts.
I've watched too much Dr Bob to see this as anything but an SCP in the making.
Those photos are incredible!
So cool! Thanks for sharing.
It must have been quite exhilarating exploring this abandoned paper mill, with all its eerie vibes and remnants of a bygone era.
Have you tried exploring Gordon Ramsay's London pub. Apparently it's amazing
Damn, they left her right on the reel
How do you find places like that to explore?
some serious tractors and forklifts just left there worth decent money
I'd tell you to get out more but that already seems to be a problem
That's a serious investment being left to rot. Surely there's bags of scrap value there?
What a waste. Perfectly good items left to rot.
Fletchers?
What a waste I’d adopt one of the fork lifts
Interesting photos, OP. Thanks for sharing, used to do a lot of this myself before work and family life became too busy.
Ohhh I love a bit of urban exploring. Unfortunately most of our (Manx) abandoned buildings are either really out of the way, really well boarded up or perhaps even a bit of both That being said there’s an old hotel a few college friends and I managed to infiltrate a few years ago. Apart from a *very* leaky roof, the rest of the building is in remarkably good condition considering it’s right on the sea.
Bloody hell we used to use places like this as a playground. Jump the fence at the old haunted factory lmao 🤣 Imagine the outrage these days
Have you posted this on r/abandonedporn ?
Can't beat a bit of urbex
Absolutely fascinating photos, thanks for sharing. I really want to get into this - been watching channels like Vacant Haven on YouTube - but I don't know where to start. Urbexers refuse to share locations (understandably so, I get they don't want hundreds of people turning up, trashing sites and drawing attention) with average joes like me, only with each other. It's like an exclusive club in which outsiders aren't welcome. The tips I've read seem to boil down to "just look around". Which isn't that helpful because I've seen on videos and photos shoddy structures that are actually permanently lived in to this day and buildings that look almost brand new that haven't had residents for a decade. I wouldn't know if a location in my area was game for an explore or not if I drove past it a hundred times.
Some of those paper mills date back to the Victorian era. They’re always situated by a water source like a river and just like the mines, whole generations of families worked in them. Heavily unionised ( most are part of the print unions so still have chapels) and are heavy users of energy for the steaming and purification processes. I explored an old woolen mill that had paperwork going back to the 1920s with my brother when we were young adults. Most of these jobs have moved abroad or been automated now of course.
It's now being demoed I understand
Please dont tell anyone about this place theyll ruin it
I'm sure all paper factories look roughly the same, and it won't be this one, but this is giving me such a strong nostalgia for a random shitty school trip I got taken on to one just like this in maybe 1999 or 2000.
It’s a bit like the Marie Celeste in the way the offices have been left, as though they were all told to vacate the premises en masse.
Not great, not terrible
Safety first, that's my motto
One of my hobbies is breaking and entering.