The Shipton & Cherwell Cement Company opened these works in the 1920s whereupon they carried on under different owners until Blue Circle eventually closed the works in the 1980s. The buildings have since been partially demolished.
This is a very large site being, as it is, a working quarry still. This is why security is so stringent & large signs stating the likely prosecution of trespassers surround the site. I reconnoitred the perimeter in Shipton itself & indeed found a gap in the fence but it was the other side of the site from the buildings I wanted to look at & I wasn't confident that I could trundle along across the site quite so openly with security guards creeping around.
So I looked again on the other side of the site. Starting at the tiny settlement of Enslow I followed the public footpath along the Oxford Canal where the chimney & buildings loomed impressively & tantalisingly above the landscape. You reach the perimeter shortly after passing Baker's Lock & crossing an iron footbridge where you find the fence is six feet tall & climbable if you're feeling athletic. Alternatively, you could be observant.
This was actually done a year ago but I've only just got round to joining 28dl, so here it is. I actually took 150-odd pictures which are collected at my site & they're much larger than displayed here.
This is a very large site being, as it is, a working quarry still. This is why security is so stringent & large signs stating the likely prosecution of trespassers surround the site. I reconnoitred the perimeter in Shipton itself & indeed found a gap in the fence but it was the other side of the site from the buildings I wanted to look at & I wasn't confident that I could trundle along across the site quite so openly with security guards creeping around.
So I looked again on the other side of the site. Starting at the tiny settlement of Enslow I followed the public footpath along the Oxford Canal where the chimney & buildings loomed impressively & tantalisingly above the landscape. You reach the perimeter shortly after passing Baker's Lock & crossing an iron footbridge where you find the fence is six feet tall & climbable if you're feeling athletic. Alternatively, you could be observant.
This was actually done a year ago but I've only just got round to joining 28dl, so here it is. I actually took 150-odd pictures which are collected at my site & they're much larger than displayed here.