Been a while since i stuck anything up and though i have been busy exploring places i didnt think the sites really merited a report on their own so i figured i would stick 3 or 4 pics from each place and roll into 1 report. First off a place close to me Baric Systems at Hawks road Ind Est Gateshead i did post a lead and rumor on this site earlier and managed to get in here recently only to be very disappointed the main factory building was totally empty and i managed to set off the alarms which surprised me as the place is due for demo very soon. I believe this was a steel fabrication business not sure when they moved out but the whole site has apparently been bought by Gateshead Council for 5 million so it can continue with its master plan to keep improving the Gateshead Quays.
This is one of the factory out buildings though not sure if this is a separate business to Baric systems.
Inside the main factory.
Final pic from here on my way out a nice gentleman from the Council security was waiting to greet me actually he turned up pretty quick i knew i had tripped the alarm but didnt expect this fast response he wa s okay about it.
Next a trip down south to Buckingham to the Bucks Tech college this has been done a few times here and not the best of sites though quite a big place much bigger than it looked from the outside. I understand it was originally the Bucks university then it got took over by various engineering firms the last of which was INOV8 it had a few things left inside.
Plenty of paperwork left but all fairly recent.
Next over to Essex for a look at Wardle Storey or British Xylonite this place has suffered badly over recent years from vandalism and arson in fact my timing couldnt have been worse as the place was attacked in September this year which had 5 fire engines in attendance so the vast majority of paperwork had almost all been burnt to a cinder great shame.
A history here from the National Archives site.
The British Xylonite Company could justifiably claim to be the first British firm successfully to manufacture a plastic material in commercial quantities. Xylonite, better known by its American equivalent of 'celluloid', was invented by Alexander Parkes and first displayed in 1862 under the name of 'Parkesine'. Derived from the nitro-cellulose and collodion processes, it was initially used for making domestic articles in substitution for wood, horn, ivory or tortoiseshell. Its subsequent development was closely associated with Hackney, being taken up by Daniel Spill, rubber manufacturer, in 1864 and later by the Xylonite Company at Hackney Wick and the 'Ivoride' Works at Homerton High Street. The founders of the British Xylonite Company, Levi Parsons Merriam and his son Charles, established in 1875 a small business to make combs, imitation jewellery etc. next door to the 'Ivoride' Works; the two works merged in 1879.
The original site being small and unsuitable, it was decided in 1887 to buy land at Brantham on the Suffolk bank of the River Stour and erect a purpose-built factory; finished goods continued to be made at Homerton until 1897 when a new factory was built at Hale End near Walthamstow (its products going by the trade name of 'Halex') which also housed the head office. Other types of plastics were introduced, and in 1938 the British Xylonite Company became a holding company with three subsidiaries: B.X. Plastics making xylonite and lactoid; Halex Ltd. making finished goods, and Cascelloid Ltd. making toys and bottles at Leicester and Coalville. The Distillers Company took a half-interest in 1939 and bought the entire Group in 1961, but in 1963 it formed part of a new grouping called Bakelite Xylonite Ltd. established jointly with Union Carbide, and including plants at Birmingham, Aycliffe and Grangemouth.
Several sales and mergers took place in the 1960s and 1970s, the most significant being the sale of the Brantham and Aycliffe sites in 1966 to British Industrial Plastics, a subsidiary of Turner and Newall Ltd., who were in turn purchased in 1977 by Storey Brothers of Lancaster, formerly a major commercial rival. The Brantham site now operates under the name of Wardle Storeys and until recently manufactured limited quantities of xylonite using traditional processes and equipment.
This is what greets you all over the site piles of burnt papers the whole place is one big wreck TBH i know others here saw it in much better times suppose this is more of an update has to how it is now.
All in all i,m glad i went but my timing was out by a few years whats left is pretty bad.
Finally a look at Lord line Hull another wreck if ever there was one most of the buildings have been well secured that said i enjoyed a wander around as it sits next to the Humber which is an impressive river.
This was my most recent visit i think i may come back here as i enjoyed the feel of the place even though St Andrews dock has long gone the place has been well documented by people who again have seen it in better days. Thanks for looking.
This is one of the factory out buildings though not sure if this is a separate business to Baric systems.
Inside the main factory.
Final pic from here on my way out a nice gentleman from the Council security was waiting to greet me actually he turned up pretty quick i knew i had tripped the alarm but didnt expect this fast response he wa s okay about it.
Next a trip down south to Buckingham to the Bucks Tech college this has been done a few times here and not the best of sites though quite a big place much bigger than it looked from the outside. I understand it was originally the Bucks university then it got took over by various engineering firms the last of which was INOV8 it had a few things left inside.
Plenty of paperwork left but all fairly recent.
Next over to Essex for a look at Wardle Storey or British Xylonite this place has suffered badly over recent years from vandalism and arson in fact my timing couldnt have been worse as the place was attacked in September this year which had 5 fire engines in attendance so the vast majority of paperwork had almost all been burnt to a cinder great shame.
A history here from the National Archives site.
The British Xylonite Company could justifiably claim to be the first British firm successfully to manufacture a plastic material in commercial quantities. Xylonite, better known by its American equivalent of 'celluloid', was invented by Alexander Parkes and first displayed in 1862 under the name of 'Parkesine'. Derived from the nitro-cellulose and collodion processes, it was initially used for making domestic articles in substitution for wood, horn, ivory or tortoiseshell. Its subsequent development was closely associated with Hackney, being taken up by Daniel Spill, rubber manufacturer, in 1864 and later by the Xylonite Company at Hackney Wick and the 'Ivoride' Works at Homerton High Street. The founders of the British Xylonite Company, Levi Parsons Merriam and his son Charles, established in 1875 a small business to make combs, imitation jewellery etc. next door to the 'Ivoride' Works; the two works merged in 1879.
The original site being small and unsuitable, it was decided in 1887 to buy land at Brantham on the Suffolk bank of the River Stour and erect a purpose-built factory; finished goods continued to be made at Homerton until 1897 when a new factory was built at Hale End near Walthamstow (its products going by the trade name of 'Halex') which also housed the head office. Other types of plastics were introduced, and in 1938 the British Xylonite Company became a holding company with three subsidiaries: B.X. Plastics making xylonite and lactoid; Halex Ltd. making finished goods, and Cascelloid Ltd. making toys and bottles at Leicester and Coalville. The Distillers Company took a half-interest in 1939 and bought the entire Group in 1961, but in 1963 it formed part of a new grouping called Bakelite Xylonite Ltd. established jointly with Union Carbide, and including plants at Birmingham, Aycliffe and Grangemouth.
Several sales and mergers took place in the 1960s and 1970s, the most significant being the sale of the Brantham and Aycliffe sites in 1966 to British Industrial Plastics, a subsidiary of Turner and Newall Ltd., who were in turn purchased in 1977 by Storey Brothers of Lancaster, formerly a major commercial rival. The Brantham site now operates under the name of Wardle Storeys and until recently manufactured limited quantities of xylonite using traditional processes and equipment.
This is what greets you all over the site piles of burnt papers the whole place is one big wreck TBH i know others here saw it in much better times suppose this is more of an update has to how it is now.
All in all i,m glad i went but my timing was out by a few years whats left is pretty bad.
Finally a look at Lord line Hull another wreck if ever there was one most of the buildings have been well secured that said i enjoyed a wander around as it sits next to the Humber which is an impressive river.
This was my most recent visit i think i may come back here as i enjoyed the feel of the place even though St Andrews dock has long gone the place has been well documented by people who again have seen it in better days. Thanks for looking.
