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Report - - Cannon Brewery, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, June 2022 | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Cannon Brewery, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, June 2022

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HughieD

28DL Regular User
Regular User
1. The History
The origins of Stones beer goes right back to 1847 when Joseph Watts of Dewsbury and William Stones (1827 -1894) of Sheffield began brewing together at the Cannon Brewery in Sheffield's Shalesmoor district. The name is most likely come from the nearby foundry that cast gun barrels. The Cannon Brewery site itself was the original premises of Shepherd, Green & Hatfield who started to brew here back in 1838 back when the area was still a respectable residential district. However, in 1868 Stones took over the lease from SG&H and renamed it the Cannon Brewery after its original premises in Shalesmoor. In 1894 William Stones died and left the brewery to his cashier James Haynes and Richard Wigfull, a corn miller. The following year Stones was incorporated and the brewery was equipped with an expensive plant, stores and cellars, covered and open yards, offices, stabling and workshops. The marketing and sales offices on the brewery site were completed in 1958. Another addition was a new half-a-million pound 5-storey brew-house building which was operational by 1962, representing one of the most up-to-date in the UK. An on-site pub followed two years later in 1964. Built in the basement of the brewery, it was initially called The Underground, but was later renamed The Pig and Whistle. At the brewery’s peak it was producing 50,000 hecto-litres of cask-conditioned Stones per annum.

Things were about to change though. Bass purchased Stones for £9 million (about £140 m in today’s money) in 1967 in what was termed a ‘friendly takeover’. Initially they retained the production of the popular Stones Bitter. However in 1970 Bass suggested that the Cannon Brewery might be shut down. The continuing popularity of Stones Bitter though ensured the Cannon brewery survived for the time being. The office building was sold off in 1985 and latterly occupied by an accountancy firm. In 1992 a visitor's centre building was opened and three years later the brewery became an unlikely film set for the film “When Saturday Comes” (starting Sean Bean as a hard-drinking brewery worker with aspirations of playing for his beloved Sheffield United).

Sadly, though, the inevitable happened and Bass closed the brewery in April 1999, citing the decline in sales of cask conditioned ales. The closure resulted in the loss of 57 jobs while allowing Bass realise efficiency savings of around £1 million. Since then site has become increasingly trashed as a decade and a half of abandonment has taken its toll. In August 2015 the City Council approved an application by site owners Hague Plant to demolish and redevelop the site. However, the approved window came and went and the site remains.

2. The Explore
One of the classic Sheffield explores. It’s been around for ages. Although it’s been disused since 1999, it wasn’t until June 2010 it first got reported on here. Take a bow @kitt, ( report HERE ). Bizzarely, despite being local to the old girl, only explored it once back in September 2015 (archive report HERE). A few years back, security was upped somewhat with a lot of new palisade fencing going up, turning it into something of a fortress. But as we all know, access comes and goes so when it recently availed itself again, thought we’d do a revisit. In truth it hasn’t changed much since my last visit. It’s pretty graff and smashed up but has enough redeeming features, some decent graff and some fab views. Two hours on a very sunny June morning flew by.

3. The Pictures

A few externals:

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And those famous gates:

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Across the court yard we skip:

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Can’t get enough of the old water tower:

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The classic water tower reflection shot from the court yard:

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First up, it’s the 5-storey brew house.

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We’re being watched:

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This is my fave floor:

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For obvious reasons:

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A quick reminder of the brewery’s name:

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Floor up and more holes for the vats:

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Looking back down to the floor below:

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Lift out of order. OK we’ll take the stairs:

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Blue is the colour (of the fire escape):

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Electrics for the lift:

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And the motor:

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View from the roof:

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HughieD

28DL Regular User
Regular User
CONTINUED:

Back down we go:

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On to the two-storey building next to the water tower:

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Love this locker room:

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And then the three storey room next door; the workshops, conditioned beer dept and tank beer dept.

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Not too much at ground level.

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Although this is bit better:

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Up this spiral staircase:

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And on to the first floor and some nice graff. I forget all the artists’ names:

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But this is Coloquix:

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Up a floor:

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And over a barrel:

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And on to this wide open space:

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Some lovely graff here. An early Colorquix:

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A sunny side room:

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It leads out on to the roof:

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On to the third large building that borders Rutland Road. On to the massive adjoining building. The electrics room:

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First it’s up to the top via this amazing staircase:

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The lift mechanism:

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And on to this curious room – the smelliest and cleanest if that makes sense:

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Last edited:

Wally_urbex

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
U covered that well. Was there myself jubille weekend and was supprised that a lot of it inside had been reduced to rubble. For me the most interesting part was the huge holes where the copper kettle's would have been, they must have been huge!.
 

CantClimbTom

Enthusiastic Idiot and prolific BS talker
28DL Full Member
Absolutely Fkn lovely pics, was admiring them on your Flickr Album Cannon 2, the other day, nice to read the report and get some context
 

Calamity Jane

i see beauty in the unloved, places & things
Regular User
Liking the stair shots a lot. That's a work out! Shame the kettles are gone, but in a way nice too, too see where they would of been. Lovely open spaces photographed really nicely. Like this a lot. :thumb
 

HughieD

28DL Regular User
Regular User
U covered that well. Was there myself jubille weekend and was supprised that a lot of it inside had been reduced to rubble. For me the most interesting part was the huge holes where the copper kettle's would have been, they must have been huge!.
Cheers mate. Much appreciated. Yeah, may fave bit too. In the basement they'd been some serious demo. Probably to get the machines and apparatus out.

I have never been but definatley would if near. Great in depth report mate.
Well worth a look when you'rd iver our way mate.

Absolutely Fkn lovely pics, was admiring them on your Flickr Album Cannon 2, the other day, nice to read the report and get some context
Cheers mate. Really photogenic site, even in its current state.

Liking the stair shots a lot. That's a work out! Shame the kettles are gone, but in a way nice too, too see where they would of been. Lovely open spaces photographed really nicely. Like this a lot. :thumb
Thank you. Ha ha, it was indeed @Calamity Jane
Really loved the staircases too.
 

mookster

grumpy sod
Regular User
Most comprehensive set of pics I've seen from this classic spot. Crazy to think before they went mad with the palisade the front gate was literally swinging in the breeze!
 

HughieD

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Most comprehensive set of pics I've seen from this classic spot. Crazy to think before they went mad with the palisade the front gate was literally swinging in the breeze!
Cheers Mook. Amazing that there's still so much to photograph, given it is a shell. But it's just so big. It dominates the skyline in this area of Sheffield. Was all prepared for it to get demo'ed but then it just never happened. Glad really as it's become part of the fabric.
 

dansgas1000

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Really nice report, you've covered it well! May have to pop in here when I'm next up that way, plan to do GBs round the corner aswell (fingers crossed).

That old elevator is lovely, and I like the old spiral staircase down to the basement. I feel that it's one of those places that are so trashed and decayed yet are still well worth a look.
 

jezzyboo

28DL Regular User
Regular User
some excellent photos there , surprised with all the development around the kelham island area this has not become flats .lovely to see again :thumb
 

shady

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Nice shots. Cannon never fails to look pretty, at least in photos. I had heard that security had been really tight for a while, I guess that's not the case anymore given how many people have been in recently
 

Parysperspective

A peach, a nice welcoming peach
Banned
It’s being demoed soon as something went in recently. And so because of that security don’t give a carp, and neither do police actually (someone Karened on some kids to both secca and police and no one came!), I reckon it may actually happen this time. Eventually. :lol

So go enjoy free roaming!
 

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