Happened to drive past here on our way to another location, thought it was worth stopping off and having a nose.
Bit of history on the place,
The site was originally the Gem Brick Tile and Terra Cotta Works Company and locals still refer to the site as the 'Gem'. In 1901 it was voluntary wound up and the Alyn Brick Tile & Terracota Company took over. The chimney was added in 1911 (built by Ephram Jones). By 1916 the plant had closed and it was then refitted as a silica works by Colin Steward Ltd. Local hard silica sandstone was taken from a quarry above the site and transported in trams down a cable tramway (there's still the remains of the winding houses up in nearby fields) The stone was then ground down to powder that was used by Lever Bros as the scouring agent in 'Vim'. The plant produced 600 tons of powder per week which was transported by rail from a private siding. The silica dust by-product was diverted to the chimney where it was captured by a water spray and piped to a nearby pond where it solidified and reclaimed the pond and marsh back into land. Colin Stewart Ltd closed when Levers ended the contract in 1959, More recently, the site was acquired by Clwyd Alloys, and was used as a foundry for the reclamation of scrap metal. The site closed in 2002, and outline plans for housing have been submitted.
Was an easy explore but some parts were very structurally unsafe, a lot of rust on the metal flooring and it was absolutely pouring with rain so was very slippery in places.
Bit of history on the place,
The site was originally the Gem Brick Tile and Terra Cotta Works Company and locals still refer to the site as the 'Gem'. In 1901 it was voluntary wound up and the Alyn Brick Tile & Terracota Company took over. The chimney was added in 1911 (built by Ephram Jones). By 1916 the plant had closed and it was then refitted as a silica works by Colin Steward Ltd. Local hard silica sandstone was taken from a quarry above the site and transported in trams down a cable tramway (there's still the remains of the winding houses up in nearby fields) The stone was then ground down to powder that was used by Lever Bros as the scouring agent in 'Vim'. The plant produced 600 tons of powder per week which was transported by rail from a private siding. The silica dust by-product was diverted to the chimney where it was captured by a water spray and piped to a nearby pond where it solidified and reclaimed the pond and marsh back into land. Colin Stewart Ltd closed when Levers ended the contract in 1959, More recently, the site was acquired by Clwyd Alloys, and was used as a foundry for the reclamation of scrap metal. The site closed in 2002, and outline plans for housing have been submitted.
Was an easy explore but some parts were very structurally unsafe, a lot of rust on the metal flooring and it was absolutely pouring with rain so was very slippery in places.
was nice to meet you
