Report - Dyson Thermal, Sheffield - June 2013

NoodleThesis · Jun 14, 2013

Got a message late saturday night from Stopford Lad telling me about this place. Not even knowing if it was doable, I headed out with my newly-repaired tripod, the camera held on with a creative array of rubber bands.

After the GPS throwing a hissy fit and sending us all over the place, and almost running out of fuel on Snake Pass, we eventually found the place. I considered it pretty dull until we got into the main building.

Sadly we didn't have enough time to cover all of it but I reckon we got the best bits. Definately going back though, top notch explore!

This place really was filled with details and impossible to capture in the length of a single post so I encourage you to check out the rest of the set on my Flickr.

History filched from Stopford Lad's post.

The company was founded by John Dyson who began mining clay and making bricks in the early 1800s. From the very beginning the business was a success. The 1834 Sheffield trade directory lists - â€œJohn Dyson - Brick Maker, Stanningtonâ€ which indicates that he ran the business on his own. However, by 1838 the business was listed as â€œJohn Dyson and Son - Black clay miners and firebrick manufacturers, Griffs House, Stannington.

Dyson's were manufacturers of Refractory material, ceramics for the steel industry, they also produce fire backs and other household ceramic bricks for the likes of Aga's etc. They have also been know to sell clay for use in Well Dressings.

Unfortunately Dyson's traditional manufacturing process relied heavily on gas fired kilns. With increased in energy costs the plants was no longer economically viable, despite the very best efforts of the management and staff alike the site closed around 2005.

The high performance niche products in Dyson's range are still available and are the cornerstone in Dyson's progression. The company have a wholly owned manufacturing facility in Tianjin, PRC which produces is high quality products.