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Report - - Ewart Chain, Derby – December 2021 | Industrial Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Ewart Chain, Derby – December 2021

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MotionlessMike

28DL Regular User
Regular User

‘The Ewart Chainbelt Co Ltd… The Name in Chain’

Ewart Chain was originally set up by Derbyshire-born industrialist Sir Francis Ley in 1880 as an offshoot of his existing & neighbouring business - the successful and vast ‘Vulcan Ironworks’ of Leys Malleable Castings. The foundry was the largest of its type in Europe, covering 40 acres at its peak and employing 3,500 people, with another 200 at the chainbelt site.

The company specialised in manufacturing heavy duty industrial and agricultural, steel and forged chains – including in later years a specialised department for the manufacturing of plastic conveyor chains.

Ley himself died in 1916 and his Vulcan ironworks went into voluntary liquidation in 1988 but Ewart’s continued until 2018 when it too went bust. The assets were quickly snapped up by ‘Ewart Agri Services’ and recently redundant workers were offered their jobs back.

Manufacturing continued into 2021 until it was quietly announced that the site had been purchased by Morgan Industrial Properties with demolition of the 5-acre site to begin asap to allow redevelopment for 90,000 square feet of new-build industrial space, ending 141 years of chain manufacturing in Derby.


1894 product catalogue


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1928

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As with the Garrandale site the year before, I can never seem to time these local demo site intrusions right, always a bit too late and always end up disappointed. Part of the site which backs on to Osmaston Road has looked absolutely hanging for years and years (turns out this bit was a big ‘decommissioned’ area), but it was only when I noticed part of the roofing had been removed that I realised the company had actually stopped production a few months previously and head office had moved elsewhere… Fail!


A drone shot courtesy of the demo team

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Completely empty inside unfortunately, just big empty spaces smelling of oil

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Press shop

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This area is marked as 'saws' on the plan - I think it may be the same area as the 1928 b&w picture

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The long since decommissioned area which unfortunately had some of its roofing removed

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Pattern stores

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That was about it. There was still a bit of the place standing last time I drove past but probably not for very long.


 

host

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Might be empty but I still love places like this. You know if demo has started ??
 

raisinwing

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Still very nice despite the emptiness!

Always good to see more places from peoples local areas, too much of this sort of stuff gets missed in the pursuit of greater things up and down the country.
 

mookster

grumpy sod
Regular User
I remember going past this in Derby last summer and thought it looked a bit derelict, good to see inside even if it's as empty as can be.
 

Nonjuror

28DL Member
28DL Member
I used to visit Ewarts on a regular basis relating to Quality Matters
We used to Heat Treat their Steel Chain Links for them.
They were conveyer chains which were used in Sugar Mills and Breweries Keg Filling Lines.
Our Company name was Hammond Heat Treatment and was located in Darlaston West Midlands.
 

MotionlessMike

28DL Regular User
Regular User
I used to visit Ewarts on a regular basis relating to Quality Matters
We used to Heat Treat their Steel Chain Links for them.
They were conveyer chains which were used in Sugar Mills and Breweries Keg Filling Lines.
Our Company name was Hammond Heat Treatment and was located in Darlaston West Midlands.

Interesting. Always good to hear stuff like this.
 

Nismo

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
I used to visit Ewarts on a regular basis relating to Quality Matters
We used to Heat Treat their Steel Chain Links for them.
They were conveyer chains which were used in Sugar Mills and Breweries Keg Filling Lines.
Our Company name was Hammond Heat Treatment and was located in Darlaston West Midlands.

Heat Treatment 2000 ?, I used to go to the skip hire place next door quite often to repair the Hyd Hoses on the wagons etc. if my memory serves me correctly i repaired a bin wagon that had burst a pipe that was emptying the bins at your place.
small world
 

mingerocket

28DL Regular User
Regular User
Good job.
I bet there was some fascinating machinery in there back in the day.
I love that old engineering smell you get in those places. Always brings back fond memories
 

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