The closure of the Redcar Steelworks & Southbank Coke Works marked the end of a proud tradition of iron and steelmaking in the area. It is almost unbelievable that as I type this the very last traces of the blast furnace and associated works are being brushed away. The site has been covered fairly comprehensively by others, but I think some of the work and efforts that went in to capturing the images in this report are worthy of being shared. Big shout out to @Speed who tolerated returning on multiple occasions, we had some long nights and tired drives home... but I'm sure he would agree the fun and games we had were worth it all.
This became a bit of an obsession for me during demolition. Initial regret for not going sooner turned into deep desire to see as much as I could. I spent a lot of time learning about the history and geography of the site, which in turn made me all the more thirsty to see as much as I could.
The report covers mostly the areas around South Bank, which in modern times was the coke works that fed the Redcar site, but there were scraps of the Clevelend Steel Works dotted around the site, which had closed and been demolished decades before. These bits and bobs were much more of the vintage I enjoy, so that is where I concentrated my efforts. Speed having seen most of Redcar on his earlier visits also played a part in looking for pastures new rather than covering what he had already seen - now with considerable more risk!
Essentially my story starts with a fuck up - not going the week the closure was announced. Those that made the effort to do so were rewarded with relatively trouble free exploring unhindered by the various security measures that would follow soon after. At the time I saw no rush. We hadn't really seen anything on the scale of the steelworks demolished before, and I assumed it would be sat mothballed or semi-derelict for a very, very long time to come. I also kind of figured that as it became more derelict and got stripped of it's valuables that it might become rather easy to explore, kind of CWM coke esque.... boy, how wrong I was!!
It was probably a couple of years or more after Speed's original blast furnace climb that I managed to convince him to return back up to have another pop. I quite fancied standing at the top of the furnace, and also wanted to climb the "Dorman Long" coal hopper in the middle of the coke works. This had been done almost at the dawn of 28dl, but again wrongly assuming it would always be there it never made the top of the list. Speed had the plan laid out... over the beach, through the coal yard, into the coking battery, into the furnace. Easy!
Well... the first part was easy. We had reached the coke battery when I nearly leapt out of my skin - a whaling siren began to sound just a few yards away from us. We managed to navigate a couple of rows of herras before ducking for cover behind a low wall, just as the headlights of a Hylux came round the corner. I swear the truck couldn't have been more than a few yards away from us at one point, to the point I could hear the crackle of the gravel under the wheel as he turned the steering wheel. But he eventually turned round and drove away... phew! We hid it out for a bit and then made the dash to enter the bottom of the furnace.
Once in we began to climb, until we got to the exposed gantries near the top. We were one flight of stairs from the very top when we noticed yet more Hylux activity below. One, then another, then another, driving around the perimeter road of the furnace. Then the shouting started.... "we know you're up there" etc bellowed voices, muffled by our lofty vantage point. The prospect of 'it's a fair cop guv' wasn't terribly appealing at this point... We decided despite Speed being sure the bottom of the coal conveyor was blocked off, it was worth a try. We managed to get to the correct level by means of a very convenient central ladder rather than the exposed external steps, and incredibly gingerly crept down the conveyor to indeed meet steel sheeting. Fortune smiled and there was a small gap with some horrid drop of death below it, but a gap it was and some wriggling whilst being showered with coal and iron dust we made it through, popped out of the end and strolled back to the beach and back to the car. The Hylux were still parked flanking the furnace as we drove past... I do still wonder how long they waited for us! For the time being at least, I had my fill of Teesside!
Then about 18 months later "Teesworks" announced that the whole site would be demolished lock stock and barrel over a 12 month period. That was it then, I needed to get back up there and put some effort in... even just to see some of the place before it was gone forever.
I began by taking in some of the easier long disused buildings. I spent a long time on maps looking for subtle ways in to the site around South Bank, avoiding the well protected coke works at this stage. My first real success was the Cleveland Iron ore handling plant... which despite Dave's description being "those fucked roofless sheds" actually turned out to be a really good mooch which filled the best part of a day.
Report here covering more depth on the building:
www.28dayslater.co.uk
After a jolly good days exploring and the OHP offering good views of the coke works I was keen to try and tick off as much as I could. The next time I returned was a flying visit on the way home from somewhere and I took advantage of the fine weather to walk "the black path" to further inspect the lie of the land.
I also noticed some demolition and land remediation had uncovered some of the old Clevelend Works. My dreams of long buried Dorman Long branded signage and other such forgotten goodies did not however come to fruition!
Adjacent to this newly exposed archeology I noticed the back end of the old loco repair workshops, and despite it's close proximity to the demolition compound managed to creep inside to find yet more rooms disused for decades. Only phone snaps as it wasn't a planned explore as such. Nothing mega, but the rooms had a nice atmosphere to them, battered by the North East winds and rain, the window glass long gone.
The concrete perimeter fence of South Bank which I have a bit of an obsession with...
And a walk on the beach with the missus, as a quick check up on the state of play with Redcar... still crawling with Hylux!
A truly iconic image of England, the fishing huts of South Gare with the furnace in the background.
This became a bit of an obsession for me during demolition. Initial regret for not going sooner turned into deep desire to see as much as I could. I spent a lot of time learning about the history and geography of the site, which in turn made me all the more thirsty to see as much as I could.
The report covers mostly the areas around South Bank, which in modern times was the coke works that fed the Redcar site, but there were scraps of the Clevelend Steel Works dotted around the site, which had closed and been demolished decades before. These bits and bobs were much more of the vintage I enjoy, so that is where I concentrated my efforts. Speed having seen most of Redcar on his earlier visits also played a part in looking for pastures new rather than covering what he had already seen - now with considerable more risk!
Essentially my story starts with a fuck up - not going the week the closure was announced. Those that made the effort to do so were rewarded with relatively trouble free exploring unhindered by the various security measures that would follow soon after. At the time I saw no rush. We hadn't really seen anything on the scale of the steelworks demolished before, and I assumed it would be sat mothballed or semi-derelict for a very, very long time to come. I also kind of figured that as it became more derelict and got stripped of it's valuables that it might become rather easy to explore, kind of CWM coke esque.... boy, how wrong I was!!
It was probably a couple of years or more after Speed's original blast furnace climb that I managed to convince him to return back up to have another pop. I quite fancied standing at the top of the furnace, and also wanted to climb the "Dorman Long" coal hopper in the middle of the coke works. This had been done almost at the dawn of 28dl, but again wrongly assuming it would always be there it never made the top of the list. Speed had the plan laid out... over the beach, through the coal yard, into the coking battery, into the furnace. Easy!
Well... the first part was easy. We had reached the coke battery when I nearly leapt out of my skin - a whaling siren began to sound just a few yards away from us. We managed to navigate a couple of rows of herras before ducking for cover behind a low wall, just as the headlights of a Hylux came round the corner. I swear the truck couldn't have been more than a few yards away from us at one point, to the point I could hear the crackle of the gravel under the wheel as he turned the steering wheel. But he eventually turned round and drove away... phew! We hid it out for a bit and then made the dash to enter the bottom of the furnace.
Once in we began to climb, until we got to the exposed gantries near the top. We were one flight of stairs from the very top when we noticed yet more Hylux activity below. One, then another, then another, driving around the perimeter road of the furnace. Then the shouting started.... "we know you're up there" etc bellowed voices, muffled by our lofty vantage point. The prospect of 'it's a fair cop guv' wasn't terribly appealing at this point... We decided despite Speed being sure the bottom of the coal conveyor was blocked off, it was worth a try. We managed to get to the correct level by means of a very convenient central ladder rather than the exposed external steps, and incredibly gingerly crept down the conveyor to indeed meet steel sheeting. Fortune smiled and there was a small gap with some horrid drop of death below it, but a gap it was and some wriggling whilst being showered with coal and iron dust we made it through, popped out of the end and strolled back to the beach and back to the car. The Hylux were still parked flanking the furnace as we drove past... I do still wonder how long they waited for us! For the time being at least, I had my fill of Teesside!
Then about 18 months later "Teesworks" announced that the whole site would be demolished lock stock and barrel over a 12 month period. That was it then, I needed to get back up there and put some effort in... even just to see some of the place before it was gone forever.
I began by taking in some of the easier long disused buildings. I spent a long time on maps looking for subtle ways in to the site around South Bank, avoiding the well protected coke works at this stage. My first real success was the Cleveland Iron ore handling plant... which despite Dave's description being "those fucked roofless sheds" actually turned out to be a really good mooch which filled the best part of a day.
Report here covering more depth on the building:
Report - - The OHP - Ore Handling Plant, Cleveland Iron Works, South Bank 2020 | Industrial Sites
I've been told this is in the process of demolition, so I thought I'd stick some photos up of our visit this year. @dave put a very informative thread up on this some years ago, and I will include one of the replies to that thread below as I very much enjoyed reading it. Very nostalgic and...
www.28dayslater.co.uk
After a jolly good days exploring and the OHP offering good views of the coke works I was keen to try and tick off as much as I could. The next time I returned was a flying visit on the way home from somewhere and I took advantage of the fine weather to walk "the black path" to further inspect the lie of the land.
I also noticed some demolition and land remediation had uncovered some of the old Clevelend Works. My dreams of long buried Dorman Long branded signage and other such forgotten goodies did not however come to fruition!
Adjacent to this newly exposed archeology I noticed the back end of the old loco repair workshops, and despite it's close proximity to the demolition compound managed to creep inside to find yet more rooms disused for decades. Only phone snaps as it wasn't a planned explore as such. Nothing mega, but the rooms had a nice atmosphere to them, battered by the North East winds and rain, the window glass long gone.
The concrete perimeter fence of South Bank which I have a bit of an obsession with...
And a walk on the beach with the missus, as a quick check up on the state of play with Redcar... still crawling with Hylux!
A truly iconic image of England, the fishing huts of South Gare with the furnace in the background.
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