Ok guys, for my first report i'v gone for an easy one that has been done loads of times but after having a look through the others I have tried to select shots of a few places that others don't seem to have got to/taken any of (along with a few of the norm!)
The Hill Works factory was built in 1814 and was occupied by Wades Ltd from 1954 until 2010 where they then moved to a new site in Stoke-On-Trent near Festival Park. In 1953 Wades introduced a line called Whimsies which was basically a re-issue of some animal figures they did before the war. These became very popular and they still do lines such as this today (my mum has one sat on the mantle piece!)
Attended with OcKiller
The way into this place was a bit sketchy, with me almost getting my head taken off with a half open door, but eventually we managed to find a way in. I had been here previously with Baj but on that occasion it seemed to have just been all boarded up and secured.
We very quickly found the old Kilns as shown in the other reports but after taking a few shots and having a look in the tourist room we decided to disappear off and look in some of the side rooms that were a bit more hidden.
There was literally pallets of these things stacked up in all different colours and stages of production. Some of the ones nearer the bottom also seemed to be in perfect condition.
We started to come across lots of moulds that were obviously used only just before the place was abandoned. Everything from Tetley tea to Tony the tiger figurines.
A lot of the older Moulds were completely smashed but every so often we came across a brilliant stash of un-damaged ones. Some of the moulds were amazing with the amount of different parts that had to be slotted together to make the different pottery,
Probably what some of the above big open areas looked like before the gutting of the place?
As we were walking about we came across a few photos of old workers in uniforms, some of them were pretty badly damaged but this one seemed to have faired a little better, if a little dirty.
My first try at adding some of the filters that other people apply to make the photography more interesting. I will take the points for effort, but I promise to try harder on the interesting part
Thank you all for looking! I'v tried to make this a bit different from the other reports I found for Wades
History
The Hill Works factory was built in 1814 and was occupied by Wades Ltd from 1954 until 2010 where they then moved to a new site in Stoke-On-Trent near Festival Park. In 1953 Wades introduced a line called Whimsies which was basically a re-issue of some animal figures they did before the war. These became very popular and they still do lines such as this today (my mum has one sat on the mantle piece!)
Report
Attended with OcKiller
The way into this place was a bit sketchy, with me almost getting my head taken off with a half open door, but eventually we managed to find a way in. I had been here previously with Baj but on that occasion it seemed to have just been all boarded up and secured.
We very quickly found the old Kilns as shown in the other reports but after taking a few shots and having a look in the tourist room we decided to disappear off and look in some of the side rooms that were a bit more hidden.
There was literally pallets of these things stacked up in all different colours and stages of production. Some of the ones nearer the bottom also seemed to be in perfect condition.
We started to come across lots of moulds that were obviously used only just before the place was abandoned. Everything from Tetley tea to Tony the tiger figurines.
A lot of the older Moulds were completely smashed but every so often we came across a brilliant stash of un-damaged ones. Some of the moulds were amazing with the amount of different parts that had to be slotted together to make the different pottery,
Probably what some of the above big open areas looked like before the gutting of the place?
As we were walking about we came across a few photos of old workers in uniforms, some of them were pretty badly damaged but this one seemed to have faired a little better, if a little dirty.
My first try at adding some of the filters that other people apply to make the photography more interesting. I will take the points for effort, but I promise to try harder on the interesting part
Thank you all for looking! I'v tried to make this a bit different from the other reports I found for Wades