Ok then folks, im new to this forum stuff so go easy on me! This will be my first backdated report of many, and they aint in any sort of order!
WILLIAMSONS OF OLDHAM
Id seen and heard of this place a few times of late as id been working in the area at the time of my visit, a quick googly search led me to a few 28 day reports and upon looking thru the reports, the pictures were making me drool so without hesitation a quick phone call to my best exploring partner and plans were firmly set!
Three days later were walking around the outside of the building to scope out our entry, with that in the bag (which was probably the easiest in id ever done) the cameras came out.
A bit of info, courtesy of a well known source:
Williamsons had traded at the same site in Mumps Bridge, Oldham since 1920. The private family business was still run by members of the Williamson family. The business grew considerably since the outset and soon covered over two acres of warehouse space.
In 1969, the company have become a major supplier of Fire Fighting and Rescue Equipment. A large amount of this equipment was to Home Office Specification and was offered in both new and refurbished condition.
By 1975; Williamsons were supplying all variant types of new and refurbished conveyor systems, holding considerable stocks of equipment, and manufactured bespoke items to customers specification.
The company went into liquidation in 2013 when the new MetroLink cut off customer’s route to the already tucked away factory site.
And what a friend of mine had to say about the place:
we used to get a lot of kit from there and we've only had the business a little under 4 years. Was an amazing place, I asked for some rats tail files and the old guy knew exactly where they were... up a ladder in a box marked 'mole traps'. A lot of the kit in there was original army surplus from the war they'd still not sold, the electroplater we use was re plating a load of military issue spanner sets dated 45! They were the only place where they still stocked the blades for our 1940's mechanical hacksaw and they still had the price written on them in shillings. So sad to see what happened, the owners filtered all the profitable sections into other businesses and then let that part of the business go under, before one of their other businesses which happens to be their landlord sold the building off. None of the old guys who worked there got their final pay let alone redundancy and they were all ancient!
And now onto the photos, excuse the quality of some....
An old shop front?
I could have spent hours looking through these drawers, stacked full of old documents and booklets from many engineering companies, going as far back as the 1940s!
Crying shame about this, open to the elements....
Those tiles....
Tallest step ladders, ever:
Stable block:
And the last one....
Thanks for viewing....
WILLIAMSONS OF OLDHAM
Id seen and heard of this place a few times of late as id been working in the area at the time of my visit, a quick googly search led me to a few 28 day reports and upon looking thru the reports, the pictures were making me drool so without hesitation a quick phone call to my best exploring partner and plans were firmly set!
Three days later were walking around the outside of the building to scope out our entry, with that in the bag (which was probably the easiest in id ever done) the cameras came out.
A bit of info, courtesy of a well known source:
Williamsons had traded at the same site in Mumps Bridge, Oldham since 1920. The private family business was still run by members of the Williamson family. The business grew considerably since the outset and soon covered over two acres of warehouse space.
In 1969, the company have become a major supplier of Fire Fighting and Rescue Equipment. A large amount of this equipment was to Home Office Specification and was offered in both new and refurbished condition.
By 1975; Williamsons were supplying all variant types of new and refurbished conveyor systems, holding considerable stocks of equipment, and manufactured bespoke items to customers specification.
The company went into liquidation in 2013 when the new MetroLink cut off customer’s route to the already tucked away factory site.
And what a friend of mine had to say about the place:
we used to get a lot of kit from there and we've only had the business a little under 4 years. Was an amazing place, I asked for some rats tail files and the old guy knew exactly where they were... up a ladder in a box marked 'mole traps'. A lot of the kit in there was original army surplus from the war they'd still not sold, the electroplater we use was re plating a load of military issue spanner sets dated 45! They were the only place where they still stocked the blades for our 1940's mechanical hacksaw and they still had the price written on them in shillings. So sad to see what happened, the owners filtered all the profitable sections into other businesses and then let that part of the business go under, before one of their other businesses which happens to be their landlord sold the building off. None of the old guys who worked there got their final pay let alone redundancy and they were all ancient!
And now onto the photos, excuse the quality of some....
An old shop front?
I could have spent hours looking through these drawers, stacked full of old documents and booklets from many engineering companies, going as far back as the 1940s!
Crying shame about this, open to the elements....
Those tiles....
Tallest step ladders, ever:
Stable block:
And the last one....
Thanks for viewing....
