Hipperholme Brickworks - October 2012

A truly wild and wet autumnal day in West Yorkshire, visited with Urban Spaceman with his SatNav set to Wuthering Heights Mode, just one setting down from car destruction mode.

A public footpath from the road runs directly thru this old brick factory, so no excuses on this one as its the ultimate easy in.

The once home of the Allen and Son Brickworks from 1905 until 1960s, although the factory does pre-date this.

Later known as G.R. Stein's Brickworks and then later the works was used by a plastics company as a manufacturing base until its final closure.

I spotted this place in a few reports and to be honest the place does seem to have gone down hill over the last year or so.

 

 

 

 

 



Quite a large site, with lots of outbuildings, many in a total state of disrepair and smashed to bits by the vandals, some buildings fire damaged and a few in a state of collapse.

 



 

On the upside the site has been turned into massive art gallery by graffiti artists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 

It's worth exploring every nook and cranny if you have the time to make the effort, as little gems are hidden out of clear view and the first looks of this sprawling "dump" are deceptive.

 



 

 

 

 

Sorry for so many photos, I've missed out loads - so take a trip to Hipperholme Brickworks !!!!

Urban Spaceman

Well at last, the Urban Spaceman has finally got an online presence and started blogging, please take a look as he is a wordy kind of chap.





I am biased of course as he's my exploring buddy, but please take a look at his blog as I'm sure good things are coming !

Sensible Shoes - book release

Pottering around and I came across Blurb (no affiliate links here !) an online book publisher and I thought I would run up a photo book, seems you can publish online set up your own little shop so I did.

Sensible Shoes by Fragglehunter | Make Your Own Book

A small collection of pictures from my travels and hey if I sell some its a bonus - not expecting to sell any what so ever I did, one sold rather quickly, so only time will tell that will be my one and only ever sale.

I rather like the title Sensible Shoes if nothing else and I have a little space in my bookshelf for my personal copy when it lands on the doorstep.

Hartshead, Power Station - oh, we missed a bit

We had been here before, we missed a bit, to be honest this one is only on here so you don't go, as with my last little report on this place, Hartshead Power Station in Heyrod is one to be missed.

A spin out in the car to Wigan with the Urban Spaceman was the plan, so I get in the car and out comes a shopping list of places he wants to visit. So to cut a long story short we set off in the opposite direction to Wigan and as we passed Heyrod we remembered "the bit over the road".

As we approached the building, we heard rustle in the bushes as a couple of women it turns out had been in a state of undress for the sake of "art" or porn. What ever floats your boat I say, but I can think of better dumps to get you kit off in.

 

So we told em of magical places, and off the would be pornographers went in search more photographic backdrops such as Huncoat

 
 

 

 

 

 

Inside the main building the usual metal fairies had been in and a number of the structural supports had been removed, bits of mortar and dirt was regularly dropping from the ceiling, not long for this place to be standing I suspect.



 

And then it started to rain, which was nice....

Heritage at Risk 2012 - Agecroft Chapel

Another sad and decaying Grade II listed property, again just 10 minutes drive from me. Agecroft Cemetery lies in the city of Salford, about 4 miles from the centre of Manchester.

The Agecroft Mortuary Chapel was built in 1903 by Sharpe and Foster in a Gothic style with Art Nouveau stained glass windows, this once grand building is now being enveloped by the plant life.







 Listed on the Heritage at Risk report again this year, the Victorian Society has now listed the building in its Top Ten most endangered buildings in England.

 

 

 

Heritage at Risk 2012 - Crimble Mill

The English Heritage people have issued the Heritage at Risk Register 2012 so off for a mooch, not so much Urbex but more of a nosey to see how the "ratings"stand up.

Crimble Mill, Heywood, just round the corner from me and one of the many rotting satanic mills of the North West of England.

Grade II listed and built in 1886 by James Kenyon and Son Limited, the main mill has been empty since 2003 after the closing of Roe Acre Dying Company who operated from the main mill building.

Parts of the mill estate are still in use and Crimble Mill has a condition listed as "poor".










 

 

With a high level of security in place and part of the site still being used the mill hadn't fallen into the hands of the vandals, however the oldest part of the mill was open to the elements with broken windows. I'm not sure when English Heritage had last visited Crimble Mill, but from English Heritage's  photo the condition of the mill looked like it had gone into free fall.

 


Looks like I have a big long list of places to visit and I will be slowly picking my way thru it, mostly visiting places on my doorstep.