Thursday 19 April 2012

The decline of my home towns chemical works................................................

Wallerscote works... now owned by TATA... it used to be I.C.I.

This is the river that flows through my town... it's not the part of river I share on my walks... but it's the same.
The River Weaver was diverted as a navigation so ships could reach the chemical works.

The images are of the factory that used to employ thousands of workers in my little town.
The scrub beyond was covered by buildings not that long ago.

 The chemical works still produce Soda Ash but it's nothing like the factory I knew as a child.

 Dad was one of the managers at Wallerscote works.
His office was in the brick building in the background.... I still have his name plaque from his office door.
I intend to visit the area again quite soon... there is a public footpath running alongside the river.

21 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

i have to go google soda ash now...

:)

DeniseinVA said...

Great photos of the chemical works Drew. From the ages of 5 to 15 I lived with a factory just down the road and can still remember the whistle blowing in the morning and the evening. I recently went to google earth and took a look at my old home town. The factory wasn't there any more and there were now houses in its place. How times change!

Revrunner said...

Looks like so many of our old industries here in the U.S.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Gorgeous! Our town looks like that after the steel mill slowed down.

My Sky Shots. Wishing you a great weekend!

eileeninmd said...

Interesting shots of the factory. The footpath and a walk to see the wildlife would be right up my alley. Great shot, thanks for sharing.

Michelle said...

We have an old factory in our neighboring town. Not as interesting as this one, though.

Gillian Olson said...

Interesting shots, I think I'll have to go to google and look up soda ash too.

Carole M. said...

sad to see huge declines in various industries around the globe. So what does Wallerscotes Works produce there, still soda-ash, but for a smaller market place? What caused this industry to plummet so far I wonder?

holdingmoments said...

Good to see how nature is reclaiming the land in the second shot Andrew.

Brian King said...

Very cool old factory. It's nice to see where your dad worked.

Anonymous said...

Interesting photos Andrew!
Have a great weekend!

Eva

The Herald said...

It's rather sad to so how our industry is going into such decline Andrew. We can only hope that if and when the site is finally tidied up that it is made wildlife and local people friendly...[;o)

Anonymous said...

This would have made a great time-lapse series! Love all the rusty details in the pipes. So cool that your Dad worked here. Looking forward to more. Have a great weekend Drew, hope the weather cooperates.

Martha Z said...

The world moves on, what was once full of life falls into disuse. Fifty years from now who knows what will fill this site?

Indrani said...

Interesting! Very different. Nice read.

The Glebe Blog said...

Tata is fast becoming the leading industrial manufacturing company in the U.K. As with all manufacturing in the last 30 years, we hardly own any anymore.
I heard a German commentator on the radio the other day, saying until we as a country begin to make things again we'll stay on a downward spiral.
We need some fresh input.

ruma said...

Hello, Andrew.

  Your work is embraced in your gentleness.
  And sweet message charms my heart.

  The prayer for all peace.
  I wish You all the best.

Have a good weekend. from Japan ruma ❀

Iris said...

Hi Andrew
I think the 3rd photo looks like a modern art exhibition.
Everything can be the art.
Regards
Iris

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

Reminds me of parts of the US midwest -- the rust belt, sadly, now. So much industry closed....

genie said...

This post of yours makes me think of the loss of our textile industry in this country. Everything is outsourced. The factories still stand boarded and empty but with no buyers . It is so sad to think about those thousands of workers having to try to find other work. The old pieces of the structure and machinery are interesting, and you wouldn’t even know there was a big factory in all of that grass years ago.genie

Ruby said...

I like the shots of the industry. Great post! Cheers, Ruby