I was starting to fall in love with Stoke-On-Trent. A whole new city to explore, and seemingly filled with decaying reminders of our past all unexplored and waiting for us.
If most of it was ‘Pottery Flavoured’ then so be it. Many brands are still produced in the city and it is officially recognised as the World Capital of Ceramics. A tall boast I think, and maybe just to the people of the UK.
To make things more confusing there are two 'Falcon Works' or 'Falcon Potteries' within Stoke-On-Trent. Both are derelict and we visited both on the same day. This one was formally owned by ‘J H Weatherby & Sons’ and stems from the late 19th century.
There’s some history here but as usual, I am here to tell you my tale of the experience and not repeat facts that are readily available on the internet.
I found a very small image of ‘J H Weatherby & Sons' from 2008 (or so it claims). Google images just one year later portray it very differently. At about 100 pixels wide, I had to blow it up a little to avoid eyestrain.
I don't generally post map views of locations, but still can’t bring myself to keep the address retained. If you want to go there and risk your own life then do your own research.
I could see this was going to be another of those 'dangerous buildings'. It was pretty much business as usual.
How to get in was the usual thought on my mind after approaching a brand-new derp. Derp it was, with the upper windows missing, and maybe the floors... doesn't necessarily mean it's easy to access.
If you look closely, then you can see the ‘J H Weatherby & Sons' signage which is looking a little blackened. The front gate was non-accommodating.
The board on the window; have you ever tried to climb through something like that with nails repeatedly banging on your back every time you make a move? I didn't particularly want to sport a bloody back for the rest of the day. There had to be an easier way.
Rounding the corner we saw it. All you had to do was walk over some large bags of dubious squashy content, climb on the remains of a beige sofa, and haul yourself up.
It's often best not to let your mind wander about what you might be standing on, or you might conjure images of dog shit or worse.
As I was climbing in, a couple rounded the bend and gawked. I should be used to this by now, but couldn't help but look around and flash a wide smile. We should always try and brightens people's days…, right?
The gloom hit right away. Once out of the sunlight and within the confines of a messy factory falling apart, this is what you should expect to see.
These are apparently ovens, large as they are. I expect they could roast several humans at a time with ease. I do wonder if that has happened in the dark seedy past.
Once locked in there, with those huge iron rusty doors there would be no escape and even your screams would not be heard.
We continued in the same direction, with @lpff losing us quite quickly. It would be a while before we met up with him again, despite quite a lot of yelling.
Through the gates, we found an open area. It was a question of which way to go, and in a short period of time, I found myself alone.
I did check out the room beyond the stairs, spotted a room, and eventually came across some finished product. A couple of well-crafted milk jugs?
Double-backing down the stairs and turning left took me down this corridor and eventually into a larger open area where I once again found @anidiotexplores looking for photographs.
Having never worked in an industrial environment I struggle to identify anything especially when it’s seen better days.
Satan always makes his mark in these places. It is to be expected.
They could possibly be workbenches lining this room, and at least the flooring was decent. No chance of falling to my death in this area.
This looks like another type of oven, one that is far too small for human sacrifices. Maybe they did make pots here after all, how about that for a concept?
Just when I thought those jugs were all I was going to see, another room yielded all these. They were all thoroughly filthy, many cracked and damaged but not all.
Hardly the finished articles though?
Like many old buildings, there have been fires and likely more than one. It was no worse than anywhere else.
Is this yet another oven? If so, it was filled with wood and wood splinters.
The stairs did look very dodgy but both of us managed to climb up there.
Inside was looking a little charred and not being the ground floor there were issues with underfoot stability.
@anidiotexplores did wander up this corridor but my spider-senses were saying no. You have to trust your instincts when this happens.
It did look more like an office area with all the tables and is just beyond the front gate, the one that was locked with the barbed wire on top.
We exited down these ropey-looking stairs and found ourselves in a courtyard.
Yes, we entered at our risk. At least it doesn’t say you will be prosecuted for trespassing or eaten by dogs not on leads.
This is what guests would see when entering the premises of ‘J H Weatherby & Sons'; a sight to impress?
We managed to get together with @lpff after more yelling and made our way to the exit point and past this rusty lift.
Another of those huge doors to the left; it would be nice if I know more about what all this equipment did besides, 'making pots'.
They should make the working practices a little more legible.
The tree was positioned right next to the factory. It looks like an orange tree but is actually an apple. The riper ones were a little out of reach. I wonder if the employees of old used to grab the apples. They do look nice.
Stoke-On-Trent had so far been interesting but a little on the derpy side. Could there be anything not falling to pieces? The answer was a yes but not until our second visit to the city.
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[//]:# (!pinmapple 53.04039 lat -2.20758 long Tales of the Urban Explorer: Falcon Pottery (J H Weatherby & Sons) d3scr)
Gez this place looks like one of the worst I've seen or at least in a while in terms of decay and damage. I have no idea how you made it up those stairs lol Are you allowed to take any undamaged pottery or anything like that upon request or nah?
Stoke was full of wrecks, but they were still fun and 'Pottery' based. The stairs.., yes well @anidiotexplores managed it, which means I also had to. The challenge you see must be taken!
Like everywhere else, you can do what you like (a little like HIVE), but there are repercussions if you do the wrong things.
World Capital of Ceramics
Like the WWE and World championship that the Americans have 😀
Yeah, like I said.. a dubious claim at least in today's world. Once..,when the British Empire was vast it could have held true.., but now.., we still have some ingenuity but that's about all.
They shall never crush the empire!!! At least, in the heads of some Tories 😀😀
fuckin ell, that's ben totally trashed now, not even the smackheads are in residence, did you do the broom makers round the corner?
The broom place round the corner is gone. We were most pissed off, that looked a good one.
wow! it was good
Man those shots look almost like paintings and it is wild you get colour popping so vividly out of the ruins. Maybe those were big gravy boats and not milk jugs?
Amazing to imagine something so run down and destroyed as a busy and productive factory pumping out pottery. I bet those huge ovens kicked off a bunch of heat back in the day. More hobo camp fires too it appears.
Like a scene out of a post apocalyptic zombie video game.
Could be, they are the only thing usable in that place.
I find it amazing that something can be ruined so quickly. England is merciless when it comes to the weather.
Taking a look at this location, I see hipster lofts and condos, lots of condos. My English classmates told me that buildings in the UK don't usually have basements or an attic. Is that true? If so, where do you guys store all your old stuff? Because ours was packed to the gills with loads of old crap! :)
Lies! Very old houses do have cellars. I was raised in a house built in 1673. The cellar was massive. My current home was built in 1990 and has an attic. Most houses do, but they are not like the American basements. I have seen those.., huge things.
Lots of dramatic photos as always!... Thanks so much for sharing @slobberchops friend!
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Aye thanks.., more pottery coming soon!
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Another interesting exploration! Wow, pretty messy.
My favorite photo was not inside, though, but this one:
There is something beautiful about nature retaking an old abandoned structure.
It would look better if I moved all the junk out of the way, especially for this shot.
Places like that are probably used for such things :(
Don't spider-senses come with web making ability???
Did he climb that ladder at the far end?
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I can't remember him climbing a ladder. Both of us have a degree of Vertigo, which is a poor attribute for what we do. Getting on a few roofs happens occasionally, but rotting ladders is going a little far 😀
That's a little far for anyone, lol! But you never know, you might find an intact ladder one day.
I never would have guessed that heights bothered you 😲
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Thanks for a fascinating exploration of part of our industrial heritage. The building looked like a death trap in places and those large ovens are very chilling. Great pictures by the way help bring to life the exploration. May I ask: do you use a certain criteria when deciding which buildings to explore?
We do.., 'whatever we can find that is open'. It's a 50% hit rate at best, sometimes worse.., it depends which way the wind is blowing!
That place is huge! At least you didn't fall through the floor, some areas sure look a little sketchy. Very cool exploration!
I am not fan of overly-large explorers and have a particular dislike for schools, especially secondary ones. They take too long to get around and the less time I am inside the better. Less chance of being seen.
Smart move! Last thing you need is the police showing up!
I still haven't had an incident with them, and that's with coming up to 400 explores.
Keep that streak alive!
Y'know, I really suspect that those ovens really only did make pots. And took care of trespassers, of course. Trespassers will not be prosecuted; they shall be cooked alive.
My youngest son used to take pottery classes. The ovens/kilns that the art studio had were not nearly so huge. The "artist" in me kinda cringes to think that pottery would be so mass produced, but I suppose it had to happen.
LOL, I am sure they did. My imagination occasionally kicks in and in the 19th century employment in factories was no fun at all.
That it is a trip to the hospital waiting to happen for sure. Not for the faint of heart at all. That is one I think I would have to pass on, or at least some of it. Just glad someone like you has the gonads to get in there to capture it all.
I get scrapes and scratches most times when I go out, larger injuries are rare but it happens.
Nice big place - but what a state, you'd have to be real careful there ! Its hard to believe it was ok back in 2008.
Absolutely loved this. Thank you Slobberchops
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A grim bit of urban decay there. With your nice filtering of the images to give them a boost. The austere life of the first world city dweller is so far from my life in the bush of Africa.
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Big aul unit that one. nice jugs