A large cluster of buildings nestled in the green Don Valley, the old brickworks is a decaying, boarded-up shadow of its former self. A couple buildings, and the surrounding area, have been transformed and reborn as a nice public park; but a large part of the complex sits abandoned. A single square chimney, the last of four, stands alone.
Getting in is laughably easy, and the buildings are no stranger to visitors, judging from the packed-down earth, footprints, and graffiti inside. But, even though it's recognized tourist spot, it is still an incredibly cool place to roam through. Although most of it is quite old, there is little danger involved, aside from the possibility of asbestos or silica dust. What makes the brick works stand out from other abandonments is the huge amount of machinery that has been left behind.
I took two trips to this place, once with Polyester, and twice with Naos. It's a very relaxing location- walk in, take the camera out, and wander at your leisure. It was very easy to spend several hours aimlessly drifting through the many buildings, in search of interesting things (of which there are many!) to photograph.
The most striking building is certainly the huge, open warehouse where they used to cook the bricks. Big as a soccer field, it is occupied by several long, brick ovens; and has open space to spare. The ceiling has a few holes, that let in enough light to take nice photos. Near an open garage door, there stands a huge, mysterious machine- its moving parts all covered by either dirt or grease. Fascinating to examine up close, I suspect it is actually know as "The Machine" to most people who come through here.
In my opinion, the most interesting buildings are the small ones to the west, because they are packed with old machines. These are best explored during the day, because they have very few openings to the outside world, and thus little light gets inside. I suspect these buildings are where the brick clay was mixed, pressed, and shaped, before traveling through an elaborate system of conveyors to the ovens. Now, it seems as though all of the machinery invovled in the process has been left behind, and sits quietly in the dark spaces. Big tanks, conveyors, and mysterious machinery crowd the rooms.
It is also very easy to get on the low roofs, and see a crumbling brick building and conveyor belts. Nature has also started to move into the brick works, and small trees are growing on the roof, along with smaller grasses and weeds. In one building, where there was barely any light, a strange collection of little plants, with long white stems, grew in bundles.
An incredibly rich feast for the eyes, this is a great place to go and relax.
One of the many mysterious machines throughout the brick works.
Polyester in the 'works.
The Machine- pretty big, up close.
One of the long brick ovens. Some of these still had cars, with stacks of bricks, inside of them.
The sole remaining 'Valley' chimney. I'm told that the other three had the words 'Don' and 'Brick' 'Works' on them.
More long brick chambers. I'm not sure what these were for- maybe drying the bricks?
Yes, very large indeed.
Some lawn chairs around a fire pit in this room that contained mounds of reddish earth.
This distributor, fed by a conveyor, rolled around in a circle on tracks in a small room three stories up.
Confusing and mysterious machines everywhere, with conveyors in between.