I consider this an unsung hero in the industrial world. I was amazed by the scale of this place and it was full of a beautiful dingy grey light.
I had timetabled for 2 hours for this place and 5 hours later I was still getting lost in its many nooks and crannies.
An amazing place. Looking at aerial shots, once I was home, I realised there is a lot I missed. My camera looks pretty worse for wear now though, covered in a fine cement powder. Security very present, but seemed reluctant to get out of their cars, cos it was pissing it down.
There has been a limestone quarry on this site since 1851, which in conjunction with the nearby Shoreham and Steyning Railway, brought about a large amount of rail based traffic to and from the site. However, the railway was closed to passenger traffic on 7th March 1966 and whilst part of the original line between Shoreham and Bramber stayed open to support the activities of the Cement Works, the running down of the site started in 1980, when the rail links to the site were removed. By the end of the 1980's, the site was deemed as obselete and the end to production on the site in 1991 marked the end of over 150 years of activity. The sites' owners had never been placed under any kind of obligation to demolish the buildings or restore the landscape to its original natural state (it is carved deeply into a substantial hillside and very pretty river valley), so production was simply halted, leaving the buildings and particularly the huge chimney as a well known local monument.
The site stands in two halves split by the main road with a tunnel connecting the two halves of the site. The western side is the main entrance to the site and the distribution plant, offices and administrative blocks. To the east side stands the industrial site and quarry. The 2 halves of the site were originally connected by a walkway that traversed the road, giving the impression of a monumental gateway into the South Downs. This was removed in the late 80's or early 90's for safety reasons.
I had timetabled for 2 hours for this place and 5 hours later I was still getting lost in its many nooks and crannies.
An amazing place. Looking at aerial shots, once I was home, I realised there is a lot I missed. My camera looks pretty worse for wear now though, covered in a fine cement powder. Security very present, but seemed reluctant to get out of their cars, cos it was pissing it down.
There has been a limestone quarry on this site since 1851, which in conjunction with the nearby Shoreham and Steyning Railway, brought about a large amount of rail based traffic to and from the site. However, the railway was closed to passenger traffic on 7th March 1966 and whilst part of the original line between Shoreham and Bramber stayed open to support the activities of the Cement Works, the running down of the site started in 1980, when the rail links to the site were removed. By the end of the 1980's, the site was deemed as obselete and the end to production on the site in 1991 marked the end of over 150 years of activity. The sites' owners had never been placed under any kind of obligation to demolish the buildings or restore the landscape to its original natural state (it is carved deeply into a substantial hillside and very pretty river valley), so production was simply halted, leaving the buildings and particularly the huge chimney as a well known local monument.
The site stands in two halves split by the main road with a tunnel connecting the two halves of the site. The western side is the main entrance to the site and the distribution plant, offices and administrative blocks. To the east side stands the industrial site and quarry. The 2 halves of the site were originally connected by a walkway that traversed the road, giving the impression of a monumental gateway into the South Downs. This was removed in the late 80's or early 90's for safety reasons.
