Report - Derwent Press, Derby - April 2019

[MotionlessMike]

Driving through a part of town I rarely see, I spotted a large derelict industrial site and could see nothing online about it. So i pulled up and had a look.

I can find sod all about it on the net. Just a Derby Telegraph artical moaning about kids getting in there and something about it once being part of a brewery. All I can say for sure is the name and year of construction.

An old picture of 'Clarkes & Co Derby Brewery' shows a large tower behind the main building, but strangely the name is still Derwent Press...

The first smaller building was empty apart from a (surprisingly) intact toilet

Into the main building

The second floor appears to have been used by a place called Pentagon Gym at some point

Entering the gyms shower room I was greeted by the eye-popping sight of a dead pigeon hanging from a piece of rope (sorry if you're eating your breakfast while scrolling through this)

Up a fire escape to the top floor now and the view of the knackered roof

Entering the top floor through an old office window I encountered what I can only describe as a mass pigeon graveyard. Having poked my head around the corner and saw the long adjoining corridor absolutely covered in dozens of dead pigeons I made a very swift exit

A disgusting end to what originally looked like a promising explore from the roadside. I guess you never know what you'll find!

 

[Yorrick]

I like this despite the pigeons.

I can find sod all about it on the net.

There’s not a lot but I found this from a brewery database -

“The Navigation Brewery was established in 1800 and run by Henry Hunt to c.1850.
In December 1855 brewery for sale and in 1865 David Paine listed there having been a brewer in Nottingham Road in 1852/57.
Then in 1876 Clarke, Edward & Co were brewing in Nottingham Road.
Registered May 1893 to acquire the business was registered as H J E Scott and H B Craven.
Acquired by Stretton's Derby Brewery Ltd, who had probably become the owners around 1889.
In May 1899 Strettons bought it with over 57 public tied houses and the business was liquidated in 1901.”

Old OS maps show it as a brewery until 1901, where it’s shown as a bottling station.

I can’t find any info for the next 49 years then it’s labelled again in 1950 as a printing works.

Derwent Press Ltd was incorporated in 1954 and seems to have closed in 1994

Pentagon Gym opened in 1995 and I think closed around 2013.

From the look of it, parts have been unused for a lot longer than that.

 

[MotionlessMike]

There’s not a lot but I found this from a brewery database -

“The Navigation Brewery was established in 1800 and run by Henry Hunt to c.1850.
In December 1855 brewery for sale and in 1865 David Paine listed there having been a brewer in Nottingham Road in 1852/57.
Then in 1876 Clarke, Edward & Co were brewing in Nottingham Road.
Registered May 1893 to acquire the business was registered as H J E Scott and H B Craven.
Acquired by Stretton's Derby Brewery Ltd, who had probably become the owners around 1889.
In May 1899 Strettons bought it with over 57 public tied houses and the business was liquidated in 1901.”

Old OS maps show it as a brewery until 1901, where it’s shown as a bottling station.

I can’t find any info for the next 49 years then it’s labelled again in 1950 as a printing works.

Derwent Press Ltd was incorporated in 1954 and seems to have closed in 1994

Pentagon Gym opened in 1995 and I think closed around 2013.

From the look of it, parts have been unused for a lot longer than that.

 

[tarkovsky]

Like it - nice pics

 

[HughieD]

More good work mate.

 

[MotionlessMike]

Thanks everyone

 

[bloodklaat]

Be careful around dead pigeons and pigeon shit mate. It might be deadly.

 

[MotionlessMike]

Yeah I know, I was freaking out. Scrammed when it got gross on the top floor, pigeon shit is my number one exploring hate.

 

[Urbulon]

thats not a CHAIR is it? a CHAIR in an abandoned factory? NAW, it cant be!?