Report - Kingfield Heath - Digbeth, Birmingham - December 2015

[Pixels]

History
John Heath established his stationery business in 1852, delivering office products around the Birmingham area and later into other parts of the country. Kingfield Heath was formed in October 1999 by the acquisition of John Heath and Co, the oldest office products wholesaler in the UK, by Kingfield Wholesale Office Supplies.

The Explore
We originally intended to do another building in the area however after getting off the bus one stop earlier than we should have, we came across this abandoned building with an open gate and immediately decided to explore.

I had no idea what this place was despite passing it every time I go into Birmingham. The main floor was pretty much empty aside from the broken glass completely covering the floor and the odd reel of tape here and there.

We looked upstairs and found a couple of rooms full of clothes and other personal items including lighters and a fire pit- the further in we went, the more it became apparent that people came here regularly. We didn't feel entirely safe here because you never know what sort of people may be there, so we kept the visit fairly short.

There is a lot that we haven't yet explored in this building so we will do a revisit at some point.




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[Speed]

Best thing you can do here is head across the roof into next door. Its much more interesting in there i think. Careful tho its a bit of a deathtrap!

 

[Pixels]

I went in there today, only made it to the main building as you enter since I came across an unopened coke can and a heroin needle and left straight away. I don't want any encounters with druggies if I can avoid it and it was pretty clear that people visit regularly, considering i saw a tramp go in there the other day!
Druggies/squatters is really off-putting to me, it's enough to make me leave the building mid-explore. Any advice on that? Also have you done this building?

 

[Speed]

Yeh, its well known for that sort of thing i think. Best advice i can give is not to spend so much time in absolute 'ruins' haha. Places like this that are wide open are often full of undesirables so if you're going in them you really have to expect it.

 

[The Lone Shadow]

Yep, its got smack den/crack house written all over it. Great report btw. You're really clearing up Birmingham!

 

[Pixels]

Yeh, its well known for that sort of thing i think. Best advice i can give is not to spend so much time in absolute 'ruins' haha. Places like this that are wide open are often full of undesirables so if you're going in them you really have to expect it.

Haha yeah the place is dodgy as fuck

 

[Pixels]

Yep, its got smack den/crack house written all over it. Great report btw. You're really clearing up Birmingham!

Thanks! I've been very busy this holiday This place is so far gone and absolutely full of needles and tramp dens

 

[The Lone Shadow]

Thanks! I've been very busy this holiday This place is so far gone and absolutely full of needles and tramp dens

Welcome to the world of urbex. It won't be the last needle den you'll find :

 

[dweeb]

It was a stationery manufacturer at some point, not sure what it was built as though.

With a little imagination you can get into Briton's shoe factory next door from Heaths...

 

[Pixels]

It was a stationery manufacturer at some point, not sure what it was built as though.

With a little imagination you can get into Briton's shoe factory next door from Heaths...

I was interested in that one, may give it a go at some point if I'm in the area.

 

[TommyHD]

I really like it in there, unfortunately, recently a new chain was put on the gate and can no longer access. I've been to heaths upwards of ten times, it became a favourite spot for me and my friends to hang out after college, not one did we see any one else. I went into the building next to it a couple of times, but put my leg through the floor, and a friend completely fell through, unharmed thankfully, but we didn't go back. The first we were able to get on to the roof, it was nice but nothing was quite as scary as being on such an unstable roof. I know others have done reports so is there much point in me doing one? I do have some pictures if anyone is interested though.

 

[Pixels]

@TommyHD I've seen people there quite a few times, and access comes and goes, the chain sometimes gets taken off I'm not sure if it was ever fully locked or if it was just wrapped round the gate
I'd like to see a report from you