This was stop number 2 for us for the Day. After seeing a few reports, I was looking forward to this.
The natural light that falls in this place was just amazing, and with the added bonus of still having a pop up silver reflector in my camera bag from a wedding the weekend before, it meant I could have some fun with it.
One word of warning though, if walking around the old wooden building, do tread carefully as as you go up each floor, the floorboards do get more rotten.
History
The Old Fisons site was originally the location for the first ever complete superphosphate factory. In the mid 19th century, the increasing demand for new effective fertilisers for agriculture led to a search for a substitute for crushed bones, the traditional source of fertiliser. Edward Packard discovered that the use of fossil dung, found across East Anglia, contained high levels of phosphate, the ideal base for fertiliser.
Between 1851 and 1854, Packard built a warehouse at Paper Mill Lane and pioneered the production of artificial fertilisers for horticulture on an industrial scale. It was an ideal site due to the combination of the River Gipping, which was navigable by barges between Ipswich and Stowmarket from the late 18th century onwards, and the addition of the railway line in 1846 which both provided the means to import raw materials and export fertilisers.
Edward Packard was joined in 1858 by Joseph Fison who constructed his chemical works opposite – the North Warehouse. The lower two floors of this iconic warehouse date from this time and were used for bagging and storage and are identified on early Ordnance Survey maps as the Eastern Union Works, proving the North Warehouse was purpose-built and directly associated with the production of superphosphates.
Plans for the very near future?
We are proposing to redevelop the mainly redundant
site into a £20m mixed use residential and business
development fit for the 21st century. This will involve
renovating the North Warehouse — one of the largest listed
buildings in Suffolk and one of the world’s first chemical
fertiliser factories — to create a business centre. We also
intend to build new homes elsewhere on the site. Our plans
also include improvements to the open space west of the
railway line beside the River Gipping.
This brochure outlines our proposals so we can gain
feedback from local people and other stakeholders during
our public consultation, before we submit our planning
application for the site.
With a sign like this on it, we did not expect to find lagging made from straw inside it.
The extent of the demolition of the site so far.
The natural light that falls in this place was just amazing, and with the added bonus of still having a pop up silver reflector in my camera bag from a wedding the weekend before, it meant I could have some fun with it.
One word of warning though, if walking around the old wooden building, do tread carefully as as you go up each floor, the floorboards do get more rotten.
History
The Old Fisons site was originally the location for the first ever complete superphosphate factory. In the mid 19th century, the increasing demand for new effective fertilisers for agriculture led to a search for a substitute for crushed bones, the traditional source of fertiliser. Edward Packard discovered that the use of fossil dung, found across East Anglia, contained high levels of phosphate, the ideal base for fertiliser.
Between 1851 and 1854, Packard built a warehouse at Paper Mill Lane and pioneered the production of artificial fertilisers for horticulture on an industrial scale. It was an ideal site due to the combination of the River Gipping, which was navigable by barges between Ipswich and Stowmarket from the late 18th century onwards, and the addition of the railway line in 1846 which both provided the means to import raw materials and export fertilisers.
Edward Packard was joined in 1858 by Joseph Fison who constructed his chemical works opposite – the North Warehouse. The lower two floors of this iconic warehouse date from this time and were used for bagging and storage and are identified on early Ordnance Survey maps as the Eastern Union Works, proving the North Warehouse was purpose-built and directly associated with the production of superphosphates.
Plans for the very near future?
We are proposing to redevelop the mainly redundant
site into a £20m mixed use residential and business
development fit for the 21st century. This will involve
renovating the North Warehouse — one of the largest listed
buildings in Suffolk and one of the world’s first chemical
fertiliser factories — to create a business centre. We also
intend to build new homes elsewhere on the site. Our plans
also include improvements to the open space west of the
railway line beside the River Gipping.
This brochure outlines our proposals so we can gain
feedback from local people and other stakeholders during
our public consultation, before we submit our planning
application for the site.
With a sign like this on it, we did not expect to find lagging made from straw inside it.
The extent of the demolition of the site so far.
