The Pilkington Glass Company was established in 1826, in St. Helen’s Lancashire, and was originally named Greenall and Pilkington up until 1849. The Kirk Sandall site wasn’t created until 1922, and it was selected because of the canal situated nearby; so resources such as coal and sand could be received much more efficiently. A number of houses were also constructed in the land adjacent to the factory, which is now wasteland, to house the new workforce. In 1923 the company flourished and a partnership was created between Pilkington and Ford who were predominantly based in the United States. Together they ‘developed a continuous flow process for the manufacture of glass plate and a method of continuous grinding’. By the 1950’s, however, the Pilkington site had managed to develop the ‘float’ method of glass production, where molten glass is carefully poured onto a solid platform – otherwise known as a bath – at 1000 degrees Celsius. Pilkington set about converting each of their factories, with the exception of the Doncaster plant, which, despite being more expensive, retained the older method of production.
At the height of production, during the early 1900’s, the Kirk Sandall site had over 3,000 employees, but by 1966 this number had been almost halved and the factory continued to operate at only 56% of its capacity. While the site underwent some modification, with the demolition of older buildings and the construction of newer ones; and the modernisation of the power supply which was upgraded from old onsite steam engines to the main grid, many of its practices and much of its technology remained somewhat dated. By 2008, the company decided that it was no longer feasible to continue with production at the Kirk Sandall factory, since methods of production had continued to evolve and much cheaper methods were being employed at other sites across the UK. It closed its doors forever later that year, and although it was purchased in 2009 by an anonymous buyer, it has for the most part remained abandoned ever since: part of the site is still used by Trackwork, a specialist Rail Infrastructure company, and they continue to train apprentices and store equipment there.
Work had finished and, in anticipation that the afternoon was likely to be a tedious one, I sat drinking a strong coffee wondering what else I could do with my time. But, ACID-REFLUX saved the day with a phone call and something that sounded like a bit of a plan. Ten minutes later I found myself dashing to the train station with the tripod in one hand and camera in the other: Doncaster was the next stop. Around an hour later, myself and A-R arrived outside the old Pilkington Glass site, greeted by quite a crowd of people: local dog walkers, ten or so teenage chavs, canal boaters and a couple of keen cyclists, and with the daylight already fading, it appeared that we’d left much of our luck behind in Doncaster. However, after playing ‘the waiting game’ for a moment or two, the crowds eventually dispersed and we took the opportunity to have a crack at getting inside the old glass factory. Entry wasn’t particularly difficult; although I was told later that the way we entered had been sealed the very next day. Like others who have attempted this one, it wasn’t long before we discovered that the site is absolutely huge, and that there is an additional tool workshop onsite, fully equip with lathes, grinders, bending machines and a range of other miscellaneous contraptions. The sun set long before we managed to explore the entire site, but I think we covered most of it – including a couple of climbs up some of the internal cranes.
Explored with ACID-REFLUX.
1: Engines Off!
2: The Room of Pillars
3: Clocking In/Out Machine
4: Broken Phone Booth
5: The Workshop
6: The Workshop (From the Crane)
7: Danger Signage
8: The White Basins
9: Former Office Space
10: Plans and Drawings
11: Tools and Toys
12: Bending Machine Isolator
13: Instruction Manual
14: Common Errors in Precision Grinding
15: More Machinery
16: Drawings
17: Standard Size Chart
18: Spindle Speeds
19: ACID's Shot
20: Grinding Machine
21: Old Machine
22: Tool Cupboard
23: Groundfloor Glass Workshop
24: Gre-Sol Jelly Hand Cleanser
25: Upstairs in the Glass Factory
26: How to do it Properly
27: Second Floor of Glass Workshop
28: Crane Seat
29: From the Crane
30: Sand Hoppers
At the height of production, during the early 1900’s, the Kirk Sandall site had over 3,000 employees, but by 1966 this number had been almost halved and the factory continued to operate at only 56% of its capacity. While the site underwent some modification, with the demolition of older buildings and the construction of newer ones; and the modernisation of the power supply which was upgraded from old onsite steam engines to the main grid, many of its practices and much of its technology remained somewhat dated. By 2008, the company decided that it was no longer feasible to continue with production at the Kirk Sandall factory, since methods of production had continued to evolve and much cheaper methods were being employed at other sites across the UK. It closed its doors forever later that year, and although it was purchased in 2009 by an anonymous buyer, it has for the most part remained abandoned ever since: part of the site is still used by Trackwork, a specialist Rail Infrastructure company, and they continue to train apprentices and store equipment there.
Work had finished and, in anticipation that the afternoon was likely to be a tedious one, I sat drinking a strong coffee wondering what else I could do with my time. But, ACID-REFLUX saved the day with a phone call and something that sounded like a bit of a plan. Ten minutes later I found myself dashing to the train station with the tripod in one hand and camera in the other: Doncaster was the next stop. Around an hour later, myself and A-R arrived outside the old Pilkington Glass site, greeted by quite a crowd of people: local dog walkers, ten or so teenage chavs, canal boaters and a couple of keen cyclists, and with the daylight already fading, it appeared that we’d left much of our luck behind in Doncaster. However, after playing ‘the waiting game’ for a moment or two, the crowds eventually dispersed and we took the opportunity to have a crack at getting inside the old glass factory. Entry wasn’t particularly difficult; although I was told later that the way we entered had been sealed the very next day. Like others who have attempted this one, it wasn’t long before we discovered that the site is absolutely huge, and that there is an additional tool workshop onsite, fully equip with lathes, grinders, bending machines and a range of other miscellaneous contraptions. The sun set long before we managed to explore the entire site, but I think we covered most of it – including a couple of climbs up some of the internal cranes.
Explored with ACID-REFLUX.
1: Engines Off!
2: The Room of Pillars
3: Clocking In/Out Machine
4: Broken Phone Booth
5: The Workshop
6: The Workshop (From the Crane)
7: Danger Signage
8: The White Basins
9: Former Office Space
10: Plans and Drawings
11: Tools and Toys
12: Bending Machine Isolator
13: Instruction Manual
14: Common Errors in Precision Grinding
15: More Machinery
16: Drawings
17: Standard Size Chart
18: Spindle Speeds
19: ACID's Shot
20: Grinding Machine
21: Old Machine
22: Tool Cupboard
23: Groundfloor Glass Workshop
24: Gre-Sol Jelly Hand Cleanser
25: Upstairs in the Glass Factory
26: How to do it Properly
27: Second Floor of Glass Workshop
28: Crane Seat
29: From the Crane
30: Sand Hoppers
they were not exactly subtle in their departure by any means.
