History:
This has been covered many times over the years so I'll keep it brief.
Pilkingtons was founded in 1826 as a partnership between members of the Pilkington and Greenall families, based in St Helens, Lancashire. It was originally named Greenall and Pilkington up until 1849. On the departure from the partnership of the last Greenall in 1845, the firm became known as Pilkington Brothers.
The Kirk Sandall site came into existence in the early 1920's when the firm looked to establish another site in the UK. Kirk Sandall was an ideal situation. Its excellent waterway and railway facilities were conveniently sited, especially since the Great Central Railway Company had doubled its line in the area.
After 76 year producing glass, the factory finally closed its doors in 2008. Not much has changed since it closed, most of it has remained abandoned but some of the site is used by Trackwork for training and storage.
Explore:
This was my first proper explore. I had been here a couple of times a few weeks before, but I was always greeted by groups of chavs gathered outside as well as hearing them smashing up the inside. I managed to finally time it right and get in when no one else was around and spend a few hours exploring. There's still some parts I missed and I hope to go back soon.
Apologies for this being pic heavy but tried to cover all the areas of the site.
Anyway, here goes:
This has been covered many times over the years so I'll keep it brief.
Pilkingtons was founded in 1826 as a partnership between members of the Pilkington and Greenall families, based in St Helens, Lancashire. It was originally named Greenall and Pilkington up until 1849. On the departure from the partnership of the last Greenall in 1845, the firm became known as Pilkington Brothers.
The Kirk Sandall site came into existence in the early 1920's when the firm looked to establish another site in the UK. Kirk Sandall was an ideal situation. Its excellent waterway and railway facilities were conveniently sited, especially since the Great Central Railway Company had doubled its line in the area.
After 76 year producing glass, the factory finally closed its doors in 2008. Not much has changed since it closed, most of it has remained abandoned but some of the site is used by Trackwork for training and storage.
Explore:
This was my first proper explore. I had been here a couple of times a few weeks before, but I was always greeted by groups of chavs gathered outside as well as hearing them smashing up the inside. I managed to finally time it right and get in when no one else was around and spend a few hours exploring. There's still some parts I missed and I hope to go back soon.
Apologies for this being pic heavy but tried to cover all the areas of the site.
Anyway, here goes:
