Explored this site back in August. At the time this was the biggest urbex I'd completed by far. I only began my journey in July.
This site was crazy big from what I had explored, though unfortunately it sounds like most of it has now been torn down.
I've been meaning to try and see what's left, so hopefully I get there as soon as lockdown is over.
It would be nice to try and re-take these shots with my new camera.
History:
There have been several posts on this site so instead of re-inventing the wheel I will copy from the thread below (hopefully this is allowed), please check it out though as it's a great report.
"Stewartby Brickworks has stood in the small village of Stewartby since the 1920s. Stewartby, then named Wooton Pillinge, soon became the mainstay of brick production in the county of Bedfordshire.
In 1923 the two companies operating in the area merged to form the London Brick Company. Throughout the second world war, London Bricks from Stewartby and the other London Brick plants were used to build air raid shelters, official buildings, and airfield buildings. London Brick plants were also used to manufacture machine gun parts, and the great clay pits used to test tanks imported from America.
At the height of the industry’s production there were 167 brick chimneys in the Marston Vale. There are four chimneys still standing in Stewartby however at the time of operation it
had 37. It was also home to the UK's biggest kiln.
In the 1970s Bedfordshire produced 20% of England’s bricks. Stewartby produced 500 million bricks a year at its height of production.
The Brickworks was closed in 2008 after the operators were unable to bring the emissions of sulphur dioxide in line with regulations, and has sat empty ever since. Large parts have been demolished, and the rest is set to follow. A live railway runs through the site, however this has to be closed during high winds due to the risk of the chimneys falling. The chimneys are listed, however due to their structural instability they may have to be demolished for safety reasons."
Lots of information and more pictures of this from 'Down and Beyond' - https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/stewartby-brick-works-bedford-august-2020.124610/
The explore:
A small group of friends (@Swift_monkey @nb43800 ) and myself explored this site one evening.
We found a gap in the fence and began with the office block.
Someone had forced an opening which we squeezed through to take a look at the space.
Not much was left inside but it was quite a large space and good fun to explore both levels.
We then moved round the site to explore some of the other external buildings, up to the trainline.
The main warehouse was difficult to reach but we spotted a cracked window and quickly slipped inside to climb the crane.
After the warehouse we moved onto the main exhibit, the towers and brick ovens.
Again the fencing round this made it difficult to enter. We climbed up and through a window above the fencing to hop in.
It got dark by this time so sadly the picture quality degrades, but we found a way on-top of the kilns, where a forest seemed to have grown in the absence of human activity.
It was a beautiful place to spend an hour.
Finally we moved onto the factory where the bricks where manufactured. The rafting's in this building felt particularly weak so we cautiously explored the 3 stories of this beautiful building.
Thoroughly enjoyed the explore and I hope to see it one last time before it all disappears.
This site was crazy big from what I had explored, though unfortunately it sounds like most of it has now been torn down.
I've been meaning to try and see what's left, so hopefully I get there as soon as lockdown is over.
It would be nice to try and re-take these shots with my new camera.
History:
There have been several posts on this site so instead of re-inventing the wheel I will copy from the thread below (hopefully this is allowed), please check it out though as it's a great report.
"Stewartby Brickworks has stood in the small village of Stewartby since the 1920s. Stewartby, then named Wooton Pillinge, soon became the mainstay of brick production in the county of Bedfordshire.
In 1923 the two companies operating in the area merged to form the London Brick Company. Throughout the second world war, London Bricks from Stewartby and the other London Brick plants were used to build air raid shelters, official buildings, and airfield buildings. London Brick plants were also used to manufacture machine gun parts, and the great clay pits used to test tanks imported from America.
At the height of the industry’s production there were 167 brick chimneys in the Marston Vale. There are four chimneys still standing in Stewartby however at the time of operation it
had 37. It was also home to the UK's biggest kiln.
In the 1970s Bedfordshire produced 20% of England’s bricks. Stewartby produced 500 million bricks a year at its height of production.
The Brickworks was closed in 2008 after the operators were unable to bring the emissions of sulphur dioxide in line with regulations, and has sat empty ever since. Large parts have been demolished, and the rest is set to follow. A live railway runs through the site, however this has to be closed during high winds due to the risk of the chimneys falling. The chimneys are listed, however due to their structural instability they may have to be demolished for safety reasons."
Lots of information and more pictures of this from 'Down and Beyond' - https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/stewartby-brick-works-bedford-august-2020.124610/
The explore:
A small group of friends (@Swift_monkey @nb43800 ) and myself explored this site one evening.
We found a gap in the fence and began with the office block.
Someone had forced an opening which we squeezed through to take a look at the space.
Not much was left inside but it was quite a large space and good fun to explore both levels.
We then moved round the site to explore some of the other external buildings, up to the trainline.
The main warehouse was difficult to reach but we spotted a cracked window and quickly slipped inside to climb the crane.
After the warehouse we moved onto the main exhibit, the towers and brick ovens.
Again the fencing round this made it difficult to enter. We climbed up and through a window above the fencing to hop in.
It got dark by this time so sadly the picture quality degrades, but we found a way on-top of the kilns, where a forest seemed to have grown in the absence of human activity.
It was a beautiful place to spend an hour.
Finally we moved onto the factory where the bricks where manufactured. The rafting's in this building felt particularly weak so we cautiously explored the 3 stories of this beautiful building.
Thoroughly enjoyed the explore and I hope to see it one last time before it all disappears.
