History
British Ceramic Tile had operated from their Heathfield site, near Newton Abbot since the 1850's, making use of the ball clay, mined in close vicinity to the works. BCT was the largest manufacturer of ceramic and glass tiles in the UK following a major expansion in 2009 which made it the largest and most efficient tile-making plant on one site in Europe. The factory was capable of producing 30,000 square meters of tiles per day. The business went into administration on the 30th January 2019 due to challenging market conditions and the loss of a major contract.
The explore
I intitally attempted to visit the site the day day after closure was announced but never made it thanks to a small amount of snow. I managed to have a recce in mid February but after walking around half of the building, I couldn't find a way inside so I left it at that. It was always at the back of my mind but it wasn't until I noticed the machinery for auction that I returned again. Access into the site was easy and I managed to find a nice way in which I had overlooked on my previous visit. However as many of the lights were off and after a worker came inside the building I left and returned the following afternoon. Although its a big site, none of the historical buildings have survived to the present, with the last old building to be destroyed in the 2009 expansion so I wasn't expecting it to be anything particularly special. Although the building itself is dull as fuck, the machinery and processes inside made it an interesting explore. A car occasionally drove around the buildings and I nearly bumped into a worker, sitting in his office at the back of the storage racks.
Historic photo of the works, sadly all long gone
The building as it looks today
Video explaining the tile making process
Site plan
One of the more recent biscuit kilns in the extension
Tile presses
Spray drier used to convert the clay slurry into a powder
Biscuit kilns
The decorating line
This was the only photo I got of the storage racks before I noticed the guy sitting in his office
The biscuit kilns from above
Moving on to the slightly older part of the site
Glaze lines
Kiln on the left with glaze line and tile racks on the right
Thanks for looking
British Ceramic Tile had operated from their Heathfield site, near Newton Abbot since the 1850's, making use of the ball clay, mined in close vicinity to the works. BCT was the largest manufacturer of ceramic and glass tiles in the UK following a major expansion in 2009 which made it the largest and most efficient tile-making plant on one site in Europe. The factory was capable of producing 30,000 square meters of tiles per day. The business went into administration on the 30th January 2019 due to challenging market conditions and the loss of a major contract.
The explore
I intitally attempted to visit the site the day day after closure was announced but never made it thanks to a small amount of snow. I managed to have a recce in mid February but after walking around half of the building, I couldn't find a way inside so I left it at that. It was always at the back of my mind but it wasn't until I noticed the machinery for auction that I returned again. Access into the site was easy and I managed to find a nice way in which I had overlooked on my previous visit. However as many of the lights were off and after a worker came inside the building I left and returned the following afternoon. Although its a big site, none of the historical buildings have survived to the present, with the last old building to be destroyed in the 2009 expansion so I wasn't expecting it to be anything particularly special. Although the building itself is dull as fuck, the machinery and processes inside made it an interesting explore. A car occasionally drove around the buildings and I nearly bumped into a worker, sitting in his office at the back of the storage racks.
Historic photo of the works, sadly all long gone
The building as it looks today
Site plan
One of the more recent biscuit kilns in the extension
Tile presses
Spray drier used to convert the clay slurry into a powder
Biscuit kilns
The decorating line
This was the only photo I got of the storage racks before I noticed the guy sitting in his office
The biscuit kilns from above
Moving on to the slightly older part of the site
Glaze lines
Kiln on the left with glaze line and tile racks on the right
Thanks for looking
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