On a dreary, wet and miserable Saturday we arrived here and discovered the only way for us to get in was either climb over a slippery high fence or squeeze under the gate. We chose the latter. The mossy carpet around the bottom of the gate acted as a sponge for all the rain as we discovered upon laying down and wriggling under.
We were a bit apprehensive as there were signs about security and guard dogs but figured we would have already seen them as we wandered round the perimeter. We’ve never done anything industrial to this scale, we didn’t bother with the burned down wreck in the middle coz the rain was constant but we explored all the other buildings. Really enjoyed this place, the rain naturally decided to stop as we were leaving but the sponge moss was still saturated and we spent the rest of the day soaking wet and filthy.
History (part taken from here) -
The former Fisons factory remains vacant after the site closed in 2002. Since 2014, the site has seen nine fires, with the largest happening in May 2019 when the Grade II-listed North Warehouse was destroyed. The 2019 blaze was treated as an arson by Suffolk police.
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 here 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.
We were a bit apprehensive as there were signs about security and guard dogs but figured we would have already seen them as we wandered round the perimeter. We’ve never done anything industrial to this scale, we didn’t bother with the burned down wreck in the middle coz the rain was constant but we explored all the other buildings. Really enjoyed this place, the rain naturally decided to stop as we were leaving but the sponge moss was still saturated and we spent the rest of the day soaking wet and filthy.
History (part taken from here) -
The former Fisons factory remains vacant after the site closed in 2002. Since 2014, the site has seen nine fires, with the largest happening in May 2019 when the Grade II-listed North Warehouse was destroyed. The 2019 blaze was treated as an arson by Suffolk police.
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 here 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.
