The day after the 28dl meet myself, @Landie_Man and @TheTimeChamber (who by chance was staying in the same hotel as us) decided to do some local wanders. First up was William Rowland Metal Finishers which I might get a post up about at some point, after that Mr. Time Chamber departed as he had a train to catch and we then ventured a little further afield to Rotherham.
Guest & Chrimes Ltd. is a place I had always wanted to see, it's one of those locations that seems to have been around forever - given that it closed in the late 1990s way before forums like these were born it certainly feels like it's always been here.
A little history - The Chrimes Brothers established a foundry in Rotherham in 1843 making high pressure taps, sluice valves and other similar products. John Guest joined the company in 1847 and the company, now known as Guest & Chrimes, moved to a new factory in Don Street, Rotherham, in 1857 which allowed both brass and iron casting and machining to take place on the premises and the company to start manufacturing the iconic red fire hydrants found in the USA. Over time the foundry expanded in size eventually ending up with a trio of workshop ranges connected together by a slightly later building containing the offices and other facilities. In 1999 the foundry closed, and over the years various uses have been proposed for the site including a Tesco and a live music venue, all of which have fallen through. In 2018 a large fire seriously damaged the office building, which resulted in it's demolition, and nowadays only the trio of separate Grade II listed workshop ranges remain.
It's quite a bizarre contrast having this relic of Victorian-era manufacturing languishing next to Rotherham United's shiny new stadium (called New York Stadium in reference to the iconic fire hydrants once manufactured next door), the football club own the property and probably don't really know what to do with it, for now it sits dilapidated and unloved in their car park, sticking out like a sore thumb.
The disappointing part of this place is that all the staircases were in the now demolished parts of the building, but after a somewhat sketchy climb up an improvised ladder to reach an open first floor doorway on the middle range, I managed to have a poke around up there and at least get a clear shot of the iconic water tower.
Cheers for looking
Guest & Chrimes Ltd. is a place I had always wanted to see, it's one of those locations that seems to have been around forever - given that it closed in the late 1990s way before forums like these were born it certainly feels like it's always been here.
A little history - The Chrimes Brothers established a foundry in Rotherham in 1843 making high pressure taps, sluice valves and other similar products. John Guest joined the company in 1847 and the company, now known as Guest & Chrimes, moved to a new factory in Don Street, Rotherham, in 1857 which allowed both brass and iron casting and machining to take place on the premises and the company to start manufacturing the iconic red fire hydrants found in the USA. Over time the foundry expanded in size eventually ending up with a trio of workshop ranges connected together by a slightly later building containing the offices and other facilities. In 1999 the foundry closed, and over the years various uses have been proposed for the site including a Tesco and a live music venue, all of which have fallen through. In 2018 a large fire seriously damaged the office building, which resulted in it's demolition, and nowadays only the trio of separate Grade II listed workshop ranges remain.
It's quite a bizarre contrast having this relic of Victorian-era manufacturing languishing next to Rotherham United's shiny new stadium (called New York Stadium in reference to the iconic fire hydrants once manufactured next door), the football club own the property and probably don't really know what to do with it, for now it sits dilapidated and unloved in their car park, sticking out like a sore thumb.
The disappointing part of this place is that all the staircases were in the now demolished parts of the building, but after a somewhat sketchy climb up an improvised ladder to reach an open first floor doorway on the middle range, I managed to have a poke around up there and at least get a clear shot of the iconic water tower.
Cheers for looking
