History
The factory was opened in 1913 by Eugen Sandow, regarded by many as the father of modern bodybuilding, of all things, who rose to prominence in the late nineteenth century and who claimed that chocolate was the source of his strength.
This business venture was to prove a failure, however, and having been taken over by Hayes Cocoa just three years later in 1916, it was then bought by Nestlé and production began in 1929.
Shortly after the takeover, Nestlé were approached by the Brazilian Coffee Institute who were looking for ways to deal with their surplus coffee supplies.
Nestlé began experimenting with ways to dry and capture the flavours of the beans, and after eight years of trial and error, the world's first instant coffee was devised and introduced to the market in 1939.
The Hayes factory was earmarked as the site that would roll the revolutionary new product off the line, and tonnes of it were sent over to troops fighting in the Second World War.
Hayes also produced some of the company's chocolate products until the end of the 1990s, when all of the factory was given over to the production of coffee.
The factory closed in 2015 as is currently under demolition to be replaced by housing, though retaining the art deco frontage
The explore
Although I was a bit late for this place, I'm glad I got to see it before any more of the buildings disappear. After a bit of searching I found a way past the fence and I was free to wander around the largely empty buildings. On with the photos...
Canteen and Admin
This was by far my favorite parts with a nice bit of decay and a few original features
The canteen. I was disappointed to find the plaster ceiling had gone but it was still a nice space
One of the large rooms on the first floor. Although they had all been modernized, original features such as hardwood parquet flooring and plasterwork can still be seen
Lovely plaster cornice hidden above modern suspended ceiling
Main Building
The vast majority of the main building was just a series of large stipped out spaces
That's said there were several rooms still filled with machinery, though many were dark and not particularly interesting
Thanks for looking
The factory was opened in 1913 by Eugen Sandow, regarded by many as the father of modern bodybuilding, of all things, who rose to prominence in the late nineteenth century and who claimed that chocolate was the source of his strength.
This business venture was to prove a failure, however, and having been taken over by Hayes Cocoa just three years later in 1916, it was then bought by Nestlé and production began in 1929.
Shortly after the takeover, Nestlé were approached by the Brazilian Coffee Institute who were looking for ways to deal with their surplus coffee supplies.
Nestlé began experimenting with ways to dry and capture the flavours of the beans, and after eight years of trial and error, the world's first instant coffee was devised and introduced to the market in 1939.
The Hayes factory was earmarked as the site that would roll the revolutionary new product off the line, and tonnes of it were sent over to troops fighting in the Second World War.
Hayes also produced some of the company's chocolate products until the end of the 1990s, when all of the factory was given over to the production of coffee.
The factory closed in 2015 as is currently under demolition to be replaced by housing, though retaining the art deco frontage
The explore
Although I was a bit late for this place, I'm glad I got to see it before any more of the buildings disappear. After a bit of searching I found a way past the fence and I was free to wander around the largely empty buildings. On with the photos...
Canteen and Admin
This was by far my favorite parts with a nice bit of decay and a few original features
The canteen. I was disappointed to find the plaster ceiling had gone but it was still a nice space
One of the large rooms on the first floor. Although they had all been modernized, original features such as hardwood parquet flooring and plasterwork can still be seen
Lovely plaster cornice hidden above modern suspended ceiling
Main Building
The vast majority of the main building was just a series of large stipped out spaces
That's said there were several rooms still filled with machinery, though many were dark and not particularly interesting
Thanks for looking
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