Greenfield paper mill was owned by Robert Fletcher and is situated in the village of Greenfield in Oldham it opened in 1921 and maily produced cigarette papers.The company’s products cover a wide range of fine tissues; in this field, Robert Fletcher & Son Limited has a world-wide reputation for quality, reliability and good service to the customer which is founded upon more than a hundred years of experience. The company’s products cover a wide range of fine tissues; in this field, Robert Fletcher & Son Limited has a world-wide reputation for quality, reliability and good service to the customer which is founded upon more than a hundred years of experience.
Towards the late 90’s the two mills of Robert Fletcher & Son Ltd started to struggle. The increased cost of wood pulp and energy combined to make it tough financially. In 1997 the greenfield site had a turnover of nearly £17m and shareholder funds exceeded £9m. By 1999 turnover was down to £8.2m and the shareholders funds had dwindled to little over £4m. In 2000 in an effort to save the business going to the wall resulted in the closure of the Stoneclough site and 120 job losses resulted from the closure although 50 new jobs would be created at the Greenfield site.The mill shut in July 2001 after recording losses totalling £1.8M in the last year and was later used by GMP to train their dogs until the site was declared unsafe.
My visit, Id been eager to get here and have a look at Fletchers for the best part of a year, but having a busy life, three young kids to feed an all, it never really got the green light and was put on the back burner, the misuses mum had taken a turn for the worst too but thats another story. Finally, with the kids packed off to the grandparents for the day, a quick phone call to my mate and a plan was hatched! we were soon in the car and hoofing it in the direction of Oldham
After wandering round the perimeter of the site, access was swiftly gained and after 12 months of waiting I was finally in!
This has got to be one of my favorite explores ive done to date.
On with the pics, enjoy!
A few externals to start with,
And in we go,
We couldnt find a way in here so a quick snap before heading of..
Towards the late 90’s the two mills of Robert Fletcher & Son Ltd started to struggle. The increased cost of wood pulp and energy combined to make it tough financially. In 1997 the greenfield site had a turnover of nearly £17m and shareholder funds exceeded £9m. By 1999 turnover was down to £8.2m and the shareholders funds had dwindled to little over £4m. In 2000 in an effort to save the business going to the wall resulted in the closure of the Stoneclough site and 120 job losses resulted from the closure although 50 new jobs would be created at the Greenfield site.The mill shut in July 2001 after recording losses totalling £1.8M in the last year and was later used by GMP to train their dogs until the site was declared unsafe.
My visit, Id been eager to get here and have a look at Fletchers for the best part of a year, but having a busy life, three young kids to feed an all, it never really got the green light and was put on the back burner, the misuses mum had taken a turn for the worst too but thats another story. Finally, with the kids packed off to the grandparents for the day, a quick phone call to my mate and a plan was hatched! we were soon in the car and hoofing it in the direction of Oldham
After wandering round the perimeter of the site, access was swiftly gained and after 12 months of waiting I was finally in!
This has got to be one of my favorite explores ive done to date.
On with the pics, enjoy!
A few externals to start with,
And in we go,
We couldnt find a way in here so a quick snap before heading of..
