ROWNTREES NESTLÉ FACTORY
- York, England
- June 2020
HISTORY
Rowntree is a British confectionery company founded in 1862. In 1890, to cater for an increased demand, Rowntree moved 20-acre site on the outskirts of York City Centre. In 1930, the imposing 5-storey chocolate factory was constructed, and produced a variety of chocolate confectionery such as Aero, Yorkie and Milkie Bar. In 1988, it was acquired by Nestlé.
In 2006, it was announced that production would shut down at the site, partly due to the building “not being conducive to modern production methods”, resulting in the loss of 645 jobs when it finally closed in early 2007. In 2009, planning permission was put in for a residential redevelopment, however to date only small amounts of construction has taken place, and the site remains a securely fenced off eyesore for the residents of York
EXPLORE
Even if you're certain a place is fenced off, sealed tight and guarded with sensors and security, sometimes you just have to go for it, because you never know if it's your lucky day or not. On this day, it was mine.
I don't need to explain how massive this place is, it took afew hours to fully explore. Its overrun with pigeons which were extremely agitated to see me, I guess it had been awhile since they'd seen a human, and they were not happy at all with me wandering around.
Sadly, most off the old Nestlé signage had been removed, but there was a chocolatey smell (most likely from the other nearby confectionery factories). The upper levels are rather flooded due to the roof access being open, which I couldn't close as someone has ripped the door off its hinges. I'm worried the exposure to the elements is going to speed up the buildings dilapidation, but there were plenty of 'Demolition in Progress' signs up, so maybe it doesn't have long left anyway.
Thanks for looking.
- York, England
- June 2020
HISTORY
Rowntree is a British confectionery company founded in 1862. In 1890, to cater for an increased demand, Rowntree moved 20-acre site on the outskirts of York City Centre. In 1930, the imposing 5-storey chocolate factory was constructed, and produced a variety of chocolate confectionery such as Aero, Yorkie and Milkie Bar. In 1988, it was acquired by Nestlé.
In 2006, it was announced that production would shut down at the site, partly due to the building “not being conducive to modern production methods”, resulting in the loss of 645 jobs when it finally closed in early 2007. In 2009, planning permission was put in for a residential redevelopment, however to date only small amounts of construction has taken place, and the site remains a securely fenced off eyesore for the residents of York
EXPLORE
Even if you're certain a place is fenced off, sealed tight and guarded with sensors and security, sometimes you just have to go for it, because you never know if it's your lucky day or not. On this day, it was mine.
I don't need to explain how massive this place is, it took afew hours to fully explore. Its overrun with pigeons which were extremely agitated to see me, I guess it had been awhile since they'd seen a human, and they were not happy at all with me wandering around.
Sadly, most off the old Nestlé signage had been removed, but there was a chocolatey smell (most likely from the other nearby confectionery factories). The upper levels are rather flooded due to the roof access being open, which I couldn't close as someone has ripped the door off its hinges. I'm worried the exposure to the elements is going to speed up the buildings dilapidation, but there were plenty of 'Demolition in Progress' signs up, so maybe it doesn't have long left anyway.
Thanks for looking.
