Report - Sharpness Dock Grain Silo, Gloucestershire [March 2017]

[Polo]

Visited once with Clebby & Salmon and another time with Mobutu.

History:

Sharpness Dock developed further during the later stages of the nineteenth century after a new dock was built to help accommodate the newer, larger ships that weren't capable of passing up the canal. Warehouses were built alongside the new dock for the main purpose of storage, however many have since been replaced by more modern facilities.

This concrete silo in particular had the capacity of approximately 10,000 tons and was built during the 1930s in order to store grain transported up the nearby River Severn. It replaced a large warehouse and adjoining store after they were destroyed by a 'spectacular fire' in 1934.

Previous owners Sharpness Silos LTD. eventually published their final accounts in November 2000, forcing some to assume that the silo was officially used for the last time around seventeen years ago.

Similarly to some explorers, the fact that this place is situated within an active dockyard put me off the idea of visiting for quite some time. Nevertheless, I finally had the chance to see what was inside the silo that's actually just two miles from my house - the annoying bit being that it takes around an hour to get there thanks to the widening River Severn.

Despite it seeming somewhat large, there's not too much inside. Because of this there wasn't really a range of different things to photograph so I'll have to apologise for the similarity in comparison to previous reports! The views, however, were fantastic and were made even better by the weather especially on the second visit.

It would've been nice to reach the very top but we were spotted by someone on ground level whilst we were in the room on the roof with lift machinery and motors. Considering the dockyard environment, it was decided we'd better start making a move back to the car. Anyway, it was a nice explore and I hope you enjoy the photos:

We were then outside overlooking the new dock and tidal basin right the way down towards both Severn Bridges. From here we could see Lydney and, one of my favourite sites before it was smashed to bits and burnt down, Pine End Works. The clouds on the first visit made for an interesting sunset too.

As you can probably tell by his stance, this was shortly before we decided to leave.

Like most in recent times, this site was very enjoyable to look around and something I'm glad to have finally checked out. Now I won't have the need to wonder why I haven't made the trip over to Sharpness every time I see the silo from the other side of the river on the way home from college.

Thanks for looking!​

 

[Mobutu]

My pics from the day

 

[silentwalker]

Nice set of snaps you got there man

 

[WhoDerpsWins]

Nice shots of the place. It's a good wander this place.