- Joined
- May 28, 2015
- Messages
- 664
- Reaction score
- 500
- Points
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History
Dyson Thermal Technologies was founded in the early 1800s, in the small valley of Stannington, by John Dyson. Initially it was operated solely by Mr. Dyson, who single-handedly mined clay to make bricks; however, by 1838 the business was listed as John Dyson and Son: Black Clay Miners and Firebrick Manufacturers. In the years that followed, Dyson became known as a high quality, high volume refractory manufacturer in the UK, and as the company grew it also became a manufacturer for ceramics; for the booming steel industry in Sheffield. Unfortunately, however, as technologies progressed in the late 90s and early 00s, which made it more economically viable to run plants that incurred lower energy costs, Dyson’s traditional manufacturing process which relied heavily on using gas fired kilns became increasingly more expensive to maintain. By 2005 a decision was made to move all operations to China and, subsequently, the plant closed down later that year; although the offices continued to operate for some time after the ‘official’ closure date to ensure that the relocation was smooth and efficient.
Our Version of Events
Knowing that Dyson Thermal Technologies has been done countless times before, I can’t say we expected much as we pulled up outside. Nevertheless, we were driven to visit on account of the slither of curiosity that remained somewhere inside ourselves. The day didn’t look hopeful as we set off in the rough direction of Stannington though, as dark clouds loomed in the sky and the windscreen began to blur with a light patter of rain. However, fortunately, when we arrived the rain decided to stop momentarily, so we seized the moment and darted inside as quickly as two sleep-deprived people could manage. Once inside, while staring at a semi-demolished section of the plant, we instantly began to wonder what we were doing and why we’d wasted the time to even get out of the car. But, we decided to persevere and all in all I’m quite glad we did. While the upstairs parts of the plant are almost entirely ruined, downstairs, in the lower sections, the old brick kilns can be found, and they were certainly worth the effort. Additionally, as we made our way around more of the site, other interesting relics of Dyson’s factory began to emerge and, although a lot of it has been vandalised, some fairly photogenic bits and pieces still remain.
Explored with Ford Mayhem.
1: Dyson Thermal Technologies Chimney
2: Lift and Cage
3: Dyson Technologies in Ruins
4: Leftover Pallets
5: Heading Downstairs
6: Office Downstairs
7: Some of the Good Stuff
8: Old Produce
9: Broken Cart
10: Dyson's Warehouse
11: Single Chair in the Warehouse
12: Kiln Area
13: Kilns
14: Looking Inside one of the Large Kilns
15: Workmen's Lockers
16: Storage Area
17: Oil Tankers
18: Dyson from Up Above
19: Looking Down
20: We Have Power
21: Amperes
22: The Red Chair
23: Looking Through to the Garage
24: Scales
25: Former Workshop Area
26: Files and Paperwork
27: Storage Racks
28: 'Leave Only Footprints'
29: Walking Among the Ruins
30: The Chimney
Dyson Thermal Technologies was founded in the early 1800s, in the small valley of Stannington, by John Dyson. Initially it was operated solely by Mr. Dyson, who single-handedly mined clay to make bricks; however, by 1838 the business was listed as John Dyson and Son: Black Clay Miners and Firebrick Manufacturers. In the years that followed, Dyson became known as a high quality, high volume refractory manufacturer in the UK, and as the company grew it also became a manufacturer for ceramics; for the booming steel industry in Sheffield. Unfortunately, however, as technologies progressed in the late 90s and early 00s, which made it more economically viable to run plants that incurred lower energy costs, Dyson’s traditional manufacturing process which relied heavily on using gas fired kilns became increasingly more expensive to maintain. By 2005 a decision was made to move all operations to China and, subsequently, the plant closed down later that year; although the offices continued to operate for some time after the ‘official’ closure date to ensure that the relocation was smooth and efficient.
Our Version of Events
Knowing that Dyson Thermal Technologies has been done countless times before, I can’t say we expected much as we pulled up outside. Nevertheless, we were driven to visit on account of the slither of curiosity that remained somewhere inside ourselves. The day didn’t look hopeful as we set off in the rough direction of Stannington though, as dark clouds loomed in the sky and the windscreen began to blur with a light patter of rain. However, fortunately, when we arrived the rain decided to stop momentarily, so we seized the moment and darted inside as quickly as two sleep-deprived people could manage. Once inside, while staring at a semi-demolished section of the plant, we instantly began to wonder what we were doing and why we’d wasted the time to even get out of the car. But, we decided to persevere and all in all I’m quite glad we did. While the upstairs parts of the plant are almost entirely ruined, downstairs, in the lower sections, the old brick kilns can be found, and they were certainly worth the effort. Additionally, as we made our way around more of the site, other interesting relics of Dyson’s factory began to emerge and, although a lot of it has been vandalised, some fairly photogenic bits and pieces still remain.
Explored with Ford Mayhem.
1: Dyson Thermal Technologies Chimney
2: Lift and Cage
3: Dyson Technologies in Ruins
4: Leftover Pallets
5: Heading Downstairs
6: Office Downstairs
7: Some of the Good Stuff
8: Old Produce
9: Broken Cart
10: Dyson's Warehouse
11: Single Chair in the Warehouse
12: Kiln Area
13: Kilns
14: Looking Inside one of the Large Kilns
15: Workmen's Lockers
16: Storage Area
17: Oil Tankers
18: Dyson from Up Above
19: Looking Down
20: We Have Power
21: Amperes
22: The Red Chair
23: Looking Through to the Garage
24: Scales
25: Former Workshop Area
26: Files and Paperwork
27: Storage Racks
28: 'Leave Only Footprints'
29: Walking Among the Ruins
30: The Chimney
