Royal Ordnance Filling Factory No.8 - Thorp Arch

[TK421]

This is my second visit to the excellent Thorp Arch Royal Ordnance Filling Factory near Wetherby.

History:

Thorpe Arch ROFF opened in March 1940 was built over a 450 acre site. It took 18 months to build and cost £5.9 million. Thorp Arch was considered to be an ideal site, away from the large centres of population, good water supply, rail links and the proximity of the A1 trunk road. Workers were brought in from Leeds, Selby, York and all surrounding areas, 10,000 people, mainly women were employed there at the height of production and it is believed to have had 619 buildings at its height. The North Eastern side of the site covers an old Roman Road.

A key feature of ROFF's was that of the explosives safeguarding zone around the permiter of the factory; as well as separation, or reduced separation and traverses between buildings to limit the devastation of an explosion. Many of the buildings are still fitted today with lightening conductors, as this is the last type of place you would want any sort of lightening strike tomfoolery!

ROFF Thorpe Arch closed twice; once after World War II and then finally after the Korean War in April 1958.

Once production had halted, the site was gradually de-contaminated. In the early 1960s George Moore a local businessman bought most of the site and the development of the area as a trading estate began. The estate was later owned by Thorp Arch Limited Partnership, but is now known as Thorp Arch Estate. The most notable additon's to the estate is the Northern Reading Room, Northern Listening Service and Document Supply Centre of the British Library, occupying what was the locomotive shed and engineering department areas, now long gone, and also another part is a prison, originally HMP Thorp Arch, now HMP Wealstun.

Visited with Dobbo79, the light was great, the dereliction cool, and the brambles very sharp!!

Red Door:


A light fitting:


Red bricks, (a bit of post photo fecking aboot):


Door, sans hinges:


Rusty and crusty:


Warehaus:


The road of light:


I think we need a sparky:


The red box:


Magazine entrance:


"Crouching Dobbo, hidden dragon"


Shaft of light:


On the level:


I'm sure Dobbo will be along shortly to show me up with her superior photography!!

Thanks for looking

[Do66o79]

*Zip wires to the ground*...and ere I am

Heres a few of mine...


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr

And finally - some dodgy, geordie bloke loitering in the shadows!!! will ger ourself put on a register if you keep doing that mate!! lol


ROF - Thorpe Arch, June 2011 by Dobbo79, on Flickr

[TK421]

Cheers for the comments all, glad you liked the photos, considering its in the middle of an industrial estate its a really relaxed explore.

JOnny, the last photo in my set (of the oil gauge) is to the North of the site (the British Library end) and its attached to a HUGE oil tank, heres a photo from my previous explore:



cheers