Tales of the Urban Explorer: Dalton Mills - Part One
The story of Dalton Mills was a little different than most of our other little adventures.
As we were passing the market town of Keighley on our way into the innermost depths of Yorkshire and its many decrepit buildings, this large mill had to be checked out.
Dalton Mill was built between 1866 and 1877, designed by W. Sugden for J & J Craven as a worsted mill.
The Craven family were worsted spinners and manufacturers, though there is little evidence of weaving at the complex, which concentrated on spinning.
It is said to have employed up to 2,000 workers in its heyday, but by the early twenty-first century, it had been unused for some years and was sold by John Craven in 2004 to Magna Holdings.
After some restoration work and a number of fires, it was sold to a private owner in 2013.
Source
Unlike most, it has a more recent history of being used for film props, amongst others these being the very popular Peaky Blinders and another, the less known about, Gunpowder Plot starring Kit Harrington, otherwise known as Jon Snow (Game of Thrones).
I don’t watch either, though I may check both out now after visiting this location and seeing for myself what is here.
The building I found to be imposing and full of security, at least within the main gate area which we strode through purposely ignoring the cameras to scope out the exterior.
Inside the grounds was a small antique shop and a car mechanic who told @dizzydiscovery, ‘not to go through that section’. I had snuck past him so was privy to the rundown area that didn’t hold much to be honest.
If I thought I was going to get in the old mill from this angle, then I was wrong. Some of it had been burnt and there was only a small part that I could access.
Through the arches, I could see a solid pallaside fencing that was going to be a problem.
A small building was accessible and quite broken down.I don't think @dizzydiscovery missed very much.
The window looked promising and was an obvious access point with the anti-climbing fencing now being used to ‘help’ people inside.
Talk about using your tools against you, I’m sure the owners would not be happy!
I thought better of it as the window was in full view of Mr. nosey bastard garage man who caught me leaving ‘his restricted area’; too late mate, already been there!
I figure he must be used to seeing a combination of thieves and Urban Explorers visiting. It’s either one or the other.
We left the courtyard, unaware that we were being monitored and spied on at the time, and walked around to the far side of the old mill looking for weak points.
I have no photography of this section as I don’t exactly want to advertise how we gained access to the large section at the rear of the mill.
Suffice to say after narrowly avoiding being skewered by some nasty razor wire and a little co-operation from @dizzydiscovery we were in.
So this is where the stills were taken for Peaky Blinders? It looked that way, with myself and @dizzydiscovery backing off into the furthermost corners to get the whole of this massive building in.
We had not even started looking for a way to breach the mill when a shifty looking bloke with a hi-vis vest started shuffling toward us from the far side.
Where did he come from? He looked like a manual worker but apart from a digger, there was no work going on.
‘What the fuck are you doing in here, thieves… you have broken in, I saw you scouting around looking to get in…', he screamed in a high pitched wheezy voice that had been subjected to years of tobacco abuse.
He didn’t look happy at all and things were not going as we had planned.. at all.
To be continued...
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Great story buddy, This was a brilliant day, and you're not even halfway through. A lot more to come. Brilliant!
It turned out different than I figured at this point (no spoilers), and to think we barely escaped death.. oops.. said too much.
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Another crack den? ;)
It's an imposing building. I used to work with a guy called Keith Lee and it made me smile that there was a town of the same name.
A bit of drama here as Mr Hi-viz corners our intrepid heroes!
They are all crack dens mate, every one.. full of smackheads (I have met a couple). It is pronounced just like 'Keith Lee' too.
Yes, wheezy had caught us good, but what is to happen? Stand by for the next exciti.., that is so cliched!
Excellent post !! xD Congrats for this story and photos!!
Thanks.
Ever considered making a photobook out of this stuff? You must have amassed a bit of an archive now
I have thought about a dedicated website, but the work to create it and shift all the content would be large. I have everything local, the .doc files, the images filtered and unfiltered. Maybe one day.
OMG! This is really a great one! I love the pictures, it's so amazing seeing the place Peaky Binders was acted... I can't wait for the next post
Yes, it does add to the location, all the recent history.
Uuuu this one was interesting! Such a great big building!
It's much darker in color than your everyday Yorkshire mill.
It looks impressive!
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An interesting mooch you got going there, looking forward to what the security man did! It’s always a bugger when some big old building is sub let,
I didn’t realise peakey blinders was filmed there.
They seem to feel they are the custodians of the entire place, its annoying for the likes of us who just want to photograph and leave. They always think we are thieves.
Very interesting. It is silly that the immediately have to get all aggressive and defensive like that. I don't understand why people can't just have civil conversations about things. I look forward to reading about the rest of the trip!
He thought we were they to nick stuff.., they always do the same thing.. predictable.
Your abandoned buildings are wayyyyy grander than what I’ve ever seen in my neck of the woods! I’m a bit jealous I must admit.
I like your hidden cottages, these mills are massive but can be dull inside.. and look at the same.
Yours don’t look one bit boring!
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Sounds like you can run from that guy easily enough hehe. Some wonderful photos of the old days... Over here danger is more from dogs and snakes.
I have heard about the dogs in the far east, they bite a lot.
Yes well normally it depends on how you react. Basically they are just doing their job of protecting the space. If they see no reaction from you then often times they are friendly and you can pet them. Otherwise they just run away. After all barking is just fear. Just like people hehe. It's the silent ones you have to watch out for...
Oh a proper cliffhanger alright. Well played.
I'll try and get the next part done tomorrow.