This location is one of many places on a list of amazing spaces I’ve never managed to see in this city! I’ve lived there for a few years and studied and worked there so its a place Im familiar with!
Every now and then I’ll go up and check the same locations to see if anything has changed with them. Very often I’ll return and its suffered fire or irreparable damage but sometimes they are finally accessible, like this place. It didn’t last very long however and I didnt realise that it has had a lot of visitors very recently and is in fact owned by an active owner, If I’d known that I wouldn’t have gone, I hope my visit didn’t cause any hassle or work for anyone thats the last thing I intend on!
There used to be a similar space in my hometown but it has been closed as long as i’ve been alive!. Probably because it’s right on the edge of a marsh and has been flooded annually over the last decade!
The light in here was stunning as was the amount of decay, the machines left behind look like unwanted auction pieces.
History
It was built on the site of the former Rialto Pottery Works and operated by the local City Council.
The Workshops for the Blind were opened in October 1934, Designed in the Art Deco style at a cost of of £30,000.
For many years they supplied products to the pottery industry. In 2009 there were 44 employees.
After a number of loss making years – the works were transferred in 2009 from the City Council to a new owner and renamed ‘Workshop for the Blind and Disabled’.
In 2011 the business was closed, half of the workforce was made redundant and a new business relaunched at the same premises.
Absloutly love your adventures!