# Marconi Radio Factory - Chelmsford - March 2011



## nelly (Mar 21, 2011)

Visited with Skeleton Key, Priority 7 and Tstranger1066. This was the 2nd stop on our day trip to Chelmsford. 

The place looks absolutely fantastic, full of bits and bobs, but unfortunately after only 20 minutes we got nabbed by 4 really amicable members of Essex Plod and asked to leave the premises, so it's on the cards for a revisit 

*The History*

Marconi's New Street factory was built in 1912 next to the Great Eastern Railway. A railway siding ran across New Street into the factory yard and brought materials in one end of the works and took finished radio equipment out of the other.

At the South end of the building two huge aerial masts once stood, the 450ft (137m) high "Marconi Poles" formed Chelmsfords most prominent landmark.







During the Second World War the Marconi Company employed more than 6,000 people in Chelmsford. Producing vital military communications equipment, the New St factory became a target for bombing and was hit in May 1941 with a loss of 17 lives.

In 1920, two years before the BBC was established, the New Street factory made history as the site of the first official British sound broadcasts including the famous concert by Dame Nellie Melba which was heard all over the world.




































*The workers entrance*

























*I learnt everything I know about attenuation of radio signals and the impact and mitigation of ionospheric anomalies from this book, not to mention two-dimensional ionospheric tomography over low-latitude regions*






























*The Gang*





Thanks for looking






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## klempner69 (Mar 21, 2011)

Excellant stuff fella...shame about the interuption though.


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## nelly (Mar 21, 2011)

Thanks mate, Shit happens!!!


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## UrbanX (Mar 21, 2011)

Excellent pics as always, still looks like you all had a fantastic day!


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## TiJayLFS (Mar 21, 2011)

Walked past this countless times on my way to uni, always assumed it was just being used as storage or something. Quite a brave explore considering it's literally a minute's walk from the cop shop!

Did you find out just WTF was in that green pool of toxic looking sludge, I always wondered...


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## nelly (Mar 21, 2011)

TiJayLFS said:


> Walked past this countless times on my way to uni, always assumed it was just being used as storage or something. Quite a brave explore considering it's literally a minute's walk from the cop shop!
> 
> Did you find out just WTF was in that green pool of toxic looking sludge, I always wondered...



The pool was actually pretty full of good size goldfish  And thats the truth!!!


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## Em_Ux (Mar 22, 2011)

Great shots.

I have been here but didn't get inside. I saw the big fish too was quite surprised! 

Thanks


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## V70 (Mar 22, 2011)

Looks like a fantastic site.. a revisit is definitely required 

Thanks for the report, enjoyed it!


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## KingLewis92 (Mar 22, 2011)

This Looks Excellent Mate!!


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## vwdirtboy (Mar 23, 2011)

i love this place


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## UrbanX (Mar 23, 2011)

LOL, forgot to mention my Grandad (God rest his soul) worked here. He was of Gypsy decent and had very sticky fingers. 

On his last day he half-inched a massive bonze bust of Mr Marconi, he offloaded it to my Dad who baffled, stashed it in the attic. It used to freak me out as a kid seeing that floating torso in the darkness....

As far as I know it's still in the attic of an old Cambridgeshire pub somewhere...


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## nelly (Mar 23, 2011)

UrbanX said:


> LOL, forgot to mention my Grandad (God rest his soul) worked here. He was of Gypsy decent and had very sticky fingers.
> 
> On his last day he half-inched a massive bonze bust of Mr Marconi, he offloaded it to my Dad who baffled, stashed it in the attic. It used to freak me out as a kid seeing that floating torso in the darkness....
> 
> As far as I know it's still in the attic of an old Cambridgeshire pub somewhere...



Hmmmm, Chelmsford museum would be very interested in it, failing that, put it on Ebay


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## Foxylady (Mar 24, 2011)

Looks like a great place for an explore. Love the exterior shots and fantastic history. 
No piccies of the goldfish?


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## nelly (Mar 24, 2011)

When we return, I promise to get gold fish piccies!!!

:goofy:


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## Foxylady (Mar 24, 2011)




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## Bad wolf (Apr 13, 2011)

*Post*

Thanks for posting ,looks like a gem!


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## Edd Essex (May 16, 2011)

This is literally minutes from my front door and i can confirm the horrible green sludge is home to goldfish and has been for quite a few years, Last time i went to this site i got asked to move on


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