# P**s up in a brewery? Hardy & Hansons.



## UrbanX (Jan 1, 2012)

*Hardy & Hansons brewery*












After finding what we thought we was the easy way into the site (it really wasn’t) we were thoroughly disappointed with our next discovery:

A cluster of brand new shiny white plastic contraptions, mounted 15 ft up the wall of the brewery, maybe 40 ft away. One was a PIR, next to a dome camera, next to a loud hailer. It was obvious if we tripped the PIR the camera would flick on in a warm office somewhere, and a polite voice would come over the loud hailer asking us to leave. We hatched a plan for a good 10 minutes, before setting off on the route that we thought would keep us out of the PIRs range. Ducking below walls, and hugging tight against the building we made it round the corner to discover...

...Three more sets of the same clusters along that face of the building! They had obviously spent some money on security equipment, but did they have any left to pay someone to monitor it? We had to assume they did, and carried on round the site looking for a way in while trying to avoid the cameras.






It took a while, but eventually our perseverance paid off and we were rewarded with a surprisingly easy way into the seemingly sealed building.
















The Kimberley Brewery was established and operated by the brewer Hardys & Hansons, and has a heritage dating from 1832. It was the oldest independent brewery in Nottinghamshire
















Samuel Robinson opened the first commercial brewery in Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, England in a rented bake-house using water from the Alley Spring in what is now called Hardy Street.











Stephen Hanson meanwhile built Hansons Limited on Brewery Street in 1847, also using water from the Alley Spring, which we managed to find, still springing(?) in the basement.










*
William & Thomas Hardy were successful beer merchants from Heanor who bought Samuel Robinsons brewery in 1857. The current brewery is largely based on the buildings erected by them in 1861 when they moved out of the old bake-house. Also in 1861, Stephen Hanson died and the business was carried on by his wife Mary and son Robert Hanson.






Lol, love in this pic the cat / dog flap!




*
There was much friendly rivalry between the two brewing companies who proceeded to buy pubs throughout the area to supply with their own ales.











Both breweries began to run short of water. By agreement the water from the local Holly Well spring was shared between them. *Having been attracted by the supply of excellent brewing water from the Holly Well, both breweries thrived independently until 1930, when under increasing pressure from larger brewing companies and lack of male successors to the Hardy's Brewery, the two companies combined.











In 2006, The Hardys & Hansons Kimberley Brewery and all of its public houses were sold in a multi-million pound deal to Greene King brewery, who decided to end the brewing tradition in Kimberley in "a cost effective move" and will sell the Kimberley site, moving its distribution centre to Eastwood. Brewing will switch to the main Greene King site at Bury St Edmunds.











A few walkthroughs are in the middle if this vid: 
http://Www.YouTu.be/uS94tMn3Bfw

Cheers for looking.


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## mr_bones (Jan 1, 2012)

This looks great. Thanks for posting


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## Priority 7 (Jan 2, 2012)

About time bud...lovely pics as always


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## King Al (Jan 2, 2012)

Looks great UX, I do love a Brewery


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## tank2020 (Jan 2, 2012)

Very atmospheric, good few remnants left behind to, thanks


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## smiler (Jan 2, 2012)

Nicely researched report and grand pics, most interesting and enjoyable, Thanks.


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## st33ly (Jan 2, 2012)

Great find . Looks like there's plenty to look at here.


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## Krypton (Jan 2, 2012)

Looks like there's a fair few little gems there


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## TeeJF (Jan 3, 2012)

We just did a brewery in Berlin on Boxing day and it was the polar opposite of your brewery in that we crept in all stealth and caution only to find the place was like Piccadilly Circus in the rush hour! We lost count after 20 other people including a family on a "day out". 

Great pix!


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## Em_Ux (Jan 5, 2012)

Wow this is lovely! Parts of it remind me of the Norfolk mill we visited. 

Lots of lovely details left too...looks like all the wall hugging was well worth it


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## Priority 7 (Jan 5, 2012)

Em_Ux said:


> Wow this is lovely! Parts of it remind me of the Norfolk mill we visited.
> 
> Lots of lovely details left too...looks like all the wall hugging was well worth it



Was definately more rewarding than tree hugging


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## Black Shuck (Jan 5, 2012)

Excellent work again X. Reminds me of Ebridge Mill and the deathrap at Ditchingham!!


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## UrbanX (Jan 5, 2012)

Black Shuck said:


> Excellent work again X. Reminds me of Ebridge Mill and the deathrap at Ditchingham!!



Well spotted, it definitely had an Ebridge feel (and smell) to it!


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## Black Shuck (Jan 5, 2012)

As in essence du Pigeon excreta X!!!!....????


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## Foxylady (Jan 5, 2012)

Love the look of this site...old industry at it's best. Superb pics as always. Love the one of the can beneath the window light.


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## oldscrote (Jan 6, 2012)

Great pictures,I do appreciate good brewery.Regarding the cat flap most factories, mills, breweries and so on used to keep cats to keep the mice and rats down.Even the aircraft carrier HMS ark royal carried them and when sunk in the Med during the second world war the cats were rescued along with nearly all the crew


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## UrbanX (Jan 6, 2012)

oldscrote said:


> Great pictures,I do appreciate good brewery.Regarding the cat flap most factories, mills, breweries and so on used to keep cats to keep the mice and rats down.Even the aircraft carrier HMS ark royal carried them and when sunk in the Med during the second world war the cats were rescued along with nearly all the crew



Excellent info! 
I reckon this one was for the flying rats as it led to the attic rooms. They obviously took the cat with them tho, as it's starting to get infested again up there!


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## Jimthething (Jan 6, 2012)

Beautiful photography UrbanX. I especially liked the pic with the Bulls head sign - really artistic!
And the info re. cats on Ark Royal was great, Oldscrote


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## UrbanX (Jan 7, 2012)

Jimthething said:


> Beautiful photography UrbanX. I especially liked the pic with the Bulls head sign - really artistic!
> And the info re. cats on Ark Royal was great, Oldscrote



Agh cheers was crazy lighting in there, near pitch black, but backlit from the door. To give an idea: That one is a 6 sec exposure at f4, iso 400 lightpainted with torch like mad!


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## TeeJF (Jan 8, 2012)

oldscrote said:


> Even the aircraft carrier HMS ark royal carried them and when sunk in the Med during the second world war the cats were rescued along with nearly all the crew



Fascinating!!!  I bet the poor little b*ggers woundered what the hell had happened!!!


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