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- Jan 6, 2013
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1. The History
The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm It has a very long, rich and well documented history and the company operated, in part, right up until 2009. It was founded by Benjamin Outram, Francis Beresford, William Jessop and John Wright back in 1790, initially as Outram & Co. Outram and Jessop were engineers, Beresford a lawyer and Wright a wealth banker. When Outram died in 1805, the company’s name was changed to the Butterley Company. In 1814 the company famously produced the iron work for Vauxhall Bridge over the River Thames. It also owned Hilt’s quarry near Crich which supplied limestone for the iron making process. Three years later, when depression followed, the company witnessed the Pentrich Revolution. A group of rebel workers planned to kill the three senior managers and ransack the works for weapons. However, as fortune would have it, the rebels where faced down by members of the local constabulary and the revolution was foiled. James Brandreth, the leader, was later hanged and beheaded.
The rest of the 1800s were relatively prosperous, with the company producing a vast array of goods, from rails for wagonways through to heaters for tea urns. By 1835 the Butterley Works had expanded to cover a 12-acre site. By 1840 the four original founders of the company had all died with the passing of John Wright. But the company continued to prosper and be at the cutting edge of its trade. The company were early investors in the new Bessemer convertor process in 1856. In 1859 the company patented a method of producing a load-bearing iron beam, known as the Butterley Bulb, which was used in many early iron steam ships. Further innovations in the steel-making process meant that by 1863 the company was rolling the largest masses of iron of any foundry in the country. Much of the successes of the company over this period were down to the company's manager, Sir John Alleyne. In 1870 he invented two high reversing steel mills that allowed metal ingots to be repeatedly rolled to get the correct size and section. Four years earlier in 1866, the works famously won the order to supply the ironwork of the roof of St. Pancras station in London (around 9,000 gross tons of rolled and cast iron). In a report from 1886 it was noted that the works were producing pumping engines for waterworks in Shrewsbury, Amsterdam and Oxford and many large Cornish engines. In 1888, Butterley was incorporated as a Limited Company and then latterly, in 1914 a Public Limited Company, through a special Parliamentary Act.
During World War II, in 1915, the Government took-over Butterley Ironworks as part of its munition’s procurement plan. The factory would then step up again several decades later as their Codnor Park site produced manganese steel for track links and spindles and the Victoria Foundry buildings were used as Gun Shop.
Workers roll-call from 1937:
Butterley personnel-1938 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Old advert:
2019-10-31_11-14-07 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Aerial picture showing just how vast the site used to be:
2019-10-31_11-13-06 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Post-war, Butterley continued to prosper and at its peak, in the 1950s, the company employed around 10,000 people. In 1965 Butterley Foundry was modernised with the installation of the Rol-a-Draw moulding plant and the Codnor Park Forge closed down. The company was then acquired by Lord Hanson in 1968 for £4.7 million and it became part of the Wiles Group. Subsequently the company was split up into three separate entities; Butterley Engineering, Butterley Brick and Butterley Aggregates. In 1975 Codnor Park Wagon Works was closed down followed by Butterley Foundry, eleven years later in 1986. This marking the end of two centuries of smelting, melting, forging, rolling and founding at the company. The company still continued to make a mark though via its engineering arm and during the 1990’s the machine shop was incorporated into a very large new fitting shop. Butterley Engineering Ltd produced and erected the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland in 2000 and the iconic Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth in 2005.
Photo from the 1960s:
Butterley 1960s-view by HughieDW, on Flickr
And more recently:
Butterley old pic by HughieDW, on Flickr
Sadly, though, it wasn’t to last and the inevitable happened in March 2009. The company was placed into administration, having suffered at the hands of the economic downturn. Over the next couple of years, a large part of the site was demolished. The machine shop (believed to date back to circa 1850 and previously known as the engine shop) and adjacent heavy machine shop with their hoists and overhead crane tracks (supported on magnificent cast iron columns) were spared the wrecking ball. They still remain, along with two storey stone-built Pattern Shop from 1838 and the Octagonal Gatehouse which is believed to pre-date the 1817 Pentrich Rising. In 2015 the site was put up for sale at and asking price of £1.65m by auction Aquarius Estates. It was bought by a London-based property developer, but since then no development had taken place.
2. The Explore
Second time lucky with this place. The first time I rocked up-mid-afternoon on my tod on a lovely sunny day. Got out the car and spec-ed the palisaded side and just got back to the car to put my boots on and two coppers turned up. “Afternoon officers. Not going to give me a parking ticket, are you?” I joked. “We’re not here for that” came the reply. Sooo…thought I’d go for a walk and come back hopefully by which time they’d have moved on. So off I trotted for fifteen minutes. On my return they were still hanging around. So changed out my boots, got back in the car and bailed. A month later arrange to meet up with Bikin' Glyn and have another crack. This time the weather was atrocious. But after a bit of fence-hopping we were into the main building. Was in the dry it was a really relaxed explore. There may not be much left inside the factory itself but the actually building is a real joy: the wrought-iron pillars, the massive crane and that staircase. Overall a really enjoyable hour or so in this former engineering works.
3. The Pictures
Very few externals (OK, just one!) due to the weather being terrible as you can see from this picture:
Butterley 28 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And we’re in:
Butterley 27 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Black and white without needing to make it black and white:
Butterley 08 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some reasonable graff:
img3794 by HughieDW, on Flickr
That staircase:
Butterley 15 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img3801 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Main room:
Butterley 13 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Butterley 10 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img3791 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Loving the pipework:
Butterley 09 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And the natural decay:
Butterley 07 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Butterley 14 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And the pillar-work:
img3790 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Crane up-shot:
Butterley 03 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Butterley 02 by HughieDW, on Flickr
View from the control room:
Butterley 18 by HughieDW, on Flickr
On to the mezzanine floor:
Butterley 19 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And on to the crane:
Butterley 20 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img3808 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Butterley 22 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Butterley 21 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Crane electrics:
Butterley 24 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Into the cab:
img3820 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Cab close-up:
Butterley 26 by HughieDW, on Flickr
S’all folks…
img3776 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm It has a very long, rich and well documented history and the company operated, in part, right up until 2009. It was founded by Benjamin Outram, Francis Beresford, William Jessop and John Wright back in 1790, initially as Outram & Co. Outram and Jessop were engineers, Beresford a lawyer and Wright a wealth banker. When Outram died in 1805, the company’s name was changed to the Butterley Company. In 1814 the company famously produced the iron work for Vauxhall Bridge over the River Thames. It also owned Hilt’s quarry near Crich which supplied limestone for the iron making process. Three years later, when depression followed, the company witnessed the Pentrich Revolution. A group of rebel workers planned to kill the three senior managers and ransack the works for weapons. However, as fortune would have it, the rebels where faced down by members of the local constabulary and the revolution was foiled. James Brandreth, the leader, was later hanged and beheaded.
The rest of the 1800s were relatively prosperous, with the company producing a vast array of goods, from rails for wagonways through to heaters for tea urns. By 1835 the Butterley Works had expanded to cover a 12-acre site. By 1840 the four original founders of the company had all died with the passing of John Wright. But the company continued to prosper and be at the cutting edge of its trade. The company were early investors in the new Bessemer convertor process in 1856. In 1859 the company patented a method of producing a load-bearing iron beam, known as the Butterley Bulb, which was used in many early iron steam ships. Further innovations in the steel-making process meant that by 1863 the company was rolling the largest masses of iron of any foundry in the country. Much of the successes of the company over this period were down to the company's manager, Sir John Alleyne. In 1870 he invented two high reversing steel mills that allowed metal ingots to be repeatedly rolled to get the correct size and section. Four years earlier in 1866, the works famously won the order to supply the ironwork of the roof of St. Pancras station in London (around 9,000 gross tons of rolled and cast iron). In a report from 1886 it was noted that the works were producing pumping engines for waterworks in Shrewsbury, Amsterdam and Oxford and many large Cornish engines. In 1888, Butterley was incorporated as a Limited Company and then latterly, in 1914 a Public Limited Company, through a special Parliamentary Act.
During World War II, in 1915, the Government took-over Butterley Ironworks as part of its munition’s procurement plan. The factory would then step up again several decades later as their Codnor Park site produced manganese steel for track links and spindles and the Victoria Foundry buildings were used as Gun Shop.
Workers roll-call from 1937:
![48998363032_9b400edecb_b.jpg 48998363032_9b400edecb_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256013-48998363032-9b400edecb-b.jpg)
Old advert:
![48992725573_b82ca5ee1f_c.jpg 48992725573_b82ca5ee1f_c.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256014-48992725573-b82ca5ee1f-c.jpg)
Aerial picture showing just how vast the site used to be:
![48993459487_ded6924394_c.jpg 48993459487_ded6924394_c.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256015-48993459487-ded6924394-c.jpg)
Post-war, Butterley continued to prosper and at its peak, in the 1950s, the company employed around 10,000 people. In 1965 Butterley Foundry was modernised with the installation of the Rol-a-Draw moulding plant and the Codnor Park Forge closed down. The company was then acquired by Lord Hanson in 1968 for £4.7 million and it became part of the Wiles Group. Subsequently the company was split up into three separate entities; Butterley Engineering, Butterley Brick and Butterley Aggregates. In 1975 Codnor Park Wagon Works was closed down followed by Butterley Foundry, eleven years later in 1986. This marking the end of two centuries of smelting, melting, forging, rolling and founding at the company. The company still continued to make a mark though via its engineering arm and during the 1990’s the machine shop was incorporated into a very large new fitting shop. Butterley Engineering Ltd produced and erected the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland in 2000 and the iconic Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth in 2005.
Photo from the 1960s:
![48998363112_8ce2146fed_z.jpg 48998363112_8ce2146fed_z.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256016-48998363112-8ce2146fed-z.jpg)
And more recently:
![48997612113_0a31a87ae4_b.jpg 48997612113_0a31a87ae4_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256017-48997612113-0a31a87ae4-b.jpg)
Sadly, though, it wasn’t to last and the inevitable happened in March 2009. The company was placed into administration, having suffered at the hands of the economic downturn. Over the next couple of years, a large part of the site was demolished. The machine shop (believed to date back to circa 1850 and previously known as the engine shop) and adjacent heavy machine shop with their hoists and overhead crane tracks (supported on magnificent cast iron columns) were spared the wrecking ball. They still remain, along with two storey stone-built Pattern Shop from 1838 and the Octagonal Gatehouse which is believed to pre-date the 1817 Pentrich Rising. In 2015 the site was put up for sale at and asking price of £1.65m by auction Aquarius Estates. It was bought by a London-based property developer, but since then no development had taken place.
2. The Explore
Second time lucky with this place. The first time I rocked up-mid-afternoon on my tod on a lovely sunny day. Got out the car and spec-ed the palisaded side and just got back to the car to put my boots on and two coppers turned up. “Afternoon officers. Not going to give me a parking ticket, are you?” I joked. “We’re not here for that” came the reply. Sooo…thought I’d go for a walk and come back hopefully by which time they’d have moved on. So off I trotted for fifteen minutes. On my return they were still hanging around. So changed out my boots, got back in the car and bailed. A month later arrange to meet up with Bikin' Glyn and have another crack. This time the weather was atrocious. But after a bit of fence-hopping we were into the main building. Was in the dry it was a really relaxed explore. There may not be much left inside the factory itself but the actually building is a real joy: the wrought-iron pillars, the massive crane and that staircase. Overall a really enjoyable hour or so in this former engineering works.
3. The Pictures
Very few externals (OK, just one!) due to the weather being terrible as you can see from this picture:
![48963353088_211e8610cc_b.jpg 48963353088_211e8610cc_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256018-48963353088-211e8610cc-b.jpg)
And we’re in:
![48964082232_9d0bbc1dfa_b.jpg 48964082232_9d0bbc1dfa_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256019-48964082232-9d0bbc1dfa-b.jpg)
Black and white without needing to make it black and white:
![48964089277_50d8ba7972_b.jpg 48964089277_50d8ba7972_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256020-48964089277-50d8ba7972-b.jpg)
Some reasonable graff:
![48963914207_4f1cc5b401_b.jpg 48963914207_4f1cc5b401_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256021-48963914207-4f1cc5b401-b.jpg)
That staircase:
![48963908926_9f227f7acd_b.jpg 48963908926_9f227f7acd_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256022-48963908926-9f227f7acd-b.jpg)
![48963910327_b3943733f6_b.jpg 48963910327_b3943733f6_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256023-48963910327-b3943733f6-b.jpg)
Main room:
![48963358538_cbcaf9a0f3_b.jpg 48963358538_cbcaf9a0f3_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256024-48963358538-cbcaf9a0f3-b.jpg)
![48964088507_65dff012af_b.jpg 48964088507_65dff012af_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256025-48964088507-65dff012af-b.jpg)
![48963916922_4f86d55918_b.jpg 48963916922_4f86d55918_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256026-48963916922-4f86d55918-b.jpg)
Loving the pipework:
![48964088992_44e4e4461e_b.jpg 48964088992_44e4e4461e_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256027-48964088992-44e4e4461e-b.jpg)
And the natural decay:
![48963912001_be31f79fc3_b.jpg 48963912001_be31f79fc3_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256028-48963912001-be31f79fc3-b.jpg)
![48963358123_7947e2a417_b.jpg 48963358123_7947e2a417_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256029-48963358123-7947e2a417-b.jpg)
And the pillar-work:
![48963188098_4e0f53b729_b.jpg 48963188098_4e0f53b729_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256030-48963188098-4e0f53b729-b.jpg)
Crane up-shot:
![48963362853_e0be82e155_b.jpg 48963362853_e0be82e155_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256031-48963362853-e0be82e155-b.jpg)
![48963363268_6a30221a9b_b.jpg 48963363268_6a30221a9b_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256032-48963363268-6a30221a9b-b.jpg)
View from the control room:
![48963356748_28c5e6e748_b.jpg 48963356748_28c5e6e748_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256033-48963356748-28c5e6e748-b.jpg)
On to the mezzanine floor:
![48963907486_6481276bac_b.jpg 48963907486_6481276bac_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256034-48963907486-6481276bac-b.jpg)
And on to the crane:
![48963355873_80abc8b8ea_b.jpg 48963355873_80abc8b8ea_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256035-48963355873-80abc8b8ea-b.jpg)
![48963905757_2eeea861a8_b.jpg 48963905757_2eeea861a8_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256036-48963905757-2eeea861a8-b.jpg)
![48963906231_a472ed79a6_b.jpg 48963906231_a472ed79a6_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256037-48963906231-a472ed79a6-b.jpg)
![48963906561_d86bfd3449_b.jpg 48963906561_d86bfd3449_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256038-48963906561-d86bfd3449-b.jpg)
Crane electrics:
![48963905676_1fe83812ae_b.jpg 48963905676_1fe83812ae_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256039-48963905676-1fe83812ae-b.jpg)
Into the cab:
![48963170573_567521440a_b.jpg 48963170573_567521440a_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256040-48963170573-567521440a-b.jpg)
Cab close-up:
![48963353668_29487d2d4e_b.jpg 48963353668_29487d2d4e_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256041-48963353668-29487d2d4e-b.jpg)
S’all folks…
![48963932017_a7ce57916c_b.jpg 48963932017_a7ce57916c_b.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/derelictplaces/data/attach/256/256042-48963932017-a7ce57916c-b.jpg)