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Happy New Forthcoming Year!
Just when you think an area couldn't get more boring.....it becomes slightly more intriguing...and then ever so slightly more interesting.
Rural Warwickshire and Oxfordshire are by contrast to other countryside areas a heavily sanitised set of counties with abandoned sites quickly redeveloped or well guarded and with not much variation. However, there are random pockets of moderate resistance. In this mild case, after spending time in this area for many years on and off without finding much interesting save for good pubs and neat fields, a random walk yielded an abandoned former factory site. This has seemingly been under my nose for the best part of a decade, as I've driven past it numerous times. The site is a gentle mooch, nothing special and pretty trashed cementing it's derp status, but it has it's charms in that it's highly photogenic in golden hour during the summer and also during thick, spectral fog. This post comprises two trips. The most recent occurring during a real pea-souper, of sorts. Now, although I say this place is "nothing special" - this is coming from purely an urbex/photography angle. I do sometimes have to remind myself while on an explore that any abandoned site was once many people's work, their income, their community, and often their pride. I was reminded of this very much so on my recent trip, when amongst the ransacked and smashed-up offices were reminders of the site's history as a business of artisans much respected in the industry and community at the time.
But first: Rocks! Hornton stone is native to the Banbury area. High in iron content it is dark to reddish brown and from the Marlstone rock formations in North Oxfordshire. If you've driven through this area you'll have seen plenty of buildings built from and clad in this warm stone, it's quite lovely. Therefore there's been local industries dedicated to this material.
A company was formed north of Banbury to quarry this stone for various purposes - building materials and monument blocks, etc. Hornton Masonry Company Ltd was formed by an amalgamation of several other local quarries on 02/03/1932 (Companies House). Parts of the other closest associated quarries can be seen in the maps below (trusty Library of Scotland maps), one dating from the 1900s and one from the 1970s. The current collection of surviving buildings can be seen sitting on brown earth in the satellite photo from the early 2000s (Google). The quarries surrounding now long disused and left to overgrow or form new gardens.
Hornton Quarries became a success, supplying stone for applications as diverse as simple garden rockeries, headstones, monuments, plus repairs to National Trust properties such as Broughton Castle, various National Trust Properties and even The Presidential Palace in Kenya! This prestigious output is according to a multi-page piece about the company in the April 1999 edition of The Four Shires magazine (one of those glossy brochures for well-to-do residents) which I found amongst the scattered office effects. One of the noteworthy projects also mentioned was the epic-sounding Quarryman's Garden at 1998's Chelsea Flower Show, which also featured butterflies, 29 trees and which won a Gold Award, nice work!
Below are images from the magazine which show the workshops in use. These workshops apparently "hadn't changed much in 30 years", and they haven't really changed much even now almost another 30 years on from 1999, although now empty of industry and filling with dust. The layout of the workshops haven't appeared to have changed since the mid-20th century (left) and the stone masons performing their various crafts in 1999. I haven't as yet captured current photos in these same spots, but if I return I will try to, or someone else is welcome to.
The company made it into the 21st century but didn't make it past the first decade. The site appears to have been vacated by 2006 according to calendars and other on-site items. The company was wound up on 10/12/2010. (Companies House), with the site going on-sale in the late 2000s for £40,000. Below are images from the advert which still remain online. No takers, I guess. Interested? I take cashier cheque or a money order to Ice Station Zebra Associates, it's totally legit. But definitely not American Express, so don't even ask. Any questions?
And so, here we are - "the sands of time were eroded by the river of constant change", any excuse to add a Genesis lyric.
The explore:
The 2.5 acre site is maintained in that the scrub appears to be cut back and trimmed, presumably for when potential purchases are shown around, but aside from that everything is left as-is, with discarded gubbins everywhere and the buildings are not being maintained. It's pretty clear the structures will all be levelled when sold. Nothing is locally listed. It's surprising that this site hasn't been sold many years prior, given it's location. However a similar situation occurred with a former factory site near Southam a decade ago, and that's now being built on. So one day - it'll just happen and it'll just be someone's living room or their back garden. It's a quiet explore, a nice stroll around really. Shame it's been quite thoroughly trashed by thieves and idiots, as is the style at this time. Though, there's not much graff, surprisingly. There seems to be BMX tricks being performed on site or maybe skateboarding. No strange characters on site thankfully, no vans following, no angry bearded chaps with angry bearded dogs, that sort of thing. Bring sandwiches, pimento cheese perhaps.
Late summer:
Mid winter:
The classic industrial derp:
Smashed walls, broken glass, **** graf, all the ingredients of the vandalism pie courtesy of the entropy ferrets.
The cold open:
Looking more like barracks at a place like RAF Nocton Hall, the lonely workshops reside next to the old, visible, quarry workings in weirdly sparsely-populated surroundings (even in summer).
The expanse.
Also...see that obelisk at far left?
That is a monument as part of a local sculpture trail. It was "constructed to mark the millennium by the first female stone mason in the history of Hornton Quarry". Maybe the first, maybe was even the last perhaps....
In particular, look out for the impressive range of pre-loved sofas on site, yours to behold now for only £00.00!
And finally...
because it's nice to remember the good old days and the shimmer of summer, here's what that award-winning Quarryman's Garden looked like back in ye olde 1998. Take it away, Hornton stone masons!
(Photos from Purefolly.com)
𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔!
Just when you think an area couldn't get more boring.....it becomes slightly more intriguing...and then ever so slightly more interesting.
Rural Warwickshire and Oxfordshire are by contrast to other countryside areas a heavily sanitised set of counties with abandoned sites quickly redeveloped or well guarded and with not much variation. However, there are random pockets of moderate resistance. In this mild case, after spending time in this area for many years on and off without finding much interesting save for good pubs and neat fields, a random walk yielded an abandoned former factory site. This has seemingly been under my nose for the best part of a decade, as I've driven past it numerous times. The site is a gentle mooch, nothing special and pretty trashed cementing it's derp status, but it has it's charms in that it's highly photogenic in golden hour during the summer and also during thick, spectral fog. This post comprises two trips. The most recent occurring during a real pea-souper, of sorts. Now, although I say this place is "nothing special" - this is coming from purely an urbex/photography angle. I do sometimes have to remind myself while on an explore that any abandoned site was once many people's work, their income, their community, and often their pride. I was reminded of this very much so on my recent trip, when amongst the ransacked and smashed-up offices were reminders of the site's history as a business of artisans much respected in the industry and community at the time.
But first: Rocks! Hornton stone is native to the Banbury area. High in iron content it is dark to reddish brown and from the Marlstone rock formations in North Oxfordshire. If you've driven through this area you'll have seen plenty of buildings built from and clad in this warm stone, it's quite lovely. Therefore there's been local industries dedicated to this material.
A company was formed north of Banbury to quarry this stone for various purposes - building materials and monument blocks, etc. Hornton Masonry Company Ltd was formed by an amalgamation of several other local quarries on 02/03/1932 (Companies House). Parts of the other closest associated quarries can be seen in the maps below (trusty Library of Scotland maps), one dating from the 1900s and one from the 1970s. The current collection of surviving buildings can be seen sitting on brown earth in the satellite photo from the early 2000s (Google). The quarries surrounding now long disused and left to overgrow or form new gardens.
Hornton Quarries became a success, supplying stone for applications as diverse as simple garden rockeries, headstones, monuments, plus repairs to National Trust properties such as Broughton Castle, various National Trust Properties and even The Presidential Palace in Kenya! This prestigious output is according to a multi-page piece about the company in the April 1999 edition of The Four Shires magazine (one of those glossy brochures for well-to-do residents) which I found amongst the scattered office effects. One of the noteworthy projects also mentioned was the epic-sounding Quarryman's Garden at 1998's Chelsea Flower Show, which also featured butterflies, 29 trees and which won a Gold Award, nice work!
Below are images from the magazine which show the workshops in use. These workshops apparently "hadn't changed much in 30 years", and they haven't really changed much even now almost another 30 years on from 1999, although now empty of industry and filling with dust. The layout of the workshops haven't appeared to have changed since the mid-20th century (left) and the stone masons performing their various crafts in 1999. I haven't as yet captured current photos in these same spots, but if I return I will try to, or someone else is welcome to.
The company made it into the 21st century but didn't make it past the first decade. The site appears to have been vacated by 2006 according to calendars and other on-site items. The company was wound up on 10/12/2010. (Companies House), with the site going on-sale in the late 2000s for £40,000. Below are images from the advert which still remain online. No takers, I guess. Interested? I take cashier cheque or a money order to Ice Station Zebra Associates, it's totally legit. But definitely not American Express, so don't even ask. Any questions?
And so, here we are - "the sands of time were eroded by the river of constant change", any excuse to add a Genesis lyric.
The explore:
The 2.5 acre site is maintained in that the scrub appears to be cut back and trimmed, presumably for when potential purchases are shown around, but aside from that everything is left as-is, with discarded gubbins everywhere and the buildings are not being maintained. It's pretty clear the structures will all be levelled when sold. Nothing is locally listed. It's surprising that this site hasn't been sold many years prior, given it's location. However a similar situation occurred with a former factory site near Southam a decade ago, and that's now being built on. So one day - it'll just happen and it'll just be someone's living room or their back garden. It's a quiet explore, a nice stroll around really. Shame it's been quite thoroughly trashed by thieves and idiots, as is the style at this time. Though, there's not much graff, surprisingly. There seems to be BMX tricks being performed on site or maybe skateboarding. No strange characters on site thankfully, no vans following, no angry bearded chaps with angry bearded dogs, that sort of thing. Bring sandwiches, pimento cheese perhaps.
Late summer:
Mid winter:
The classic industrial derp:
Smashed walls, broken glass, **** graf, all the ingredients of the vandalism pie courtesy of the entropy ferrets.
The cold open:
Looking more like barracks at a place like RAF Nocton Hall, the lonely workshops reside next to the old, visible, quarry workings in weirdly sparsely-populated surroundings (even in summer).
The expanse.
Also...see that obelisk at far left?
That is a monument as part of a local sculpture trail. It was "constructed to mark the millennium by the first female stone mason in the history of Hornton Quarry". Maybe the first, maybe was even the last perhaps....
In particular, look out for the impressive range of pre-loved sofas on site, yours to behold now for only £00.00!
And finally...
because it's nice to remember the good old days and the shimmer of summer, here's what that award-winning Quarryman's Garden looked like back in ye olde 1998. Take it away, Hornton stone masons!
(Photos from Purefolly.com)
𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔!
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