A sunny day, strangely so for October, and off I go to explore Broadoaks in Byfleet. I get on site without issue but can’t get in as all entry points are boarded, nailed or padlocked shut - take heed if you plan to attempt the place, its properly sealed. Had a funny run in with the big, scruffy Secca guy (tuck your shirt in mate, I take this seriously so why dont you? 
) which involved him being about 5 metres away, with me on the opposite side of a tree to him, inching round it to avoid the angle of his beady eye as he shuffled about oblivious...he never clocked me at all! It made me smile and on this day, the Urbex gods favoured me in more ways than just the 'Iescapedsecca' encounter.
The (loose) relevance of that short tale is that earlier in the day, on the way to Broadoaks, I got a little lost so pulled over to check the sat nav and there it was...right there...a random and clearly abandoned 2 bed detached cottage on the other side of the road. 'That'll do as a back-up' I thought to myself and having failed at Broadoaks, I return to the random-abandoned abode, get kitted up and am pleased to enter the place with ease.
Didn't think much of it from the front but soon saw there was loads going on, with plenty of leftbehinds outside and in but the unusual thing was the machines...not the 'Singers' I found, although I was most pleased with them...I mean the BIG printing machines I came across. As you can see in my pics one filled the conservatory and the other filled the double shed outside from floor to ceiling. I am no expert, but these things look seriously heavy duty for average household use...not quite your standard Xerox is it?
The entire bottom floor resembled a factory, with trays of metal type pieces and all sorts of other print related paraphernalia littered throughout the rooms adjacent to the conservatory. All the ground floor walls, paintwork and staircase where covered in a baked on, oil-like substance which I assume is mostly a residue from exhaust fumes the mechanical beast in the conservatory would of spat out when running. All in all, it would appear this was once quite the operation as regards the printing game.
As mentioned, I found various 'Singer' sewing machines here, with a nice rusted example in the upstairs bedroom alongside plenty of sewing related stuff in the form of templates, knitting needles, wool and piles of fabric. Seems someone was a dab hand with the hands.
In another bedroom, obviously once that of a kid, there where trophies and ornaments already set up with other childlike remnants littered around...the baby photo tucked under a shelf made me extremely sad when I saw it and it still does for some reason, I find the residentials visits hard on the heart if I am honest.
Extra pleased with this one due to the randomness of the find coupled with the lack of residentials that we seem to (not) get in Surrey... let alone completely unreported ones with, loads of left behinds and a full on printworks installed inside it!
No history and no location as we don't want those Singers going for a song now do we? I will say that from what I gathered and guessed, it was a man who towards the end lived here alone, took up printing in a big way but kept the memories of his kids alive in a small corner of what I have christened ' The Machinist's House'.
Onto the pics, full slideshow with lots of extra pics here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125506319@N04/sets/72157648206863586/show/
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on Flickr
Thanks for looking
Brickworx
) which involved him being about 5 metres away, with me on the opposite side of a tree to him, inching round it to avoid the angle of his beady eye as he shuffled about oblivious...he never clocked me at all! It made me smile and on this day, the Urbex gods favoured me in more ways than just the 'Iescapedsecca' encounter.The (loose) relevance of that short tale is that earlier in the day, on the way to Broadoaks, I got a little lost so pulled over to check the sat nav and there it was...right there...a random and clearly abandoned 2 bed detached cottage on the other side of the road. 'That'll do as a back-up' I thought to myself and having failed at Broadoaks, I return to the random-abandoned abode, get kitted up and am pleased to enter the place with ease.
Didn't think much of it from the front but soon saw there was loads going on, with plenty of leftbehinds outside and in but the unusual thing was the machines...not the 'Singers' I found, although I was most pleased with them...I mean the BIG printing machines I came across. As you can see in my pics one filled the conservatory and the other filled the double shed outside from floor to ceiling. I am no expert, but these things look seriously heavy duty for average household use...not quite your standard Xerox is it?
The entire bottom floor resembled a factory, with trays of metal type pieces and all sorts of other print related paraphernalia littered throughout the rooms adjacent to the conservatory. All the ground floor walls, paintwork and staircase where covered in a baked on, oil-like substance which I assume is mostly a residue from exhaust fumes the mechanical beast in the conservatory would of spat out when running. All in all, it would appear this was once quite the operation as regards the printing game.
As mentioned, I found various 'Singer' sewing machines here, with a nice rusted example in the upstairs bedroom alongside plenty of sewing related stuff in the form of templates, knitting needles, wool and piles of fabric. Seems someone was a dab hand with the hands.
In another bedroom, obviously once that of a kid, there where trophies and ornaments already set up with other childlike remnants littered around...the baby photo tucked under a shelf made me extremely sad when I saw it and it still does for some reason, I find the residentials visits hard on the heart if I am honest.
Extra pleased with this one due to the randomness of the find coupled with the lack of residentials that we seem to (not) get in Surrey... let alone completely unreported ones with, loads of left behinds and a full on printworks installed inside it!
No history and no location as we don't want those Singers going for a song now do we? I will say that from what I gathered and guessed, it was a man who towards the end lived here alone, took up printing in a big way but kept the memories of his kids alive in a small corner of what I have christened ' The Machinist's House'.
Onto the pics, full slideshow with lots of extra pics here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/125506319@N04/sets/72157648206863586/show/
Untitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrUntitled by BrickworkUrbex, on FlickrThanks for looking
Brickworx
