Does anybody have any info on this building.This building is in central Birkenhead,Dava2479 and myself went to explore this place and we also done a bit of research,we were told it might of possibly been part of Birkenhead brewery.There are no signs or symbols on the building to indicate what is was originaly used as.
"The wise man always has riches within himself". DOCTUS IN SE SEMPER DIVITIAS HABET
im up for a mooch and a bit of a clamber, i thought the old Birkenhead brewery was Marriots Motorcycles , and over the road to it , which is DJ Vickers car body repairers , site , could be wrong , looks very inviting were about is it in Birkenhead. seems very familiar , is down Corpy road area.
Lieutenant John Chard: The army doesn't like more than one disaster in a day. Bromhead: Looks bad in the newspapers and upsets civilians at their breakfast.
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the man to ask would be chriskay.personally i dont think it was the old birkenhead brewery but i maybe wrong...is this the building with a cafe in the yard with an old motorbike on the roof???
It all makes perfect sense expressed in dollars and cents ,pound shillings and pence
If you take a look at pic 1 you will see that there is strange oddities with the building such as,one half of the building is different to the other and also has different windows and levels.This might suggest that either the left or right side has been added to the original building.Like Ducko said,we had a short explore of this place and found nothing to suggest what the building was or used for.
I don't know this building, but what a magnificently ornate chimney! Birkenhead Brewery was in Oxton Rd., just uphill from Tetbury St., opposite the white building with the ornate frontage. I spent a lot of time as a child at my grandmother's house in Windsor St. & at times the smell (not unpleasant) was overpowering. http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v...hx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1
dun a bit of research yester day got as far back as 1911 when the builing was the oleo works tryed to fined out what was made there but hit brick wall every time
"The wise man always has riches within himself". DOCTUS IN SE SEMPER DIVITIAS HABET
oleos were some form of shock absorbers, I think it is a generic for the air / oil / piston arrangement, but I've also known rubber donut oleos used in railway wagon buffers.
In 1909 it is simply listed as OLEO WORKS. And even then the outline of the building show it to be an odd shape, the brickes must have had a field day when they where building it. Like some of the houses that are built these days and extensions added on and added on, till the ouline takes up a weird shape. Who knows in a 100 years some one will be saying look at the shape of these house its defo odd.
Last edited by jimbob; 20th Jan 200911:44pm.
Ships that pass in the night, seldom seen and soon forgoten
Found this on National Archives to do with the name Oleo:
'Oleo-chemical manufacturers. Bromborough Pool, Wirral. A subsidiary of Unilever International. Formerly called Price's Patent Candle Co. Ltd., 1847-1936, and associated during that period with a London-based company which still trades under that name; Price's (Bromborough) Ltd., 1936-67; and Price's Chemicals Ltd., 1967 - 77. The origins of the company now known as Unichema Chemicals Ltd., date back to the early years of the nineteenth century. The company was founded by William Wilson, the son of a Lanarkshire landowner, who in 1812 moved to London and established himself as a merchant importing Russian goods. His original capital was £100. The importation of tallow for use in the manufacture of candles led to his becoming interested in the commercial possibilities of candlemaking, and in 1830 he built his first factory for this purpose at Vauxhall, London. Although largely owned by Wilson, and his sons James and George, the venture was called "E. Price and Co." in order to preserve their anonymity (it was at that time possibly considered demeaning for gentlemen to enter into industry). The name was retained when Price's Patent Candle Co. became a joint stock company in 1847. Price's soon began both to refine the processes involved in candlemaking and to expand its range of products. Methods of distilling tallow to produce pure white, non-odorous stearine were adopted. Coconut oil, palm oil, and later petroleum were developed as substitutes for tallow. Two important by-products of the distilling process were a liquid called oleine, which became a successful "cloth oil" for use in the manufacture of wool, and glycerine. The latter was produced commercially from 1854, both as a basis for medicines and for use in various industries. Soap production was also begun in 1854. During the late 1850's the company applied its distilling processes to petroleum and became the first large-scale producer of petroleum based lubricants in the world. The production of engine oils and paraffin wax were logical developments. The 1843 the company acquired a second factory at Battersea (known as the "Belmont Works"). This was progressively enlarged, and the original Vauxhall factory was sold in 1864. In the meantime, however, a third factory had been founded at Bromborough Pool in 1854. The Bromborough Pool site was ideal as the bulk of African palm oil imports arrived at Liverpool, and as the Company's main customers for oleines were the northern textile manufacturers. However, it was some distance from the nearest population centres, and for this reason the Company decided to build a village for its employees alongside the works. The Wilson family had always been interested in the welfare of their workers, and they saw to it that the Bromborough Pool settlement was designed as a garden village with open spaces, recreational facilities, a school, and a hospital. In 1859 there were seventy cottages in the village. By the turn of the century this number had been doubled, though without destroying the original concept. For some time church services and meetings were held in the school, but following the building of a chapel in 1890, and a new school in 1898, the older building was converted into a village hall. By 1936 the fatty acid processes carried out at Bromborough had become far removed from the more traditional production of candles and lubricants at Belmont, and it was decided to sever the connection between the two branches. The Merseyside works became part of the Unilever group under the name Price's (Bromborough) Ltd., and have since concentrated on the production of fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and other oleo-chemicals, while Pricr's Patent Candle Co. Ltd., Belmont Works, Battersea, have remained an independent concern. In 1967 the title Price's Chemicals Ltd was adopted for the Bromborough company, but this has now been changed to Unichema Chemicals Ltd.'
It'll be demolished soon enough. You can rely on the council to do that. "Old building? History involved? Great architecture? Pull it down, no one on Wirral's interested in that sort of thing. Let's build some shi**y shoeboxes there instead."
It'll be demolished soon enough. You can rely on the council to do that. "Old building? History involved? Great architecture? Pull it down, no one on Wirral's interested in that sort of thing. Let's build some shi**y shoeboxes there instead."
Sadly, you're probably right. (An unexplained fire seems favourite). If the housing market were more buoyant, it would convert into some nice flats.
Oleo is a type of purified cooking oil used for making biscuits. The chances are, this building was an edible oils factory.
Usually animals intestines were brought from Woodside or Tranmere Lairage and processed into fat, then purified by putting it though a press. This would produce Oleo oil and Stearine was the bi product which was used to make grease proof paper. I know this because I worked in a factory that did this.
Oleo oil was also used as a lubricant for the axles on railway wagons. Some wagons had a box at the end of each axle where a block of fat was placed.
Oleo Oil has now been replaced by vegetable oil by most bakery companies.
There was another factory in Cathcart Street called British American Products which also rifined Oleo. This company moved to new premises in Duke Street/ Cleveland Street in 1967 and the building is now used as Happy Als bus garage.
In the first picture,you can see some white double doors on the first floor.Around 1982/83 I delivered a very large drying table there for screen printing.We had picked it up from a factory in Blackpool took there and craned it up to that floor,I've often wondered if it is still in there as it was not the easiest of things to move,it was a creepy place then and I don't think the printer stayed there very long after,as he had a new business on Argyle st and then other stuff kept him occupied for a couple of years later.
Oleo is a type of purified cooking oil used for making biscuits. The chances are, this building was an edible oils factory.
Usually animals intestines were brought from Woodside or Tranmere Lairage and processed into fat, then purified by putting it though a press. This would produce Oleo oil and Stearine was the bi product which was used to make grease proof paper. I know this because I worked in a factory that did this.
Oleo oil was also used as a lubricant for the axles on railway wagons. Some wagons had a box at the end of each axle where a block of fat was placed.
Oleo Oil has now been replaced by vegetable oil by most bakery companies.
There was another factory in Cathcart Street called British American Products which also rifined Oleo. This company moved to new premises in Duke Street/ Cleveland Street in 1967 and the building is now used as Happy Als bus garage.
This is great info mate ,and is more logical than my theory.I do remember BAPCO on Duke St.Very well.
In the first picture,you can see some white double doors on the first floor.Around 1982/83 I delivered a very large drying table there for screen printing.We had picked it up from a factory in Blackpool took there and craned it up to that floor,I've often wondered if it is still in there as it was not the easiest of things to move,it was a creepy place then and I don't think the printer stayed there very long after,as he had a new business on Argyle st and then other stuff kept him occupied for a couple of years later.
Chris.
When Ducko and I went to explore this place,we found that the floors and rooms where sectioned off into units which had various business`s in.There was a lot of business`s there from the rag trade.Was this table used for printing of material?
In the first picture,you can see some white double doors on the first floor.Around 1982/83 I delivered a very large drying table there for screen printing.We had picked it up from a factory in Blackpool took there and craned it up to that floor,I've often wondered if it is still in there as it was not the easiest of things to move,it was a creepy place then and I don't think the printer stayed there very long after,as he had a new business on Argyle st and then other stuff kept him occupied for a couple of years later.
Chris.
When Ducko and I went to explore this place,we found that the floors and rooms where sectioned off into units which had various business`s in.There was a lot of business`s there from the rag trade.Was this table used for printing of material?
No it was a drying table,it was metal about 12' long about 4' wide and probably 6-8"deep on 4' legs.It also had like a chainmail type of top on it.It took a dozen of us to move it out from the factory in Blackpool and half that to get it up to the first floor in this place,with a crane of course.
This place has/is being used as an engineering works also. Go past it about 10 times a day, needs a further "mooch"!!
Ducko and I have been back down there a few months back as a follow up and it was all closed of off and all business signs taken down.I do know that at the foot of this building there is a garage there that used to fi motor bikes but each time we have been that also has been closed.
Due to go the archives soon so will check up on it on my way past.
Oleo is something to do with processing natural oils as used in margarine, soap and tallow manufacture. Stork and Levers would have had an interest in this science but they had their own dock at Bromborough for importing palm oil from West Africa. Could it have been a margarine factory? Just had a second thought. My Dad took me in his meat lorry to Norman Foods factory somewhere around there and I was amazed to see the dismal conditions under which tins of beans were made. They wouldn't get away with it nowadays! Could it have been Norman Foods?
The 1968 Telephone Directory lists the address of Norman Foods Ltd (Meat Packers & Canners) as Hastings House, Canning Street, which appears to be the correct building.
This building was known as the "Morpeth Mill" on WW2 plans, on the same block was a Foundry, two Pubs (The London Hotel and possibly The Egerton) and an Air Raid Shelter.
I haven't found out anything about Morpeth Mill as yet, this was found in passing on another project.
The chimney does not look like it was there when this was the Oleo Works as the buildings are completely different shapes, so it highly likely the Oleo Works were demolished and replaced with this Mill.
This building was known as the "Morpeth Mill" on WW2 plans, on the same block was a Foundry, two Pubs (The London Hotel and possibly The Egerton) and an Air Raid Shelter.
I haven't found out anything about Morpeth Mill as yet, this was found in passing on another project.
The chimney does not look like it was there when this was the Oleo Works as the buildings are completely different shapes, so it highly likely the Oleo Works were demolished and replaced with this Mill.
The original Oleo Works haven't been demolished, simply much added to over the years. If you go back to page 1, in the first pic you can see a clear difference beween the original building on the right-hand side and the later extension on the left. Pic 3 shows that the chimney is at the back of the older part of the works, so it would have been part of the original building.
The factory seems to have been built in the late 1880s, but oddly it doesn't appear in Trade Directories until 1893, when it's listed as Birkenhead Margarine Works (A Ogston & Sons). Just before WW1, it belonged to British Margarine Supplies Ltd and is named as Morpeth Refinery. Part of the premises is identified as a palm kernel store, so there's not much doubt that the works were originally built to process oils & fats for the production of margarine, as other posts have suggested.
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,and is more logical than my theory.I do remember BAPCO on Duke St.Very well.
