This derelict building stands adjacent to the Rotherham United football stadium at the edge of Rotherham town centre. The building is the site of a former brassworks, Guest & Chrimes Ltd, which was established in 1843 by brothers Richard and Edward Chrimes and moved to this site in 1857. The company produced produced taps, sluice valves, hydrants and water meters and expanded rapidly after the invention of the  ‘High Pressure Loose Valve Screw-Down Cock‘ (clearly the double entendre had not been invented yet :)) – the forerunner of the modern domestic tap – by Edward Chrimes. The foundry eventually closed in 1999.

There is historic film footage from 1901 showing workers leaving the factory. It’s alarming to see how many young boys are amongst the workforce (although cheering to see that they enjoyed larking about in front of a camera in exactly the same way that boys still do today).

The Grade II listed building is currently surrounded by high fencing, and parts of the structure shown in the last two photos was demolished following a fire in 2018. The entire building is under lease to the neighbouring football club and there are plans to redevelop the building.

This final image features some poignant graffiti that I only noticed when scanning the negative (you may need to click on the image to see the full size version in order to read it).

There is a forum post dating back to 2013 showing some urbex images of the building, including interiors, here.

Yashicamat 124G & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 12 January 2020