Tales of the Urban Explorer: Empress Mill
'That old mill is being renovated and turned into flats, what a great idea! '
Except when it’s not; ‘Empress Mill’ dates back to between 1903 and 1909, a little late compared to many, but there were still years for people to go and be a working slave for many decades.
In 2011, the Mill was renovated and separated into flats released for sale at £85,000 a pop, not bad for a semi-central area but there was a catch.
Leaking roofs, mould, exposed electrical wires and a dodgy gas connection were but some of the problems.
"We have invested in something that doesn’t exist. I’m paying £120 a month on a mortgage for a pile of rubble." – a pissed off-resident.
It was all going to end in tears and by 2021 the evacuations were underway. The story can be found here.
…'Orchid Point was supposed to be affordable, non-affordable housing, but ended up being derelict housing, and a not so grand place for us to visit’… - Source
We didn’t know it at the time; it looked kind of renovated but in a fucked up way with what looked like furniture from the ex-residents within the grounds.
Getting past the herras fencing was never going to be an issue but still, we lingered and checked out the entirety of the perimeter.
'Orchid Point' was the new name for this short-lived development and those gates were a little too spiky for my liking.
There was plenty of evidence of the origins, and no effort had been made to scrub away what history remained.
After looking around like would-be shoplifters, this was going to be the way into the grounds and short of avoiding standing on the usual squishy types of substances, it was with ease that we made it inside the fencing.
Inside was the usual mess we are well accustomed to seeing. I noticed more mattresses and sofas hanging around with intent.
How to get inside? I had to stifle a laugh at the audacity of this sight. How anyone managed to rip off that huge door is beyond my thinking. It looked like we had arrived just on time, and the ravaging door-ripping monster had only left minutes before.
Cursed or not, we were going in there.
I feel sorry for the furniture knowing it’s not very old and yet been subjected to the usual mindless smashing up.
Both of James’ balls appear to be acting up, it’s not good at all, but he’s trying to pull a fast one with his insurance. More shit news would be coming soon; you’re also going to lose your flat.
Did this look better ten years ago? I would hope so, as it looks like another derpy shithole to me. See the hole in the corner, that’s another incoming theme.
To travel around 'Empress Mill', visitors must use the hole facilities, that is... scrambling through them, and picking up a few injuries to boot. This one was a little tough on the back.
The next room was even worse, we should have visited a few months earlier, but then again the 'hole' travel system could have been a lot less developed then.
Who needs doors when you have 'alternative' ways of moving around?
If you come across locked doors and there are no holes, it’s time to go up.
‘Empress Mill’ was a little devoid of features, but was proving an interesting romp nevertheless. The secondary hole was a little tight, and slipping through there topless would have given me some lovely scratch marks.
Upstairs means you can spy on the rooms below, no privacy was another shortcoming of the 'Orchid Point' housing experiment.
Another room with fuck all inside, oh well.., through the hole we go.
@anidiotexplores wasn’t liking the stench inside ‘Empress Mill’ much. I don't recall it being any worse than your usual shithole, at least so far.
Someone liked their beds, more than having access to the kitchen facilities. One per night and rotate them frequently. Everyone has their deviances.
A chilling warning to the likes of US..., gulp…. The writer must be of suitably high education to write with such skilled literacy that I needed to look twice to decipher the meaning.
We soldiered on, walking on the cheap ruined MFI furniture boards and frequently having to crawl through the hole system.
‘Clytemnestra’ is Greek mythology, not some venereal disease such as 'Chlamydia' which immediately came into my thoughts. A personal manuscript about 'The Clap' would have proved infinitely more interesting to read.
It's that bloke with the sore balls again, and he appears to be quite rich which makes a change from the usual sorry state of bank statements I see.
I took his details off, as the account could still be current. I'm all heart as you can see. Don't leave your personal shit lying around James as you never know who could be seeing it, and by the way someone pissed on your bank statement.
Now look at that, an open door…, a genuinely rare sight.
What crap graffiti; is there no artistic talent in Manchester?
This section of ‘Empress Mill’ must have been the ‘leaking roofs’ part as it was a lot more drenched than anywhere else.
Don’t touch the walls, you might catch something.
Just like the other side, you wouldn't want to live downstairs where everyone can see your nudity from the upper public gallery. The upper flats must have cost a premium.
If it’s renovated again, they need to do a better job; this area was pungent to the extreme.
Careful of the slop at the bottom, it’s easy to slip and that is beyond rational thought.
Another student, I can't think who else would write something like this.
A sofa stands vertically against the wall. There has to be a reason, and all that springs to mind is the practice of sleeping while standing.
'Empress Mill' contained some fucking weirdos, that's a better reason.
We exited tentatively via the extremely wrecked door and jumped off from the far side.
'Empress Mill' has recently been snapped up again by property developers and the last time we drove past it now looks secure again..., for the moment.
That 'hole' system was positively ingenious, I hope they keep it.
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That James doesn't give a hoot who sees what!!
That's a shocking tale, imagine buying one of them and ending up being shafted
Before the 'Great Recession' of 2009, there were so many people talking about investing in property as what a great idea it was. This took off in 2011, from the embers of it all. They must have been cheapskates and cut a load of corners, and look what happens?
Plebs.., the next lot of developers (from London this time), will have the shit job of tidying up first before trying again.
Ouch. It can be a tricky one. We almost bought a place in 2005 I think it was that was near on 200K. It was a new build and fancy as fuck but was over valued and our financial adviser dude was like, in a years time you would be in negative equity cos it would be worth way less. It was even worse than that, when the financial crash hit they really plummeted! So glad to escape that nonsense!
You did well, another contractor I know in 2007 bought a flat in Manchester, purely for investment reasons. Its wasn't one of these fortunately and by 2009 I had moved on... as always.
I never did find out if it was a good deal, but its unlikely.
Yeah,I think the only main winners are the ones who buy wrecks and renovate to rent them out
Anyone who would run away after seeing danger signs outside, you are very brave. Many documents are inside the building. Very good photography
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Very nice pictures of houses and buildings. I am very interested in seeing your posts.
You’re so brave to enter even though you knew it was cursed😁😁
The place is really big and beautiful but very destroyed
This is an amazing adventure
I thought you may not be able to enter but you proved me wrong😁😁
Well done!
Got to feel for those who lost homes (and suffered from sore balls). Doesn't look like it will be habitable any time soon.
They do love leaving such personal letters lying around. Anyone would have thought they were dragged out at midnight.. by the balls (sorry... it was too tempting to omit that). 😀
If only they knew it would end up online...
And I thought that "real estate fraud" was only a thing of my country! :(... Excellent report as always, and a lot of photos (to me at least) surreal!... Even those of the streets outside are dramatic!...
!discovery 40
!PIZZA
To be honest, I was a little shocked when looking into this. It's not an everyday occurrence here and some people must have a lost a lot. The city apartments theme is quite common now, you need to choose wisely.
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That bed positioning in the kitchen area... I lost quite a bit of neurons trying to come up for a reasonable explanation to why anyone would do that. Seems like this was more a mental asylum than anything else
It's vandals who feel the need to throw things around. I see it often, but never understand it.
Some places have stunning conversions, this leaves on gobsmacked who in their right mind invests into shite?
Originally appealing frontage (in link), criminal developers..., another explore pasted on the wall.
!BEER
... and I thought this was going to be a really crap explore before I started digging into it. At the time, I am generally clueless about any history.
A place I would love to see brought back to life in Johannesburg which has simply been destroyed, boarded off..., Park Station Concourse Station we walked through daily in the 1970s, ate at the Blue Room restaurant for Aunts 75th birthday, often popped in for a coffee (all we could afford).
I'm always surprised by the things you come across just lying around, bank details, personal letters, doctor's notes... It's really something. You'd think there would be an effort to clean up that kind of stuff. How did a place like that pass inspections before the flats were sold?
There was a few scandals around 2017 regarding these types of flats and safely. These developers managed to get in before all the new standards came in to force.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenfell_Tower_fire
Sigh, sad, cutting these corners leads to people losing there lives, getting hurt and a whole host of other issues...
As an authentic American from the Wild West, I grant you permission to buy a cowboy hat and call yourself The Urbis Kid. You'll have a harder time acquiring a six-shooter than a Stetson, I wager.
The level of IQ of these goons is incredible. Verbal communication could be challenging!
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Downvoted BY HIVE FARMERS
6 days ago in #life by slobberchops (81)$0.00
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[-]bpcvoter2 (-5)(1) 4 days ago · Will be hidden due to low rating
NO DOWNVOTES FOR MARKY MARK'S SELF VOTING !WEED
https://hive.blog/life/@slobberchops/re-gogreenbuddy-sdr1wb
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SHAME ON YOU ALL SAD PEOPLE WHO SCAM LIE AND FARM HIVE AND HIVERS
[-]acidyo (82) 3 months ago
Haha at "I shouldn't make commercial" :D Maybe something to worry about when you have more youtube subscribers! Quite interesting content though, these things should get more subs on there and here.
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[-]gogreenbuddy (67) 3 months ago
Yeah thought that was funny too
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HE MAKES CURATION REWARDS WITH ALL HIS ALT ACCOUNTS BURNING TOKENS LIKE THIS DOES NOT TAKE OLD TOKENS IT MINTS NEW ONES AND BURNS THEM
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https://www.bilpcoin.com/hive-167922/@bpcvoter1/response-4-to-themarkymark-marcus-buildawhale-usainvote-ipomote-leovoter-gogreenbuddy-and-over-100-of-his-alt-accounts
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cwow stop the drink and drugs
Stop supporting the fake Hive police who do nothing but exploit Hive
Many people on Hive will never get to spend any of their Hive as it may become illegal in certain countries
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Zac the man with the scam plan
lol the Marky mark keeps dreaming
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Marky stop getting butt fucked LOL.
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[-]themarkymark (80) yesterday (edited)
Farming? Show me where I am farming, I post like one post a month at this point, and all buildawhale is burned. As you say transactions don’t lie. And don't say curation rewards, I'd get those no matter what I vote on and if you expect I will be the only person on this blockchain to forfeit curation rewards, you are dumber than we know you are.
https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@bpcvoter1/seq7ok
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https://hive.blog/hive-193084/@bpcvoter1/response-2-to-themarkymark-marcus-buildawhale-usainvote-ipomote-leovoter-gogreenbuddy-and-over-100-of-his-alt-accounts
!LOL !WEED !GIF !MEME
https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@themarkymark/re-bpcvoter1-sepr9c
21 hours ago in LeoFinance by themarkymark (80)
https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@bpcvoter1/senppv
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https://hive.blog/hive-104387/@bpcvoter3/se19g2
Downvoted BY HIVE FARMERS
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Response 4 to themarkymark marcus, buildawhale usainvote ipomote leovoter gogreenbuddy, and over 100 of his alt accounts
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cwow stop the drink and drugs
Can't you see the problems on Hive?
Hive dropping to $0.000
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LOL
It seems like THEMARKYMARK is dealing with some personal drama and mental issues, which might be causing them to spam us and others with baby pics, GIFs, and questionable content he's been doing the same for years. The fun doesn't stop there, as this seems to be a recurring theme with multiple online personas. The real question is, do we want to trust these drama-magnets with our hard-earned funds or any significant influence on Hive?
On Hive a significant issue exists with automatic upvotes consistently rewarding the same individuals day in and day out
We want to address the issue of downvoting. It has caused pain to many people, and we want to make sure it doesn't happen again reply to @jacobtothe
On Hive a significant issue exists with automatic upvotes consistently rewarding the same individuals day in and day out
We hope that those who genuinely care about Hive will reconsider their actions, as continuing down this path could inadvertently harm innocent users who are unaware of these issues
lol the Marky mark keeps dreaming
Marks dream
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themarkymark (80)in FreeCompliments • 2 days ago
No.
I downvote spammers, you are a spammer, you get no monies. It’s very simple.
In the meantime go get some help. You obviously have some issues going on.
2 days ago in FreeCompliments by themarkymark (80)$0.00
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[-]bpcvoter1 (-4)(1) yesterday · Will be hidden due to low rating
GET HELP
$0.00Reply Edit
[-]themarkymark (80) 4 hours ago
I have a personal chef, maid, and a captain for my yacht. What other help do I need?
$0.00Reply
https://hive.blog/hive-140084/@themarkymark/re-bpcvoter1-sg5l3x
@gogreenbuddy THIS MAN IS A TOP HIVE FARMER AND SCAMMER SOME OF HIS OTHER ACCOUNTS @THEMARKYMARK @BUILDAWHALE @USAINVOTE @UPMYVOTE @LEOVOTER @IPROMOTE @PUNKTEAM @CWOW2 @STEMGEEKS AND 100s more
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Upon examining our posts, you will notice they have been downvoted, and we've been labeled as scammers and spammers, which we find amusing. We consistently share new content
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it's so, so concerning to see Blocktrades delegating 2+ million Hive power to Buildawhale, and Buildawhale is downvoting legitimate content
fucking venture capitalists, cashing in quick lets hope their bollox go green too
It's probably not contagious 😀
👍
So they turned it into flats and now they are going to demolish it and build more flats?
Almost., renovate it (again) and make it flats (again).
Oh, they aren't even going to raze it? They hope to restore it? That seems like a disaster waiting to happen!
a historic building over 100 years old its good renovation 🫶
Genial!!
The structure of the building looks solid on the outside. I don't understand that the inside of the building has been destroyed... You worry about the couches and I think about how many people don't have homes here or live in buildings that nobody understands how they are still standing. A little stroll through one of those places in Old Havana and you'll be speechless.
Greetings! I love to see you guys in action.
I have been to many a poor country and seen what you describe. Eating in a house where it has so many holes you can see the outside, an experience.
The hole system was really funny to me, and it made up for how bare a lot of the rooms looked. The guy leaving the documents behind doesn't seem to care about protecting his identity much.
It's always the little things in these fascinating (and often sad) posts that makes me laugh and/or cry. Those letters and bank statements are some of the best yet. I went to uni in Manchester (many, many moons ago) but must admit I don't recognise this place, in any of its guises.
I zone in on letters, especially personal ones. They shouldn't leave this stuff about if they don't want them read! This is close to Old Trafford.
Well no wonder they moved out, what with the noisy neighbours! I lived round the corner from Maine Road one year and we once listened to a match being played there whilst watching it on the TV with the sound off.
The main question is what sense it makes to renew it; it all depends on the calculation. Only wealthy individuals counting on profit have this kind of money, or (and here it is usually the case) the local community. This municipality has enough money to afford the renovation and make social housing with a minimum standard and a minimum rent. Of course, again, there is some calculation. If it doesn't work out, they tear it all down; sometimes, the land is worth more than the building on it.
It likely is protected, these mills usually are..., so they can only renovate and not tear them down. So London people have bought it, they probably think it's going to sell as well as property does in the capital...
Yes, of course, I forgot about that. There are protected buildings here, too. The so-called Cultural Heritage Institute has to sign off on every construction, upgrading, and renovation permit. This is for all buildings, public and private. Sometimes, houses collapse because the owner isn't allowed to repair them. It has to be precise to their plans, which are, on average, 10x more expensive. 😂
Whomever wrote this was very neat and organized. I can almost see the mental wheels turning. Productivity, hell yes! 💪
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