Tales of the Urban Explorer: Falcon Works (WH Goss)

While Falcon Pottery (J H Weatherby & Sons) was located in a maze of streets, the second ‘Falcon’ visit of the day was a little more rural.

At the time I wondered about this ‘Falcon’ name. Was it a split company, one half marched off to rival the original, or was everyone adverse to other ‘Birds of Prey’ In Stoke?

Hawk or Eagle Pottery sounds just as good and then the punters would not get confused when they want to buy a set of dinner plates that would house their Sunday roast.

‘Falcon Works (WH Goss)' closed it's doors in 2002 and has been derelict ever since.

Source

In any case, there was still a row of terraced houses close to ‘Falcon Works (WH Goss)' as well as a large industrialised building to the front.

The back was more interesting to me as it appeared to be woodland or overgrown wasteland; nice, sneaky, and ideal for a spot of subterfuge.

The front gate was hardly going to let us pass and the Karen's were already starting to open their front doors and giving us those stares we are well used to seeing.

Walking past some blackberry bushes the top end of the street merged into some type of public walkway and we vanished into the tree-infested gloom and out of sight.

Taking a sharp left, and sliding down a huge mudslide we encountered a little barbed wire and some helpful trees that gave us access over the rusty barbed sharp implements created to maim and wound.

The building looked large and well-boarded, but at least one section was missing from the back. We scrambled inside into yet another derelict mess.

On entering I looked up. The upper floor was not looking so hot. Could we get up there at all?

'Beware of the Dog'. Is someone taking the piss? If the dog lived here permanently, how would the dog eat, and what about walkies? I'm not sure just who that sign is supposed to warn but felt no canine danger.

Considering this is the land of Pottery, the local ‘pot-based’ amenities have not fared well. I couldn’t even take a piss and hope to hit the target.

At times within ‘Falcon Works (WH Goss)', progress was stifled. Do you balance on this metal shelving, jumping from one section to another, or take mammoth steps placing your legs in the holes? In any case, we managed and made our way to one end of the old factory.

The only way up to the second floor was to climb up here. It may look easy but this was a conveyer belt. Crawling one section at a time was the solution. Oh, what fun!

It took a while but going up was the easy part. If we could have found something to place on it, preferably with straps then it could have been furnished into a mini Roller Coaster at least for the way down.

The building looked large from the outside but was smaller than you might think when inside. The opposite end revealed some fire damage and an attempt to fix the damage.

This is where I could see through the roof when I entered.

The scene from the second floor afforded us a decent view of the old large double kilns. An attempt to seal them up had been made and we could see getting inside was hardly going to be an obstacle.

The contrast between old and new industries was stark.

Inside had been disappointing with little to see besides large holes in the floor.

This is as far as I dare go toward the burnt end of ‘Falcon Works (WH Goss)'. There's little point in daring the floor to collapse under your feet unless there is a good reason.

Getting down the conveyer belt was quite good fun. You could lie as flat as a board and hit the bottom fast if you didn’t mind some bruised back and then there’s a small issue of how to stop at the bottom.

Passing this old piece of iron wreckery, we exited out of the same window and walked around the front, a little hesitantly due to potential Karen’s watching.

It was far more photogenic externally, especially with the gloomy sky above. It didn't rain that day but threatened constantly.

I looked at where we had just been and the size my eyes were taking in. Once inside it seemed to shrink by around 70%; a very strange place.

The kilns were dull and uninteresting inside; just a pile of dust and bare brick walls through this gap.

Escaping back up the mudslide was highly challenging. Taking runs and grabbing onto stray branches was the key. Who said any of this shit was easy?

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[//]:# (!pinmapple 53.03700 lat -2.20301 long Tales of the Urban Explorer: Falcon Works (WH Goss) d3scr)