Tales of the Urban Explorer: Falcon Pottery (J H Weatherby & Sons)

I was starting to fall in love with Stoke-On-Trent. A whole new city to explore, and seemingly filled with decaying reminders of our past all unexplored and waiting for us.

If most of it was ‘Pottery Flavoured’ then so be it. Many brands are still produced in the city and it is officially recognised as the World Capital of Ceramics. A tall boast I think, and maybe just to the people of the UK.

To make things more confusing there are two 'Falcon Works' or 'Falcon Potteries' within Stoke-On-Trent. Both are derelict and we visited both on the same day. This one was formally owned by ‘J H Weatherby & Sons’ and stems from the late 19th century.

There’s some history here but as usual, I am here to tell you my tale of the experience and not repeat facts that are readily available on the internet.

I found a very small image of ‘J H Weatherby & Sons' from 2008 (or so it claims). Google images just one year later portray it very differently. At about 100 pixels wide, I had to blow it up a little to avoid eyestrain.

Source

I don't generally post map views of locations, but still can’t bring myself to keep the address retained. If you want to go there and risk your own life then do your own research.

I could see this was going to be another of those 'dangerous buildings'. It was pretty much business as usual.

How to get in was the usual thought on my mind after approaching a brand-new derp. Derp it was, with the upper windows missing, and maybe the floors... doesn't necessarily mean it's easy to access.

If you look closely, then you can see the ‘J H Weatherby & Sons' signage which is looking a little blackened. The front gate was non-accommodating.

The board on the window; have you ever tried to climb through something like that with nails repeatedly banging on your back every time you make a move? I didn't particularly want to sport a bloody back for the rest of the day. There had to be an easier way.

Rounding the corner we saw it. All you had to do was walk over some large bags of dubious squashy content, climb on the remains of a beige sofa, and haul yourself up.

It's often best not to let your mind wander about what you might be standing on, or you might conjure images of dog shit or worse.

As I was climbing in, a couple rounded the bend and gawked. I should be used to this by now, but couldn't help but look around and flash a wide smile. We should always try and brightens people's days…, right?

The gloom hit right away. Once out of the sunlight and within the confines of a messy factory falling apart, this is what you should expect to see.

These are apparently ovens, large as they are. I expect they could roast several humans at a time with ease. I do wonder if that has happened in the dark seedy past.

Once locked in there, with those huge iron rusty doors there would be no escape and even your screams would not be heard.

We continued in the same direction, with @lpff losing us quite quickly. It would be a while before we met up with him again, despite quite a lot of yelling.

Through the gates, we found an open area. It was a question of which way to go, and in a short period of time, I found myself alone.

I did check out the room beyond the stairs, spotted a room, and eventually came across some finished product. A couple of well-crafted milk jugs?

Double-backing down the stairs and turning left took me down this corridor and eventually into a larger open area where I once again found @anidiotexplores looking for photographs.

Having never worked in an industrial environment I struggle to identify anything especially when it’s seen better days.

Satan always makes his mark in these places. It is to be expected.

They could possibly be workbenches lining this room, and at least the flooring was decent. No chance of falling to my death in this area.

This looks like another type of oven, one that is far too small for human sacrifices. Maybe they did make pots here after all, how about that for a concept?

Just when I thought those jugs were all I was going to see, another room yielded all these. They were all thoroughly filthy, many cracked and damaged but not all.

Hardly the finished articles though?

Like many old buildings, there have been fires and likely more than one. It was no worse than anywhere else.

Is this yet another oven? If so, it was filled with wood and wood splinters.

The stairs did look very dodgy but both of us managed to climb up there.

Inside was looking a little charred and not being the ground floor there were issues with underfoot stability.

@anidiotexplores did wander up this corridor but my spider-senses were saying no. You have to trust your instincts when this happens.

It did look more like an office area with all the tables and is just beyond the front gate, the one that was locked with the barbed wire on top.

We exited down these ropey-looking stairs and found ourselves in a courtyard.

Yes, we entered at our risk. At least it doesn’t say you will be prosecuted for trespassing or eaten by dogs not on leads.

This is what guests would see when entering the premises of ‘J H Weatherby & Sons'; a sight to impress?

We managed to get together with @lpff after more yelling and made our way to the exit point and past this rusty lift.

Another of those huge doors to the left; it would be nice if I know more about what all this equipment did besides, 'making pots'.

They should make the working practices a little more legible.

The tree was positioned right next to the factory. It looks like an orange tree but is actually an apple. The riper ones were a little out of reach. I wonder if the employees of old used to grab the apples. They do look nice.

Stoke-On-Trent had so far been interesting but a little on the derpy side. Could there be anything not falling to pieces? The answer was a yes but not until our second visit to the city.

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[//]:# (!pinmapple 53.04039 lat -2.20758 long Tales of the Urban Explorer: Falcon Pottery (J H Weatherby & Sons) d3scr)