Stevensons Amber Dye Works
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Stevensons Dye Works dates back to 1825. When James Stevenson, set up the family business on Wirksworth Moor to dye and bleach fabrics. The company where originally based in Wirksworth but quickly expanded and moved to Bullbridge in 1908. Where it has remained ever since.
Nearly a 100 years later in 1926 the company decided to go limited and was renamed, Stevensons Dye Works ltd. Amber Dye Works.
From then on the company flourished, opening 6 local shops, and in 1946 it became one of the first ever companies to dye nylon stockings.
At its peak Stevensons employed a few hundred people and had a very impressive client list. But by the 1960s the two remaining members of the Stevenson family resigned from the board of directors.
At some point after this the Quantum Clothing Group expressed an interest in Stevensons and later took it over still keeping the original name. The Quantum Clothing Group. Is Europes largest dyeing house and has contracts all over the world with many high profile clients.
A decline in the U.K. textile market and rising production costs eventually led to Stevensons closing.
On the 22 December 2006 Stevensons finished its last order and closed its doors for good. Along with the loss of a few hundred jobs, it was a sad day for the people of Bullbridge. Not only jobs were lost but almost 200 years of industrial history lost as well.
The site today is still very much active despite being stripped in some sections. The site is now occupied by two other companies, PPT Devan Chemicals and STR, Specialized Technical Resources UK ltd.
The site is set over 17 acres of woodland and is the biggest industrial site in the Ambergate area.
Its always a bonus being the first to explore a site. But its even more of a bonus when everything is still intact and undamaged. A lot of the machinery has now gone due to asset stripping, but the computer room and workshops certainly compensated adequately for that.
Between the chemical silos lye the records rooms, with all the companys paper work still in situ. A lot were from the final deliveries when the site closed in December 2006.
As for the future of the Dye Works, I dont know what will happen? But judging by the conditions of the buildings. Its more than likely the site will end up being split, and leased to smaller companies.
EXPLORED 2007
Amber Dye Works
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