Brunner Mond & Co. ltd Winnington
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Brunner Mond dates back to 1873 when Sir John Brunner and Ludwig Mond formed the Brunner Mond Co. ltd. They created their first factory at Winnington in Northwich Cheshire.
The Lostock plant dates back to 1891 when it was originally built by Bowman Thompson & Co. In 1900 Brunner Mond took over the site and have been there ever since. This is also the companys U.K. Headquarters.
In 1912 the operations where expanded and the Wallerscote site was purchased to produce Soda Ash which is used to make glass amongst other things.
In 1920 Brunner Mond took over Castner Keller and 4 years later Magadi Soda Co. in Kenya. Then in 1926 merged with United Alkali Co. British Dyestuffs Corp. and Noble Industries to form I.C.I. Imperial Chemical Industries ltd.
Brunner Mond is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of soda ash and associated alkaline products. It is also the UK`s sole manufacturer of soda ash, and the third largest producer in the world.
The Winnington site is the largest of all three of the Brunner Monds sites in Cheshire and was the first factory to be built by the company.
Having explored the two other Brunner Mond sites. This was the only remaining one we had not explored yet.
All of Brunner Monds sites are huge and literally take hours to explore. Winnington was no exception. Its more on par with the Lostock site in terms of being active but surprisingly its as deserted as Lostock at night.
The Winnington site is not only the biggest of the three sites but its layout is also more interesting with numerous conveyor systems shooting off all over the show.
The focal point of all the Brunner Mond sites has to be the giant silos though. They literally dominate the sites, and really are quite a sight.
Sadly thought the only silos that are accessible are the ones over at Wallerscote Island. The ones here and at Lostock are a hive of activity. Exploring these would undoubtably result in you being stopped and questioned as to why you were there.
The interesting fact though is considering the Winnington is a live site. Albeit mostly deserted, is the fact that their is no perimeter fencing at all?
A fascinating site with even more fascinating structures.
