As the weather’s improved a
bit, I’ve taken the camera out on the bike several times in the last couple
of weeks. Sadly, my knees are in a
terrible state now so they’ve all been local excursions, - but enjoyable
anyway.
It allowed me to document
a recent, regrettable piece of urban transformation, - namely the destruction by fire of the lovely old Donisthorpe, Friars Mills factory. Normally, I try to remain objective
about these things but I am genuinely sorry about this one.
The beautiful proportions of
the listed 18th Century building always looked impressive by the
River Soar and created lovely reflections on this reasonably wide stretch of
water. It was the most attractive
and, probably, oldest surviving example of Leicester’s industrial archaeology
although looked increasingly forlorn since Donisthorpe Zips and Threads moved
out some time ago. It has appeared on this blog twice before.
The building was burned out on July 23rd and although extinguished, the fire left only the brick shell standing. It’s the latest in a long series of Leicester’s once proud industrial buildings to be lost in recent years, and not the first to go up in smoke. As much of the surrounding area has been cleared for supposed redevelopment, some might suspect these fires aren’t wholly accidental. However, there are also reports of occupation by rough sleepers and trespassers and vandalism at Friars Mills so who knows the actual cause?
While researching the building I found it featured on several Urban Exploration sites with images that show some fascinating architectural details and evidence of its most recent occupants. Some discuss the possibility of restoring the building but I think we all know how this one’s going in reality. If finance was unavailable for a change of use while it was relatively intact - who’ll find it now?
The building was burned out on July 23rd and although extinguished, the fire left only the brick shell standing. It’s the latest in a long series of Leicester’s once proud industrial buildings to be lost in recent years, and not the first to go up in smoke. As much of the surrounding area has been cleared for supposed redevelopment, some might suspect these fires aren’t wholly accidental. However, there are also reports of occupation by rough sleepers and trespassers and vandalism at Friars Mills so who knows the actual cause?
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| Remains of Burned Factory, Frog Island, Leicester |
While researching the building I found it featured on several Urban Exploration sites with images that show some fascinating architectural details and evidence of its most recent occupants. Some discuss the possibility of restoring the building but I think we all know how this one’s going in reality. If finance was unavailable for a change of use while it was relatively intact - who’ll find it now?
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