Former Aberfalls Margarine Factory

Date

17 January 2016

Location

Abergwyngregyn
SH 65258 73156; 53.23827°N, 4.02041°W

Information

The station, which closed in the 1960s and is now in residential use, on the then Chester and Holyhead Railway (now the North Wales Coast line) at Abergwyngregyn opened in 1848. A siding from the main line served a factory, which appeared in the 1889 edition of the Ordnance Survey map*, close to the station. This factory was originally owned by the Penrhyn Estate and produced writing slates. It was powered by a water wheel fed from a weir on the Afon Aber, which flows alongside the premises. Raw material was transported to the factory by road from Penrhyn Quarry and the finished product was shipped via its rail link. The factory was taken over by the Pure Margarine Company Ltd and was then known as the Aberfalls Margarine Factory (although the site lies some 3.5 km downstream from the actual falls). The factory was at some stage also used as a woollen mill. Its most recent use was as a wholesale beer, wines and spirits warehouse, originally owned by De Vere Group subsidiary Tavern Group Ltd, but sold together with 11 other depots in 2001 to Classic Drinks Ltd, a subsidiary of Halewood International Holdings . The half-hectare plot with its warehouse and office block is currently on the market for £280,000.

(*The 1889 Ordnance Survey map denotes it as a Writing Slate Manufactory, the 1937 one as a Bottling Depot and the 1945 one as a Margarine Factory.)

fragglerocking says:

February 7, 2016 at 3:17 pm

great shots Graham, it will be interesting to see who buys it and what they do with it next!

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- Graham Stephen says:
  
  February 7, 2016 at 4:03 pm
  
  Thanks, fraggle.
  
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iain robinson says:

February 12, 2016 at 4:11 pm

An interesting post, Graham. I hope it doesn’t just lie empty and become a facility for the urbex community 😉

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- Graham Stephen says:
  
  February 13, 2016 at 11:29 am
  
  Thanks Iain. Yes, it would be a shame for the warehouse not to be put to good use.
  
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ManoliRizoFotografia says:

February 14, 2016 at 1:45 pm

Grandes tomas Graham!! yo también espero que le den un buen uso a esas instalaciones, se ve que tienen mucho potencial

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- Graham Stephen says:
  
  February 14, 2016 at 4:33 pm
  
  Sí que sería una pena si no lo den. El nave principal tiene mucha historia. Saludos, Manoli.
  
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Resa says:

February 18, 2016 at 2:14 am

Very interesting post… the shot even more so!

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- Graham Stephen says:
  
  February 18, 2016 at 5:35 pm
  
  Thank you, Resa!
  
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