Tales of the Urban Explorer: 'F.H. Brundle'

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(Edited)

We had come for Eckersley Mill and had failed dismally. The problem with these derelict mills is that the owners try and rent out part of it, sometimes successfully and it's always the bottom floor spaces that get filled.

That leaves a huge upper empty mill with plenty of smashed windows but with an annoying business acting as 'guard dog' at the foot. They are hardly going to let us traipse through their shop so we can see the rest of it.

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This was the case yet again. Mills are generally quite dull but on the odd occasion can surprise so we never discount them.

We were about to leave but spotted something terrible around the outlying edges. Terrible as in, overgrown with the customary laughable fencing trying to fend off intruders.

It was worth a look considering the day we had endured that had been filled with burnt-out decaying wrecks, and you never know what's on the other side of the external eyesore.

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Working our way through the fencing we entered through a door boasting a padlock which was proving very ineffectual.

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Inside was a mish-mash of junk and what looked like furniture parts, glass cabinets, and building materials none being of any vintage standard. Some old bald tyres had to join in of course as that is mandatory.

An office appeared to be at the bottom of the room and I made a mental note to visit that area shortly.

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Either the homeless had moved in or this was also a place to store mattresses. The lack of slop-filled sleeping bags, used citric acid packs and needles told me otherwise.

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Was it an antique dealer who had left the clocks behind? I scrutinised one and it gave me the impression of 'Made in China’ rather than lovingly hand-crafted in Switzerland by an old man with an enormous beard and crinkly eyes.

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You may not find them in Pound Land but these clocks did not emanate a radiant quality. Placing them back, we headed to the rear intent on finding out the past life of this room, or building, or whatever it could be described as.

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Bible-bashers perhaps once inhabited the room. It was pinned to the wall but ‘John Livesey’ had been baptised perhaps? I am not religious so feel free to correct me.

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Was this a car wash that we were standing in? It looked pretty far from one of those, so why all the literature?

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F.H. Brundle’ was the owner then? A wholesale distributor of cheap goods, or that was my impression so far.

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The next item I spotted caused more confusion. Were the owners of 'F.H. Brundle' susceptible to frequent religious changes? Each to their own, but make your fucking mind up.., it's either Jesus Christ or Muhammed.

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The drawer had been rifled through but this one looked quite 'explorer' free although finding this mess is hardly a claim to fame.

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The teak ones on the left remind me of the posthumous company MFI and their ‘build it yourself’ furniture I used to buy when younger.

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Here’s some comfortable leather seating for the customers while waiting for their furniture order to be completed.

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We exited ‘Unit 11’ hoping for a little more and found ‘Unit 11’ was a little larger than we had anticipated.

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Some movement alerted me to the back area. It didn’t take long for a sly cat to reveal itself. It had no intention of saying hello so we let it be.

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@anidiotexplores took one look and decided to exit. I had other ideas and stumbled my way over, climbing over lots of junk to what I guessed was the reception hatch. It was still ‘F.H. Brundle’ as shown by the calendar.

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Climbing through the dust-filled, cobweb-ridded hatch I stumbled upon ancient LPs from another time, some in mono and all classical. Ugh, not my style at all.

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The Chicago one is passable, but adding it to a turntable could well cause damage to the player.

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Beyond the decaying vinyl were adult numeracy courses and it was then I had that light bulb moment.

The owner could not count and on receiving £10 for a dodgy-looking clock always gave back £20 each time one was sold.

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Crowds of people would arrive each day, all walking away with cheap ‘Made in China’ clocks and a crisp £20 note.

Over the months and despite the numeracy lessons, bankruptcy arrived through mathematical ignorance resulting in what is here today.

Panic had set in causing ‘F.H. Brundle’ (Fred?) to switch religions frequently only Jesus or Allah (depending on the day) wasn't too interested and eventually 'Fred' got evicted with the provision that he could only return on proving he could count to at least 8.

It all made perfect sense.

After another scramble, I exited 'Unit 11' filled with saintly knowledge and knowing exactly what had happened.

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Next door was yet another shitty property, perhaps a Car Wash?

This was far less captivating than ‘F.H. Brundle’, the numeric-illiterate giver of clocks and £20 notes man but we were still going to have a look.

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Some fresh razorwire, purchased but not used; that could very well have prevented us from getting in here and stopped us yawning due to severe boredom.

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I suspected this was an entirely different business despite the Bedrooms and Kitchens blurb we found.

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Through the back room at the rear things suddenly went very derelict.

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Something rusty was hidden under all that brush; a car, too far gone to recognise.

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Peering over the wall at the rear we figured this was the end of the line. The bloke in the picture was in an adjoining business, one that astonishingly seemed active.

Yes, businesses did surive in this area! He failed to spot us and we took our leave.

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Amazing how much stuff was just left when it was abandoned. Very cool exploration!

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Yeah quite a lot of stuff, though my memory of it was not exactly 'A' class!

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I don't understand why there are two images from two different religions. The questions should be "Jesus Christ" or "Muhammed" :)

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Awesome explore..., befuddled minded owner, enjoyed the tour around, at least a laugh at end of a crabby day.

@tipu curate

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Hehe.., the receipt was old, around 2011. It could have been in this state for a long time. One of those walk-by's you sometimes discover. There is an amazing amount of wrecks here but most are secure. I do have to look.

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Are the edges of the wire really razor sharp or is that just what they call it? Those are some great albums you found there. I think I used to have an old Apollo 100 record, but I am not sure what it was now. I just remember it being in my dads stack.

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Are the edges of the wire really razor sharp

They are, and I mean very sharp. You don't go near this stuff, it's a lot worse than regular barbed wire.

Those are some great albums you found there. I think I used to have an old Apollo 100 record

Not my scene and mostly 'dad' music apart from the Chicago album.

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That's my kind of jams!

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Daaaang those are some pretty nice old clocks, all in all. Not like, collector worthy by any means, but pretty nice designs for sure.

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Yeah, maybe they still worked and could have those old winders. I didn't stop to look.

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Quite clean the mattress zone for the junkies compared to the absolute filth and madness that they usually bring.

Glad they didn't put the razorwire up!

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Quite clean the mattress zone for the junkies compared to the absolute filth and madness that they usually bring.

For once I think it could have been a junkie-free zone. None of the usual telltale signs littering the floor. No beer cans, or those small metal things they use to heat up their smack.

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That is quite unusual. Could have been straight up regular dossers!

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Quite surprised to see that the first part hadnt been trashed yet - nice find, especially the clocks and religious stuff - quite a mix !
That razor wire looks pretty nuts !

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I keep my distance from razor wire. Just a touch and you don't stop bleeding. It's seriously bad news.

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Its quite interesting. I wonder which way the law would see the liability on that if someone got injured.

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There be some nice treasure in there

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One of those undiscovered places. There's lots about, but we don't know where they are.

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hook up with the lycra clad elle!! I am sure she is from my neck of the woods, I would say I recognise 90% of her posts being within 30mile radius of me, some even in Wrexham itself!

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Could be from around your area, but a little on the large side for me. If you saw @bingbabe you would know my preferred build 😀

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yes i know what you mean, I am thinking Finland!

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You always have something to explore in your area..or are you visiting other neighborhoods?
!PIZZA

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Sadly, we need to travel now and it will get worse. All the local places have been visited already.

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A beautiful piece of writing, with good storytelling skills, and a sense of humour. I just hope you be careful when exploring these places.

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Haaaa haaaa haaa... It seems like 'F.H. Brundle' people was either accomplisheds collectors of religious items or even some kind of "universal believers"... Anyway, that 'John Livesey' card is pretty interesting and appears to be from 1925 wow!... It's for the celebration of the "First Communion" which is a sacramental rite celebrated during the first years of the individual born in the Catholic or Orthodox faith... I know this because I was born in a Catholic family and in my mother's drawers, even today you can find cards similar even from when my maternal grandmother performed that ritual back in the 20s of the past century!... At this point in my life (52 years old) I have already gone through Hinduism, Buddhism and now I am going for Advaita... This will possibly make my mother shoot me one of these days or burn me at the stake to "save my soul"!... But for the moment I'm still alive...

As always, an excellent post, full of chaotic and visually attractive photos, as well as a satirical and hilarious text... Very good work @slobberchops friend, I really enjoy it!...

!discovery 37
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!BBH

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It's for the celebration of the "First Communion" which is a sacramental rite celebrated during the first years of the individual born in the Catholic or Orthodox faith

Thanks!

I wouldn't know. My wife used to 'drag' me to church but C-19 put an end to all that and the church is now derelict (and a possible target for me). I hear it's going to be demolished.

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