laurencedyer
Jedi Knight
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2014
- Messages
- 488
Baker Street – Palitoy's Mainline Railway distribution warehouse, customer services, Sample and Display Department and Employee shop and the common misconception that it was demolished.
I have been meaning to get this down for a couple of months but with various work commitments and the holiday period I haven't had a chance up until now.
From what I have understood so far about Baker Street is the common misconception that it had been demolished and the site ready to turn into a housing estate. I myself had previously believed this after reading various articles on some sort of formats in the past.
So whilst opening some lines of enquiries and during my Ashby warehouse research I took a trip to Baker Street. Sure enough as you approach the start to Baker Street there is a large demolished factory site with a small part of a building remaining. So my initial thought was that this was the site.
Across the other side of Baker Street is large disused factory building.
Upon looking around the building that is still standing on the site there was a plaque on the wall behind some shrubbery reading the name of Mitchell Grieves. I spoke to a local taxi driver who told me that this was the site of Mitchell Grieves LTD who where needle makers. The site on the other site of Baker Street was formally LCS Bakeries and that Palitoy's Mainline Railway warehouse and staff shop was at the bottom of the street as he remembered.
I had a look around the outside of the warehouse at the bottom of the street and called into the office to ask some questions although I was met by a door and a minicom system. The owners were not there to confirm the buildings prior ownership or use and the receptionist suggested calling back at a later point. On my return to home I sent emails to a couple of different planning contacts that I had previously picked up as well as the warehouse owners.
A few days later I received plans back confirming that this was the Palitoy's Baker Street site showing plans submitted for a warehouse extension.
I also received a reply back from the records office with the following comments with regards to the timeline of the building.
I've looked at some Ordnance Survey maps and the building at the end of Baker Street does seem to be earlier in date and taken over by Palitoy around 1977. It was there in 1959 marked 'Depot' and as a 'Warehouse' in 1969. The previous O.S. map is 1938 and it is not shown – so it must have been built between 1938 and 1959.
Unfortunately we hold no surviving Coalville plans between 1938 and 1968. We do have some of the original plan registers for these years but they are only in date order and it could involve a long search to find the reference to a plan that probably doesn't survive!
So today I went back down and took the following photos of the site. Unfortunately the old Mitchell Grieve sign on the demolished site had been taken down within the last two months or so.
Hopefully I will gain access at some point and maybe get an understanding of the operation of the site. I believe the staff shop to have been at the front of the building behind the shutter doors but will seek clarification. The in-goods to be down at the bottom of the site besides the extension and the goods outwards to be the large concrete plinth as you enter the site.
I hope you enjoy the little walk around.
Mitchell Grieves site you initially see from the road.
Where the sign had previously been
I have been meaning to get this down for a couple of months but with various work commitments and the holiday period I haven't had a chance up until now.
From what I have understood so far about Baker Street is the common misconception that it had been demolished and the site ready to turn into a housing estate. I myself had previously believed this after reading various articles on some sort of formats in the past.
So whilst opening some lines of enquiries and during my Ashby warehouse research I took a trip to Baker Street. Sure enough as you approach the start to Baker Street there is a large demolished factory site with a small part of a building remaining. So my initial thought was that this was the site.
Across the other side of Baker Street is large disused factory building.
Upon looking around the building that is still standing on the site there was a plaque on the wall behind some shrubbery reading the name of Mitchell Grieves. I spoke to a local taxi driver who told me that this was the site of Mitchell Grieves LTD who where needle makers. The site on the other site of Baker Street was formally LCS Bakeries and that Palitoy's Mainline Railway warehouse and staff shop was at the bottom of the street as he remembered.
I had a look around the outside of the warehouse at the bottom of the street and called into the office to ask some questions although I was met by a door and a minicom system. The owners were not there to confirm the buildings prior ownership or use and the receptionist suggested calling back at a later point. On my return to home I sent emails to a couple of different planning contacts that I had previously picked up as well as the warehouse owners.
A few days later I received plans back confirming that this was the Palitoy's Baker Street site showing plans submitted for a warehouse extension.
I also received a reply back from the records office with the following comments with regards to the timeline of the building.
I've looked at some Ordnance Survey maps and the building at the end of Baker Street does seem to be earlier in date and taken over by Palitoy around 1977. It was there in 1959 marked 'Depot' and as a 'Warehouse' in 1969. The previous O.S. map is 1938 and it is not shown – so it must have been built between 1938 and 1959.
Unfortunately we hold no surviving Coalville plans between 1938 and 1968. We do have some of the original plan registers for these years but they are only in date order and it could involve a long search to find the reference to a plan that probably doesn't survive!
So today I went back down and took the following photos of the site. Unfortunately the old Mitchell Grieve sign on the demolished site had been taken down within the last two months or so.
Hopefully I will gain access at some point and maybe get an understanding of the operation of the site. I believe the staff shop to have been at the front of the building behind the shutter doors but will seek clarification. The in-goods to be down at the bottom of the site besides the extension and the goods outwards to be the large concrete plinth as you enter the site.
I hope you enjoy the little walk around.
Mitchell Grieves site you initially see from the road.
Where the sign had previously been
