Tales of the Urban Explorer: Clegg Hall Mill

Some places are found via The Urban Explorers’ forums, and others quite by accident. I really prefer the latter type as they are effectively ‘off the radar’ to others who might want to go and destroy places.

Clegg Hall Mill was an accidental find. While we were seeking out St Hilda’s my SatNav sent me down this goddam awful road full of potholes and other things designed to incapacitate my car.

At some point, I turned around silently swearing at the gadget but simultaneously noticing an unassuming bricked up Mill.

Clegg Hall is close to the Mill, the owner likely ran the mill during the 1840s. It has been restored recently which is a shame as in 1999 it was ruinous. It would have been good to explore, as it is reputed to be haunted. The full story can be found here

Clegg Hall is reputed to be haunted. The Clegg Hall Boggart (as the ghost is better known) is usually placed in the 13th century.

We made a note to re-visit the Mill at as some point in the future and after some research did just that. The ‘research' was interesting, to say the least.

Just three months before the Mill had been raided as it was housing a large scale Cannabis farm, and had hit the local news.

If we had gone exploring last January we may have been taken alive and tortured for innocently discovering this illicit business.

‘We can't possibly let you leave alive', explained Taskmaster DrugLord Norris, while sharpening his duelling knives. My imagination can go a little haywire sometimes.

A week ago, @goblinknackers and I pulled up outside this horrible looking Mill. As mills go this one is particularly distasteful.

It does make me chuckle that the entire border is fenced off, but one can simply walk around the gate to enter to grounds. What did ‘Britannia MW’ mean? I still have no idea.

On hearing dogs we froze. There was a bloke milling about in what looked like a Scrapyard business attached to the mill moving some stuff around.

@goblinknackers approached him, asking about the killer hounds that may have been roaming the Mill in anticipation of a nice piece of human rump to feast on.

He told us that he simply worked there, was not the owner of the Scrapyard and there definitely was no ferocious hounds in the Mill. We relaxed a little at that.

He didn't seem to give a crap whether we went in or not but did mention the recent drug bust.

‘You can get in back there, there are a few entrances', he continued.

We walked around the side of the Scrapyard and noticed a doorway into the Mill. I ignored it and walked around the back which revealed a huge gaping hole. This place was completely wrecked.

We could see evidence of the farm right from the start. Burnt plants with the tops removed, fertilizer, and insulation tents. I mean lots of them!

The fertilizer almost proved deadly to both of us as it's like banana skins. Step on it at your peril, and you start backpedalling. For future information, try not to stand on small round shaped objects unless you want to fall on your arse.

I didn’t bring my big light on this occasion so had to use @goblinknackers’ phone light which worked well for the most part.

At the rear of the Mill was a corridor leading to the Scrapyard. I seriously doubt they didn’t notice a Cannabis farm was being produced under their noses. The heat and the smell especially would have given it away.

There was another dude at the other end of the corridor who jumped out of his skin when he heard us. We assured him we were quite innocent, not the returning DrugLords and he relaxed.

No doubt the Scrapyard guys would have had a serious grilling from the Cops last February when the bust took place.

In terms of variety, Clegg Hall Mill had little. It was tent after tent, containing what was left of the failed production. There was a second floor but we could not find the stairs anywhere!

Likely it was deadly up there anyway. An outside entrance was available to us, but that had been cemented up, so short of scaling the walls it was off limits.

The remnants of this bonfire may have been where all those poor Cannabis plants perished. Do plants have feelings and feel pain too?

Gaining a presentable photograph of Clegg Hall Mill was proving challenging. It was simply the ugliest place I have seen to date.

After departing we approached the Mill from the adjoining river and took a couple of photographs. This is about as good as the place looks (cover shot).

Clegg Hall Mill was not a great explore, but seeing the remnants of what happened proved somewhat interesting. As far as history goes, I struggled to gain even the name of the Mill.