MG Motors - Longbridge
Due to part of the site still being in use and a steep cliff face surrounding a portion of it, our access was limited. We discovered one way on to the site that involved scaling a fence and climbing up a steep bank. After locating a nearby wheelie bin, we managed to make our way up the steep verge and onto the site. Towards the front, there were numerous CCTV cameras, and the area was full of activity, as you’d expect from an operating business.
The site is now mostly derelict, with much of the area being used for redevelopment, while the few remaining active buildings are occupied by office workers. We navigated to a quieter area and eventually found our way inside. Many of the old buildings were still standing and intact, but a recent map search revealed that the majority of the disused portion of the site has since been flattened.
We spent most of the day exploring the former manufacturing areas, offices, and showrooms. Security did conduct occasional patrols, but luckily, they didn’t bother to go inside. When we were leaving, the wheelie bin was still in its usual spot, but this time its owner was standing nearby. We apologized as we climbed over and walked away, to which he replied, "You're not, though, are you?!".
No, sir, you were right.
History
“The plant first started out in 1895 and cost £105,000 to build, a small copper plate printers known as "white and pike" undertook this business venture with big plans for the future but this ended much sooner than the pair expected resulting in the bank repossessing the site in 1901, Herbert Austin would later come along in 1906 along with financial backing from some friends to purchase the site in January of 1906 and by 1912 there were over 1800 employees manufacturing around 1000 cars a year. During the first world war the plant was part of a rapid mobilization process which took place across Europe. The machinery used to manufacture Austin cars were re-purposed to produce munitions and all the resources the factory had were now used to aid the armed forces however they could. During this time the site expanded rapidly with over 22000 employees, most of which were women who managed to produce over 8000000 shells, 650 guns, 2000 aeroplanes, 2500 aero engines and 2000 trucks between 1914 and 1918. The armistice terminated the war overnight and intern the contracts with Longbridge were canceled, the plant was focusing its efforts post WW1 to manufacturing cars again. That was until a few short years later on the outbreak of WW2 the factory was commandeered again focusing its new efforts on manufacturing armor piercing ammunition, anti tank guns, mines and other war time essentials. In 1936 under the government's shadow factory scheme resulted in construction of underground tunnels for storage of components and manufacturing of vehicles and aircraft engines during the Second World War, these tunnels were rapidly expanded as war raged, and soon joined each section of the site. The tunnels under the South Works were primarily intended as air raid shelters and were capable of holding 15,000 workers while the tunnels under the East Works were primarily intended for manufacturing of Bristol Aero engines and machining, there was also an ambulance station in the East Tunnels. During the War the Longbride site was outputting 500 vehicles a week for use by the War Department and by the end of the war the factory had produced over 120,000 vehicles as well as parts for planes such as the Beaufighter, Lancaster bomber, and Horsa gliders. The factory also produced other materials for the war effort, including 500,000 steel helmets, upwards of 4,000,000 magazines for the Bren, Oerlikon and Sten guns, 100,000 suspension units for the Churchill tank, 1,350,000 pieces of ammunition and 3,350,000 ammunition boxes. Unfortunately these tunnels are inaccessible now due to houses being built over them and entrance points being purposely sealed. After WW2 production of cars began to resume with the owners and company changing hands numerous times along the way with car production at Longbridge ceasing in 2005. A chinese company known as Nanjing acquired the remaining assets of MG rover in 2008 and began production at the site once more but this was short lived and on the 23rd September 2016 they announced that all car production had ceased at the Longbridge site”.
