The Myona Building

When I was last in Birmingham I decided to have a mooch around this crumbling remnant of a once-thriving business. I'm not often enthusiastic about industrial stuff, mainly because the history isn't exactly riveting, but I do think industrial locations are quite visually appealing, with all the decay, graffiti and nature creeping in. This one was once the flavour of the month in urbex circles, and some people mentioned encountering some dodgy characters like aggressive squatters and crack-addled maniacs. But nobody is hanging around these filthier areas on a Sunday. Not even prostitutes. (They're all at church)

Let's slip inside!

 

Rumour has it that the building was originally used by a former Navy guy called Ted Wassell, although some sources say he was a pilot. After being demobilised at the end of World War 2, Ted set up a business here selling motorcycle parts. 

At least, that seems to be the established narrative regurgitated by people who copy and paste mindlessly without verification. But I'm not entirely convinced, having seen in the past how sometimes something only seems true through the power of constant repetition by lazy people.

 

I actually couldn't find any verification that Ted Wassell operated from these premises. The vintage adverts for his business all list him as being somewhere else. He did apparently move to those premises from somewhere, but was it here? Who knows? I'm going by what urban explorers say, and they famously get everything wrong.  

What I do know is that Ted Wassell moved again in 1967 because his second building was too small for his growing business, and while he did pass away from a heart attack in 1975, the company apparently still exists today.

 

 

These would have been the former offices, but there's very little to see now. Whatever wasn't removed when the business closed has been yoinked, and whatever was left after that has been scribbled on. 

And the graffiti is much less "Art" and more "My parents are siblings." I mean, I appreciate the sentiment of "Fuck War," but what is the point in writing it here? That'll show Putin, I'm sure!

 

 

I'm going to assume that this room is the squatters toilet, because it sure did reek! That isn't water on the floor!

 

These stairs lead down from the office block into the main warehouse itself.

So as of 1964 this building was taken over by a company that sold industrial cleaning products, including chemicals, machinery and safety clothing. Their own written description online says "Commercial cleaning products, cleaning chemicals, as well as cleaning training, and advice on all aspects of commercial clenaining."

Clenaining??? How the hell did that typo fly under the radar? 

Despite their inability to proof read and spellcheck, the company grew steadily, and allegedly became one of the largest cleaning suppliers in the UK. Their shop window listed the NHS, MOD and the local government as their clients.

The original company director resigned in 1989, at which point a chap called Stuart took over. He was born in 1922, so he was approaching retirement age even when he became the director. Naturally he didn't stick around for much longer, and stepped down in 1992, selling everything to married couple, Brian and Jean, who also employed their son Andrew. Suddenly it was a family business.

 

There are a couple of larger doors facing the street and flanking the main office block. Presumably these would have been the loading bays. 

 

 

This old retro fuel pump is quite cool. I wonder if it could still be made functional. 

 

 

There's an actual attempt at art down here too!

 

 

"Big up the Birmingham Crew." This is almost on the same level of cringe as Shrewsbury's "Sundorne Bad Boys." 

Look, it's impossible to have a gang name like this without sounding like a 90s boy band. The Birmingham Crew just sound like they should be supporting 5ives reunion tour or something. This isn't badass.

 

 

There's a basement in the warehouse which got me kinda giddy.

 

 

Sadly it's pretty flooded down here, but that's okay. It doesn't look particularly exciting.

 

I think these would have been urinals at some point, but this is Birmingham so of course they were stolen.

 

So picking up where retired director Stuart left off, Brian and Jean took the company from strength to strength. At least, at first. They established a subsidiary company with the hopes of expanding geographically, and in an odd twist, they also show up in old clothing directories under men's and boys apparel. That did take me by surprise but maybe they mean stuff like gloves and safety boots.

 

Brian and Jean had taken over in 1994, but they were born in 1935 and 1934 so they definitely had more years behind them than ahead of them too, and so in 1998 their son Andrew became the director, and he brought his wife Anne into the company in 2005. 

I've heard it said that Andrew often gets the blame for mismanaging the company and running it into the ground, but the early 2000s were a bit shite for everyone, weren't they? I mean, that's the decade that killed Woolworths. There are full grown adults in the world today who never shoplifted a pic n mix. What a travesty.

 

But from what I can see, from an admittedly big distance, the only confusing thing about Andrew is that he stepped down from company director in 2005, letting his wife take over, but then he became director again in 2008. I don't understand this temporary switcheroo.

But times were hard, and the subsidiary company folded in 2009 with debts in excess of £300,000 that had a dramatic impact on the larger company. They'd entered a three year contract with a local authority, but issues with high levels of maintenance and slow payments meant that they were struggling to make ends meet, and consequently failed to re-secure the contract, and lost about £800,000 more in turnover.

 

They became insolvent and closed their doors for good in 2012. The building has since rotted away for just over a decade, but it does look like it's soon to be swept up in some kind of redevelopment plan, so there is some hope for the future.

Here we have what appears to be the shop front. The sign above the shuttered door reads "Trade Counter" and the counter itself is still extant, albeit barely. So it seems that this would have been the customer entrance. 

 

Streetview shows what this door looked like from the outside when the store was still open.

(Image credit: Google Streetview)

 

 But even before the shop was closed, the window was smashed. Welcome to Birmingham.

 

And I guess this vast area would have been the shop itself. 

 

 

The local kids have left their spray paint on the shelves.

 

And now onto the best part of any abandoned building, the toilets!

 

Ah the urinal is out of order. Out of the building, too. Good thing the sign is there!

 

Still in better condition than the toilets in some pubs and clubs.

 

At the very back of the building are a few smaller offices that have seen better days. It's all roughly symmetrical. There are spaces flanking a raised wooden area accessible via these rickety staircases.

 

 

It's all very flimsy up here. The wooden platforms are soggy and rotten. I trust this floor to support my weight about as much as I trust the McCanns to babysit.

 

 

There's a few more spaces that I assume were offices or maybe staff rooms. 

 

 

But that's all I've got for this place. This isn't the most interesting place I've ever documented, but nor is it the worst. The building is falling apart, and there's nothing much to see, but it still makes for a picturesque area if you like decay. The upper floors of the main office block are being lived in by squatters, so if you do come here, watch out for them. 

I really can't say I have much of an opinion on this place. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. It was just a big derelict building, and I knew I couldn't turn it down, but there are better out there. I'll be honest, I don't understand why it became an urbex flavour of the month. But then I'm nowhere near monosyllabic enough to be on the same level as the average urbex herd chaser. 

But that's it for today!

I have some great stuff coming up on my local blog, and some international antics coming up on this one. In the meantime if you'd rather not miss a blog post, then the best way to stay updated is by following on the website that gives the zombie apocalypse credibility, Facebook. I'm also active on Instagram quite a bit, as well as Vero and Reddit when I remember they exist. And of course there's Twitter and Threads, to round up the sextet of shittery. 

Thanks for reading!