Frozen in time: Haunting pictures show derelict paper mill littered with cigars, boots and even a bottle of milk from the day it was abandoned

• Robert Fletcher and Sons in Oldham closed suddenly in 2001 and has not been disturbed since
• These atmospheric images were taken by urban explorer Thomas Sherman, who described site as 'eery'
• The mill opened in 1921 and produced cigarette papers, but rising costs forced it out of business
  

By Sam Webb

Published: 05:21 EDT, 13 November 2013 | Updated: 07:34 EDT, 13 November 2013

These incredible images offer a glimpse inside a northern factory which closed its doors overnight, leaving behind seven paper machines, newspapers and a ten-year-old pint of milk.

The Robert Fletcher and Sons Paper Mill in Greenfield, Oldham closed down overnight in 2001. Since then the abandoned mill has been left in a state of suspended animation. The factory is still filled with personal effects like cigars, work boots and safety goggles.

The floor of the abandoned mill is littered with relics of a bygone era, including letters and machine parts reminiscent of the golden age of British industry.

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Bygone era: The paper machines at the derelict Robert Fletcher and Sons Paper Mill in Greenfield, Oldham, which closed down overnight in 2001

Since the colsure the abandoned Mill has been left in a state of suspended animation, the factory is still filled with the worker's possessions and the items of daily work life

A pair of protective goggles left next to a pile of newspapers, as if waiting for their owner to return and resume work. Right, a bottle of rotting milk left at the factory

Urban explorer Thomas Sherman, 30, photographed the interior of the derelict factory in June this year. Mr Sherman said: 'It was a mad experience, being in that huge empty and eery space.

'The factory was shut down overnight. They were all working one day and then they just closed it.

'The whole place feels as though it was frozen in time, as if everyone finished work one day, put their stuff down and never came back.'

The Lancashire mill, which specialised in cigarette papers, first opened in 1921 when the top salary for a factory worker was 6d an hour.

Reams of unused paper sit discarded at the mill, which closed as the price of wood pulp soared

Nature reclaims: Mould covers the paper machines, which are exposed to the elements

Rust and debris: The factory opened in 1921 and produced paper for 80 years. Right, an old document detailing the telephone extensions at the factory

Silence: The abandoned factory has stood empty for 12 years

Last smoke: An abandoned tin of cigars on the shop floor. Right an old pulping machine, covered in bird droppings

The factory housed seven paper machines which produced a small fraction of the paper which modern machines can produce today. Mr Sherman, from Manchester, said: 'Bits and pieces of daily life were still there.

'I saw loads of bits left about, such as a jar of buttons, and newspapers from the 1990s.

'It looked like they closed the doors one day and left the mill behind forever.'

The walkways above the main factory floor. The mill specialised in cigarette paper

Turn the lights out: A power switch at the abandoned factory harkens back to an era of British manufacturing dominance

Urban explorer Thomas Sherman, 30, photographed the interior of the derelict factory in June this year. Mr Sherman said: 'It was a mad experience, being in that huge empty and eery space'

The factory housed seven paper machines which produced a small fraction of the paper which modern machines can produce today

A Robert Fletcher and Sons Paper Mill rubber stamp lies forgotten on top of a pile of documents

A collection of old buttons left at the factory. Mr Sherman, from Manchester, said: 'Bits and pieces of daily life were still there'

The mill was owned by Robert Fletcher and Sons, prominent paper merchants who began trading in the early 19th century.

The firm also owned another paper mill in Stoneclough near the Greenfield site. Both mills started to struggle financially in the late 1990s due to the rising cost of wood pulp. In an effort to save the business, the Stoneclough site was shut down in 2000 with the loss of 120 jobs.

Despite this move the company continued to spiral into financial ruin. In July 2001 several suppliers and creditors formally applied to wind up the company forcing the overnight closure of the Greenfield site.

Another urban explorer, who did not wish to be named, surveys newspapers left at the site

This machine is still loaded with paper, demonstrating the sudden way the factory closed