A
Document
We photograph places as they are found, recording architecture, interiors, signs, objects and the quieter details that reveal how a building was once used.
Audit · Document · Archive
Stories remain, even when places do not.
Urban Discovery is an independent heritage and urban exploration project documenting forgotten, abandoned and changing places across the United Kingdom.
Read our story01
Our history
The roots of Urban Discovery began in 2017 with a first visit to the former Turner Brothers Asbestos factory in Rochdale. What started as curiosity quickly became an interest in the lives, industries and communities connected to places left behind.
Since then, the project has grown into a continuing visual and historical record of hospitals, care homes, factories, offices, houses, public buildings and other sites facing neglect, redevelopment or demolition.
The purpose has remained simple: to look beyond decay, understand what a place once meant, and preserve part of its story before the physical evidence is lost.
02
What we do
B
Research
We trace available histories, former uses and local context so that the images are more than photographs of empty rooms.
C
Archive
We create a lasting record of sites that may soon be altered or disappear, keeping their stories visible for future researchers, residents and history enthusiasts.
D
Share
We publish selected photography and researched stories across our website and social channels without revealing sensitive access details or precise locations.
03
Our principles
Urban Discovery does not damage, alter or remove anything from the places it documents. We do not publish instructions for access, and we avoid sharing information that could place vulnerable buildings at greater risk.
We approach each site as a piece of social history rather than a backdrop. Every building had a purpose. Every room was used by someone. Respect for that past guides the way we record and present our work.
Follow the archive
Urban Discovery online
New locations, archive photographs, short histories and ongoing documentation are shared across our social channels.
General enquiries: ewan@urbandiscovery.co.uk