Precedent House, Abandoned Industrial Unit, Rooksley

Today’s exploration was inspired by a video I stumbled across on Facebook yesterday morning – some rather stunning drone footage of a series of derelict industrial units here in MK – thank you, Wandering Northerner! The scale of the ruins looked extensive from the air, and I worked out that it was actually very close to a route I’ve just discovered that runs from Lodge Lake over to Linford Wood. It was a nice day for a walk, so I set off bright and early, and found the abandoned buildings just moments from the redway route – who knew such a sight was so nearby?

So many broken windows, leaving the interior open to the elements. Trees growing up right inside the building. Broken furniture, window frames, even a mattress left lying around outside. It was extremely eerie being there, so close to other business that are clearly operational and thriving. I could hear some clattering noises inside, but whether these were caused by the wind blowing through the shattered windows or from people or birds within, I couldn’t tell. As ever, I kept to the outside and made sure I could leave quickly if anything untoward happened, but it was still an extremely unsettling experience. I was glad to get back to the route and my more conventional walk around a relatively un-creepy woodland.

Back home, I took to YouTube once more, and found a fascinating video from 2019 by someone braver than me who had been for a proper explore inside. Interestingly, the front of the building was all boarded up back then – those boards are long gone now. A big thank you to Heartless Angel for sharing that, it was great to watch and the views from up on the roof really are quite amazing. I did like that he found and collected a 10p from the upper floor, and couldn’t help thinking of cursed objects, and of what manner of entity might have accompanied that innocent-looking coin back out of the devastation…

Apparently, this building is actually called Precedent House, and used to be owned by Martela PLC, and it’s still available to rent – although I really can’t imagine anyone investing the necessary time and effort to renovate it! I guess for now, it will simply sit and decay ever further, forever keeping its secrets behind those shattered windows.

Update, January 2025: I went back to Precedent House on a bitterly cold, frosty morning. There’s been more damage to the building, but the frost had made ice-sculptures out of the many spiderwebs that festoon of those windows. Quite a sight.