Harrison, Blair and Co
Harrison Blair and Co, of Kearsley Chemical Works, Farnworth, near Bolton, Lancashire.
Harrison Blair (1812-70) was the son of George Blair, a bleacher, in Bolton and initially worked for his father.
Early 1830s Harrison Blair began his own business, when he assisted in the construction of a vitriol works at nearby Kearsley.
1836 On the death of his partner, George Cottingham, Blair took over the business.
1840 In conjunction with H. H. Watson, Blair gained a patent for improvements in vitriol manufacture (including the burning of 'spent lime' from gas works).
1841 Incorporated the firm as Harrison Blair & Co. His works also took up the manufacture of Leblanc soda and was later considered remarkable by the alkali inspector for the immense size of the acid gas condensation tanks (120,000 ft3).
1870 After Blair's death the Kearsley firm continued to trade under the same name, run by the partners Thomas C. Ansdell and James Warburton (an early member of the Pharmaceutical Society). It was a typical Leblanc works, providing sulphuric and hydrochloric acids, soda ash, caustic soda, sulphates, etc.
1875 Making chemicals connected with the iron industry.
1891 The business remained a family concern at its incorporation in 1891 (with a nominal capital of £25,000), the share-holders consisting of four Warburtons and four Ansdells.
1959 Products included sulphuric acid, bleaching liquor, salt cake, hydrochloric acid, hypochlorite of soda, caustic soda (liquor and solid), zinc chloride, zinc sulphate, zinc oxide, magnesium carbonate, etc.
1961 The firm's capital was reduced to £10,000
1968 The company ceased trading. It was finally wound up in 1977.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Archives of the British chemical industry, 1750-1914: a handlist. By Peter J. T. Morris and Colin A. Russell. Edited by John Graham Smith. 1988.