Imperial Ironworks, South Bank, Middlesbrough
1871 “OPENING OF JACKSON, GILL, AND CO.'S NEW WORKS AT SOUTH BANK. On Tuesday afternoon last, Messrs Jackson, Gill and Co.'s new puddling forge at South Bank, which has been named the "Imperial Iron Works," was opened. The works are situated near Eston Junction, and have a siding front the North-Eastern Railway. The works, which were commenced about the end of September last, consist of 20 puddling furnaces, a 4-ton steam hammer by Thwaites, Garbutt, and Co. [sic], of Bradford, and a 22 inch forge train by Taylor and Farley, with all the necessary appliances for the manufacture of puddled bars, and are capable of producing about 10,000 tons annually. There are five horizontal 2-flued boilers, with tubes supplied by Daniel Adamson and Co., for generating steam. The engine, which is horizontal, is by Mr John Tichle [sic], of West Bromwich. ... Etc.” [1]
1872 Jackson, Gill and Company was converted to a limited company. See this link for more information on this company.
1875 200 workers laid off due to depression in the trade.[2]
1879 Jackson, Gill and Company Limited failed and entered voluntary liquidation as a result of continued depression in the trade. See this link for more information on liquidation. The works continued in operation in liquidation.
A reconstruction of the company proposed by the liquidator failed and in 1880 the works were offered for sale by auction. This too was unsuccessful.
1881 On 2 April 250 men were made redundant and the works closed as a result of continuing bad trade.[3] The liquidator offered the works for sale for £25,000.[4]
1881 On 31 May the Imperial Ironworks was offered for sale at auction on the instruction of the Court. Description was as follows:- “IMPERIAL IRONWORKS, Situate at South Bank, near Middlesbrough ... with the land, fixed plant, buildings, railways, loose plant and tools, brick works, and also 20 freehold cottages. The Land on which the Iron Works stand consists of 16 acres 3 roods 7 poles, and is Freehold. The Cottages are situate in North-street, South Bank, and are on land, of about 1 rood 33 poles”. The works consisted of a forge capable of making 20,000 tons of puddle iron per annum; finishing mill capable of turning out 15,000 tons of finished iron per annum; brickworks turning out 3,000,000 bricks per annum. Despite a reserve price of only £28,000, it failed to find a buyer. [5]
1881 The South Bank Iron Company Limited (no 16198) was registered to acquire the Imperial Ironworks.[6] They took possession of the works from the liquidator on 1 Dec 1881. Capital of £25,000 had been privately subscribed. The new company comprised “Messrs Hornsby, Willis and other Middlesbrough gentlemen”. G B Willis, former secretary of Jackson Gill and Co., was appointed managing director. James Hill appointed works manager. The works was described as a forge train with 40 furnaces and 3 finishing mills, and a capacity of 400-500 tons per week. A later report suggests that the purchase price was £20,000.[7] The works restarted on 19 December 1881, a ceremony being performed by the wife of Mr Hornsby.[8] It is believed that the directors included Mr G G Hornsby and James Hornsby.
1883 Grainger George Hornsby (director) died suddenly on 5 Feb 1883 aged 42.[9]
1883 On 15 March it was reported that the works had been stopped and trading suspended. About 300 men were thrown out of work.[10] A winding up order was made by the Court on 7 Apr 1883.[11]
1883 By order of the court, the works were offered for sale at auction on 10 Jul 1883.[12] No sale was made, but it was reported later that month that one of the members of the South Bank Iron Works Company, a Mr Coulthard of London had made an offer to buy the works for 10s per pound. This was accepted at a meeting of the creditors and shareholders on 26 July.[13]
It was expected that Mr Coulthard would put together a syndicate to own and operate the works, but this did not happen and the works continued to stand idle. In Jan 1887 it was reported that Coulthard was minded to sell the site. However, with good reason based on developments nearby, he was convinced that the site was underlain by a good bed of rock salt. He instructed John Vivian of the Cumberland Diamond Boring and Tunnelling Co to drill a borehole close to the works.
1887 On 10 Feb, "the freehold iron rolling mills known as the Imperial Ironworks" was offered for sale at auction in London at an upset price of £17,500. It was offered as a “going concern” which was perhaps stretching a point![14]
1887 Salt was struck on 7 July.[15] Engineering magazine later reported that 'The boring at the Imperial Iron Works, South Bank, Middlesbrough, is now completed; two beds of salt, one 82 ft. thick and one 14 ft. thick, have been passed through, the total depth of the boring being 1692 ft.'[16] This discovery came quite late in the rush to develop the South Durham and Cleveland salt deposits and no immediate action was taken to exploit this find.
1887 In October, the plant, gear and material of the works was put up for auction in lots. Included were the forge, 51 puddling and mill furnaces, and 3 iron mills.[17]
1888 The brickworks, with machinery, was offered separately for rent.[18]
1890 Reports and adverts show that the works was in the process of being dismantled.
The East Middlesbrough Salt Company Limited was registered in 1890 to buy the Imperial Ironworks site and to extract and manufacture salt. They negotiated a price, which included the tenanted brickworks, of £32,000. The prospectus was issue on 25 Jul 1890 (and confirmed Mr John Coulthard as the vendor) but nothing seems to have come of this, presumably insufficient capital having been subscribed. The company was struck from the register and dissolved by order of the Registrar on 15 Aug 1893 and the salt was never extracted.[19]
In 1906 it was reported that the North-Eastern Railway had purchased the site with a view to establishing an engine cleaning shed there, but nothing was built.
The site is now occupied by modern industry and, with a nice nod to its history, is called Imperial Park. One of the occupiers is the Imperial Park Anaerobic Digestion Plant.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Northern Weekly Gazette - Friday 10 March 1871
- ↑ Newcastle Journal - 6 Dec 1875
- ↑ Newcastle Courant - 1 April 1881 and Shields Daily News - 5 Apr 1881
- ↑ Shields Daily Gazette - 7 May 1881
- ↑ Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail - 25 May 1881 and 1 Jun 1881
- ↑ See also Board of Trade file BT 31/2909/16198, National Archives, Kew
- ↑ Northern Weekly Gazette - 26 Nov 1881 and Midland & Northern Coal & Iron Trades Gazette - 21 Dec 1881
- ↑ Edinburgh Evening News - 20 Dec 1881
- ↑ Northern Echo - 6 Feb 1883
- ↑ Shields Daily News - 15 Mar 1883
- ↑ London Gazette – 20 Apr 1883
- ↑ London Gazette – 15 Jun 1883 and Northern Echo – 5 Jul 1883
- ↑ Northern Echo - 27 Jul 1883
- ↑ Newcastle Evening Chronicle - 31 Jan 1887
- ↑ Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough - 8 Jul 1887
- ↑ Engineering 1887/07/29
- ↑ Northern Weekly Gazette - 17 Sept 1887
- ↑ North Star (Darlington) - 9 Mar 1888
- ↑ London Gazette – 15 Aug 1893