New British Iron Co
New British Iron Co., of South Sea House, London EC
of Corngreaves Iron Works, Rowley Regis.
See also -
1843 On 2 November the assets of the British Iron Co were transferred to the New British Iron Company and the original company was closed down.
1852 Its Abersychan Ironworks were sold to the Ebbw Vale Co. At about the same time Plas Issa works in North Wales was sold to Samuel Giller and Netherton works was sold to Noah Hingley and Sons.
A few years later Hingleys also acquired Dudley Wood works.
1855 Honourable mention of British Iron Company in the "Mines and Metallurgy" class at the Great Exposition in Paris[1]
By 1860 the company was struggling; iron production in Cradley Heath had begun to decline due to a number of factors - the local coal and mineral seams were being exhausted and the local iron industry had been taken over by competitors, not only from other parts of the Black Country where the coal seams were thicker, but also from further afield, for example the north east of England and South Wales.
1883 Incorporated as limited liability company
1887 Following the closure of Ruabon Ironworks, operations were confined to Brierley Hill and Corngreaves works. The company also had collieries in the area, including Acrefair, Plas Benion and Wynnstay (or the Green Pit). Following the withdrawal of the New British Iron Company from this district the collieries were taken over by the Wynnstay Collieries Company. The New British Iron Company went into voluntary liquidation
1887 'An explosion occurred last week at the New British Iron Company’s works, Cradley. A quantity of the mixture of ironstone and other matters with which the blast furnaces are charged fell suddenly into the molten metal below and caused a rent in the furnace side. The melted iron rushed out, and four men named Hodgetts, Gilbert, Hall, and Hughes were burnt. Two died, and the condition of the others is considered so serious that little or no hope is given of either recovering.'[2]
1890 Liquidation reversed.
c.1890 The Power House was fitted with a rotary converter, made by Thomas Parker Ltd
1899 the company went into liquidation and was put up for auction but there were no takers and the company was divided up. Some of the Blast Furnaces were bought by Mr Alfred Bassano, of Haden Cross, but they eventually closed for good in 1912.
1894 N. Hingley and Sons took over the goodwill and trade-marks of the New British Iron Co[3]. The former general manager acquired the Corngreaves ironworks.
In the mid-1950s the whole area was cleared when the Porters Field Industrial Estate was developed.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times, Nov 14, 1855
- ↑ Engineering 1887/07/08
- ↑ The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908