Teesside Steelworks

Last updated

Teesside Steelworks at night, in 2009 Redcar Steelworks at Night.jpg
Teesside Steelworks at night, in 2009

The Teesside Steelworks was a large steelworks that formed a continuous stretch along the south bank of the River Tees from the towns of Middlesbrough to Redcar in North Yorkshire, England. At its height there were 91 blast furnaces within a 10-mile radius of the area. By the end of the 1970s there was only one left on Teesside. Opened in 1979 and located near the mouth of the River Tees, the Redcar blast furnace was the second largest in Europe. [1]

Contents

The majority of the steelworks, including the Redcar blast furnace, Redcar and South Bank coke ovens and the BOS plant at Lackenby closed in 2015. The Teesside Beam Mill and some support services still operate at the Lackenby part of the site.

On 1 October 2022, the Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) Plant at Lackenby was demolished in one of the largest single explosive demolition operations in the country in 75 years. [2]

History

19th century Origins

Iron Works, Middlesbrough, c. 1865-70, Alfred William Hunt Alfred William Hunt - Iron Works, Middlesborough (c 1863).jpg
Iron Works, Middlesbrough, c. 1865–70, Alfred William Hunt

Bolckow, Vaughan & Co

In 1850s, iron ore was discovered in near Eston in the Cleveland Hills of Yorkshire, by John Vaughan and his mining geologist John Marley. [3] [ better source needed ] Vaughan and his partner Henry Bolckow, over the next decades, would build an iron and steel works, which extended, by 1864, over 700 acres (280 ha) along the banks of the River Tees. [4] [ better source needed ] [5]

"The Middlesbrough and Cleveland Iron Trade Jubilee in 1881: general view of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire." from The Illustrated London News, 8 October 1881 Midldesbrough and Cleveland Iron Trade 1881.jpg
"The Middlesbrough and Cleveland Iron Trade Jubilee in 1881: general view of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire." from The Illustrated London News , 8 October 1881

In 1875, Edward Windsor Richards became the General Manager of the Middlesbrough Ironworks. Richards was in charge of the design and construction of the new plant at Eston, the Cleveland Steel Works. It had three coke fired haematite blast furnaces. Richards' work helped to improve the Bessemer process for making steel, in the case when the ore is rich in phosphorus, and an alkaline rock (dolomite, limestone or magnesite) is used. This variant is called the Gilchrist–Thomas process after its inventor Sidney Gilchrist Thomas who persuaded Richards to adopt it. [6]

The firm later acquired the Southbank Steelworks and adopted the Gilchrist–Thomas process at the suggestion of its developer, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas. This allowed the use of local ironstone which had a high phosphorus content. Bolckow, Vaughan & Co Ltd were already well established producers of Iron owning many Ironworks and furnaces and were seen as the driving force behind the rapid expansion of Middlesbrough or "Ironopolis" and Great Britain's leading producer of pig iron. [7] After the company's acquisition of the Clay Lane works at the end of the century and a shift in production from Iron to steel they became the largest producers of steel in Great Britain and possibly the world, owning 21 of the 91 blast furnaces in the Cleveland area. [8] [9]

Dorman Long

In 1876, Arthur Dorman entered into a partnership with Albert de Lande Long to form Dorman Long, taking over the West Marsh Ironworks in Middlesbrough. Over next 10 years Dorman Long would expand further, acquiring the Brittania works in Middlesbrough, [10] and building a new steel works at the Clarence works in a joint venture with Bell Brothers.[ citation needed ]

Other developments

The amount of slag coming out of the various furnaces of Teesside increased substantially and its disposal became a costly problem for works' owners. One solution, invented in the 1870s, was the Scoria brick which became a major export of the region and can still widely be seen as a road surface in the local area. [11]

20th century expansion

In 1902, Dorman Long would build the first integrated steelworks at Cargo Fleet. [12] In the following year, Lowthian Bell, then aged 87, sold a majority holding of the Bell companies to the rivals Dorman Long. [13]

During the First World War Dorman Long was one of the first non-munitions company in Britain to dedicate itself to shell production. [14] By 1917, they had completed a new blast furnace at Redcar with a cost of £5.4 million. Some of the steel produced here, along with steel from the Brittania and Cargo Fleet steelworks, would be used to build notable structures including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Tyne Bridge, in the 20s, and later, the Auckland Harbour Bridge. [15]

Interwar period

In 1923, Bolckow, Vaughan & Co acquired Redpath, Brown & Co, manufacturers of structural steel. [16]

As the 1920s went on Bolckow Vaughan found itself in an increasingly difficult financial situation. The works were reorganised, and consultation with the workforce introduced. The causes of these problems included: poor decision-making in the period from 1900–1910 which delayed the introduction of improved steelmaking technology; optimistic belief in promises of funding made by the British government during the war, leading to reliance on costly bank loans in 1918; and failure to invest in its own coal mines to provide enough for steel production, and for cash. [17] [18] [19] By 1929, the financial pressures, forced the company into a takeover by Dorman Long who by this point is also struggling financially. [20] [21]

In 1946, The Lackenby development was built by Dorman Long between the Redcar and Cleveland Works.[ citation needed ]

Nationalisation

Trolleybus passing one of the coking plants which manufactured coke for the blast furnaces (1966). British Trolleybuses - Teesside - geograph.org.uk - 562209.jpg
Trolleybus passing one of the coking plants which manufactured coke for the blast furnaces (1966).
The erection of Redcar blast furnace in 1976. ECSC Financial report 1976 Redcar Blast furnace erection.jpg
The erection of Redcar blast furnace in 1976.

In 1967, Dorman Long was absorbed into the newly created nationalised company, British Steel Corporation.[ citation needed ]

In 1979, the new blast furnace opened at the former Redcar site using the open hearth process. It was the second largest of its kind in Europe and Teesside's sole remaining blast furnace, at that time. [22]

Privatisation and decline

In 1988, British Steel was re-privatised to form British Steel plc.[ citation needed ] In 1999, British Steel plc merged with Netherlands-based steel maker Koninklijke Hoogovens to form Corus Group. [23] Corus utilised the site for basic oxygen steelmaking, using iron produced at the company's Redcar blast furnace.[ citation needed ]

By 2003, Corus considered that the production at Teesside Cast Products (TCP) as a surplus to its needs. [24] Corus was bought by Tata Steel, in 2007. [25]

In 2009, Corus announced partial mothballing of the Teesside blast furnace. Approx. 1,700 jobs eliminated. [26] [27] To help the workers, a Corus Response Group was formed which developed a comprehensive package of support. This plan was in place over the past 10 months of announcement and included employment experts on site from January 2010. Support was put in place to help affected workers with individual sessions to update CVs, highlight job opportunities and look at retraining options. The response group was also supposed to work with the Teesside Cast Products function to offer similar support. [28] [29] [30]

SSI

On 24 February 2011, the steelworks was purchased by Thai-based Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) at $469 million. [31] The acquisition was expected to create more than 800 jobs on top of the existing workforce of 700 and the plant was officially reopened 15 April 2012. [27] [32] [33]

On 18 September 2015, production was paused due to the global decline in steel prices. [34]

On 28 September 2015, the plant was mothballed again amid poor steel trading conditions across the world and a drop in steel prices. [35]

On 2 October, SSI UK entered into liquidation.

On 12 October 2015, the receiver announced there was no realistic prospect of finding a buyer. The coke ovens were scheduled for extinguishing, however this time it was done without the complex decommissioning processes conducted in 2010, which would have allowed the facility to reopen in the future. [36]

British Steel

The remainder of the site is still operational (Teesside Beam Mill and ancillary support services at Lackenby and the deep-water bulk handling terminal), having been sold by Tata Steel to investment firm Greybull Capital on 1 June 2016. As part of the deal, the historic British Steel name was resurrected. The new company includes the UK sites at Skinningrove and Scunthorpe as well as the Hayange rail plant in northern France. [37] [38]

Insolvency of British Steel

In May 2019 British Steel collapsed and was taken over by the Insolvency Service. It was later purchased in March 2020 by Jingye Group, who agreed to save the remaining jobs by modernising the steelworks. [39]

Electric Arc Furnace plans

In April 2024, British Steel won planning permission for an electric arc furnace to be built at the remaining Lackenby site. There is however no clear timetable for the actual construction of the structure. [40]

Demolition and Redevelopment

The steelworks' BOS plant, blast furnace, and power station, along with auxiliary structures, were demolished in between October 2022 and June 2023, creating a 4,500-acre site of brownfield land. [2] [41] [42]

This is to be regenerated as Teesworks, an industrial zone and freeport project. [2]

Environmental aspects

The closure of the steelworks, coupled with the running down of many coal-fired power stations and a UK Government carbon tax, led to a 6% reduction in carbon emissions from the United Kingdom in 2016. [43]

Transport

The site is situated alongside the A66 and A1085 dual carriageways. Main access is via the Lackenby and Redcar entrances, situated on the A1085.

The site is adjacent to Teesport that was used for iron ore, coal, and other raw material imports, and steel exports.

The site was served by the Redcar British Steel railway station, which opened on 19 June 1978. [44] Northern discontinued service to the station in December 2019, [45] prior to this the station (owned by Network Rail), was surrounded by private land, which prevented any public access to or from the station.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlesbrough</span> Town in North Yorkshire, England

Middlesbrough is a port town in North Yorkshire, England. The town's built-up area, an area spanning from the south bank of the River Tees, up to and including Coulby Newham and Nunthorpe, had a population of 148,215 at the 2021 UK Census. The town's borough is governed by Middlesbrough Council. It is the postal town further south to the North York Moors National Park. The largest town of Teesside and the largest of the Tees Valley region, it is the direct regional centre for a population of 678,400 in 2021 and de facto centre for northern Yorkshire and southern County Durham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redcar and Cleveland</span> Borough in North Yorkshire, England

Redcar and Cleveland is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Its council has been a unitary authority since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redcar</span> Town in North Yorkshire, England

Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located 7 miles (11 km) east of Middlesbrough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teesside</span> Conurbation in England

Teesside is a built-up area around the River Tees in North East England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The area contains the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Billingham, Redcar, Thornaby-on-Tees, and Ingleby Barwick. Teesside's economy was once dominated by heavy manufacturing until deindustrialisation in the latter half of the 20th century. Chemical production continues to contribute significantly to Teesside's economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tees Valley</span> Combined authority region in North East England

Tees Valley is a combined authority area in North East England, around the lower River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley; the local term for the valley is Teesdale. The combined authority covers five council areas: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tata Steel Europe</span> Multinational steelmaking company

Tata Steel Europe Ltd. was a steelmaking company headquartered in London, England, with its main operations in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company was created in 2007, when Tata Group took over the British-Dutch Corus Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorman Long</span> British steel company

Dorman Long & Co was a UK steel producer, later diversifying into bridge building. The company was once listed on the London Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redcar British Steel railway station</span> Disused railway station in North Yorkshire, England

Redcar British Steel is a mothballed railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 5+3⁄4 miles (9 km) east of Middlesbrough, served the Teesside Steelworks, Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. At the time of the suspension of services, the station was owned by Network Rail and managed by Arriva Rail North.

A Century in Stone is a 2004 documentary film by Craig Hornby. It tells the story of how the discovery of ironstone at Eston in 1850 sparked the transformation of Teesside from rural backwater to iron-making capital of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Vaughan (ironmaster)</span>

John Vaughan, known as Jacky, was born in Worcester on "St Thomas' Day" in 1799, the son of Welsh parents. He worked his way up the iron industry, becoming an ironmaster and co-founder of the largest of all the Victorian iron and steel companies, Bolckow Vaughan. Where Henry Bolckow provided the investment and business expertise, Vaughan contributed technical knowledge, in a long-lasting and successful partnership that transformed Middlesbrough from a small town to the centre of ironmaking in Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Gare</span> Area at Teesmouth in North Yorkshire, England

South Gare is an area of reclaimed land and breakwater on the southern side of the mouth of the River Tees in Redcar and Cleveland, England. It is accessed by taking the South Gare Road from Fisherman's Crossing at the western end of Tod Point Road in Warrenby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire and Steel Festival</span> Festival in Redcar, North Yorkshire

Fire and Steel Festival was a one-day festival held in Redcar, North Yorkshire, set against the background of the industrial furnace of the largest steelworks in Europe and Redcar’s coast line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Losh, Wilson and Bell</span> British manufacturing company

Losh, Wilson and Bell, later Bells, Goodman, then Bells, Lightfoot and finally Bell Brothers, was a leading Northeast England manufacturing company, founded in 1809 by the partners William Losh, Thomas Wilson, and Thomas Bell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolckow, Vaughan</span> English ironmaking and mining company

Bolckow, Vaughan & Co., Ltd was an English ironmaking and mining company founded in 1864, based on the partnership since 1840 of its two founders, Henry Bolckow and John Vaughan. The firm drove the dramatic growth of Middlesbrough and the production of coal and iron in the north-east of England in the 19th century. The two founding partners had an exceptionally close working relationship which lasted until Vaughan's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scunthorpe Steelworks</span> Industrial complex in northern England

The Iron and Steel Industry in Scunthorpe was established in the mid 19th century, following the discovery and exploitation of middle Lias ironstone east of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England.

Skinningrove steelworks is a steel mill in Skinningrove, North Yorkshire, England. The business was formed in 1874 as the Loftus Iron Company, after a liquidation of the company reformed in 1880 as the Skinningrove Iron Company. The works expanded from producing only pig iron to include steel production in the early 20th century, with mills specialising in long products including railway rail. As part of the business the company constructed a jetty at Skinningrove, and owned an ironstone mine in Loftus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Middlesbrough</span>

Middlesbrough started as a Benedictine priory on the south bank of the River Tees, its name possibly derived from it being midway between the holy sites of Durham and Whitby. The earliest recorded form of Middlesbrough's name is "Mydilsburgh", containing the term burgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redcar Bulk Terminal</span> Deep sea East Coast port in Redcar and Cleveland, Northern England

Redcar Bulk Terminal (RBT), also known as Redcar Ore Terminal, is a privately run dock at the mouth of the Tees Estuary in North Yorkshire, England. The port is used for the transhipment of coal and coke and for many years was the import dock for iron ore destined for Redcar Steelworks under British Steel Corporation, British Steel plc, Corus, Tata Steel Europe and Sahaviriya Steel Industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Tees Development Corporation</span> Regeneration body in England

The South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) is the first mayoral development corporation outside of Greater London, established under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016. It was created to "promote the economic growth and commercial development of Tees Valley by converting assets in the South Tees area into opportunities for business investment and economic growth".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teesside Beam Mill</span> Steelworks in North Yorkshire, England

Teesside Beam Mill (TBM) is a steel reheating and rolling plant located at Lackenby, on Teesside, North Yorkshire, England. The plant was set up in the 1950s by the Dorman Long company and began full production in 1958, making beams for building projects. The plant produces around 750,000 tonnes of steel products per year, and is the United Kingdom's only producer of large steel sections for the building industry.

References

  1. ↑ "Workers return as steelworks furnace is relit". BBC News – Business. BBC. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Redcar steel plant: 'Biggest demolition' of its kind in 75 years". BBC News. 1 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  3. ↑ Simpson, David (2009). "The Tees Valley". Middlesbrough and surrounds: Iron and Steel. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Pitts, Marianne (April 2007). "How are the mighty fallen: Bolckow Vaughan Co. Ltd. 1864–1929" (PDF). www.edwards.usask.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013.
  5. ↑ Boase, George Clement (1886). "Bölckow, Henry William Ferdinand"  . In Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 5. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  6. ↑ "E Windsor Richards". E. Windsor Richards (1831–1921). Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Grace's Guide to British Industrial History:Bolckow, Vaughan & Co". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  8. ↑ "Irons in the fire: Bolckow Vaughan – Let's Look Again". letslookagain.com. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "A description of the North Riding of Yorkshire from Bulmer's Gazetteer (1890)". Part 3: Climate, Agriculture and Minerals. Archived from the original on 10 August 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "Grace's Guide to British Industrial History: Dorman Long". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  11. ↑ Walsh, David (6 March 2022). "Scoria bricks: history at our feet". North East Bylines. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  12. ↑ McLauchlan, Karen (7 December 2010). "The region with an iron backbone". TeessideLive. Retrieved 4 August 2023.[ circular reporting? ]
  13. ↑ Chandler, Alfred Dupont (1994). Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism. Harvard University Press. p. 328.
  14. ↑ "Dorman Long history – Let's Look Again". letslookagain.com. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Leatherdale, Duncan (3 October 2015). "The firm that bridged the world". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  16. ↑ "Grace's Guide to British Industrial History: Redpath, Brown & Co". Grace's Guide to British Industrial History. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  17. ↑ Abé, E. (1996). "The Technological Strategy of a Leading Iron and Steel Firm, Bolckow Vaughan & Co. Ltd: Late Victorian Industrialists Did Fail". Business History. 38: 45–76. doi:10.1080/00076799600000003.
  18. ↑ Tolliday, S. (1987). Business, Banking and Politics: The Case of British Steel, 1918–1939. Harvard University Press. ISBN   0-674-08725-9.
  19. ↑ Pitts, Marianne (April 2007). "How are the mighty fallen: Bolckow Vaughan Co. Ltd. 1864–1929" (PDF). www.edwards.usask.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2013.
  20. ↑ Tweedale, Geoffrey. "Mensforth, Sir Holberry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/48057.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  21. ↑ "The Sydney Morning Herald". British Steel Merger: Dorman, Long and South Durham. 9 May 1933. p. 11. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  22. ↑ Warwick, Tosh (22 November 2022). "The history of Redcar Blast Furnace which dominated our skyline". TeessideLive. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  23. ↑ "History of Britain's steel industry". The Guardian. 1 February 2001. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  24. ↑ "Corus points to future". TeessideLive. 30 September 2003. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  25. ↑ "Teesside Steelworks For Sale". BBC News. BBC. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  26. ↑ "Corus job cuts 'horrendous' for Teesside". BBC News. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  27. 1 2 "Corus Timeline: How it all began". BBC News. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  28. ↑ "Corus Statement On Job Losses In England". informationdaily.co.uk. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  29. ↑ "It's time for a new era in Tees Valley". gazettelive.co.uk. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  30. ↑ "Corus open to strategic tie-ups to save UK-based TCP Plant". Economic Times. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  31. ↑ "Teesside steel plant's £291m sale secures 700 jobs". BBC News Online. BBC. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  32. ↑ "Teesside Cast Products saved by Thailand's Sahaviriya Steel Industries". The Telegraph. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  33. ↑ "Blast furnace at former Corus Redcar steel plant relit". BBC News Online. BBC. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  34. ↑ "SSI Redcar steel plant production 'paused'". BBC News. BBC. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  35. ↑ "SSI Redcar steel plant mothballed, costing 1,700 jobs". BBC News. BBC. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  36. ↑ "SSI Redcar steelworks to be shut". BBC News. BBC. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  37. ↑ "British Steel name back on Teesside as Greybull completes £400m deal to buy Tata Long Products sites". Middlesbrough Gazette Live. June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  38. ↑ "British Steel brand revived". 2 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  39. ↑ "Deal agreed to take over British Steel". BBC News. BBC. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  40. ↑ "British Steel Redcar electric arc furnace gets planning permission". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  41. ↑ "Redcar's landmark blast furnace demolished". 23 November 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  42. ↑ "Last of Redcar steelworks demolished for Teesworks site". 29 June 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  43. ↑ McNeal, Ian (6 March 2017). "Redcar steelworks closure contributes to UK carbon emissions fall". Gazette Live. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  44. ↑ Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 44. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
  45. ↑ "Bishop Auckland and Darlington to Middlesbrough and Saltburn Timetable" (PDF). Northern. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.


54°35′33″N1°08′07″W / 54.5924°N 1.1352°W / 54.5924; -1.1352

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.