Staveley Coal and Iron Company
Encyclopedia
The Staveley Coal and Iron Company Limited was an industrial company based in Staveley
, near Chesterfield
, North Derbyshire. It exploited local ironstone quarried from land owned by the Duke of Devonshire
on the outskirts of the village. It developed into coal mining
, owning several collieries and also into chemical production, first from those available from coal tar
distillation, later to cover a wide and diverse range. Part of the plant at Staveley was a sulphuric acid manufacturing unit making use of the Contact Process
.
It was during the years of World War 1 that the company developed its chemical operations beyond coal-tar chemicals and began production of sulphuric and nitric acids. During the war they also made picric acid, TNT and guncotton. Following the end of hostilities the company laid plans to develop a range of chlorinated organics and to this end purchased salt bearing land near Sandbach, Cheshire
. The salt was produced by a new company formed specifically for the purpose and named the British Soda Company. The salt being needed to feed a new installation of mercury cells at the Staveley works. The first cells at Staveley came into operation in 1922 and in 1926 they went into partnership with the Krebs Company of Paris and Berlin to develop a new cell, which was based on lessons learned. This was marketed worldwide as the Krebs-Staveley cell. This installation lasted into the late 1950s when the cellroom at Staveley was replaced with German-made mercury cells.
In 1960 the Staveley Iron and Chemical Company, which had been taken over by Stewarts & Lloyds Limited
was merged with the Ilkeston-based Stanton Iron Works to form Stanton and Staveley Ltd. In 1967 Stewarts and Lloyds became part of the nationalised British Steel Corporation, Stanton and Staveley also being incorporated.
By 1980 BSC sold off sections of the site as they divested themselves of non-core activities and by 2007 most of the former works at Staveley has been shut down and cleared.
The former Chesterfield MP Eric Varley
was an apprentice with the company in leaving school before he became a trade union man and then latter became Chairman of another local firm Coalite
.
Staveley, Derbyshire
Staveley is a town within the borough of Chesterfield, in Derbyshire, England. The town is situated alongside the River Rother, adjacent to Eckington to the north, Barlborough to the east, Sutton-cum-Duckmanton civil parish to the south and Brimington to the west.-History:It has traditionally been...
, near Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, North Derbyshire. It exploited local ironstone quarried from land owned by the Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...
on the outskirts of the village. It developed into coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, owning several collieries and also into chemical production, first from those available from coal tar
Coal tar
Coal tar is a brown or black liquid of extremely high viscosity, which smells of naphthalene and aromatic hydrocarbons. Coal tar is among the by-products when coal iscarbonized to make coke or gasified to make coal gas...
distillation, later to cover a wide and diverse range. Part of the plant at Staveley was a sulphuric acid manufacturing unit making use of the Contact Process
Contact process
The contact process is the current method of producing sulphuric acid in the high concentrations needed for industrial processes. Platinum was formerly employed as a catalyst for the reaction, but as it is susceptible to poisoning by arsenic impurities in the sulfur feedstock, vanadium oxide is...
.
It was during the years of World War 1 that the company developed its chemical operations beyond coal-tar chemicals and began production of sulphuric and nitric acids. During the war they also made picric acid, TNT and guncotton. Following the end of hostilities the company laid plans to develop a range of chlorinated organics and to this end purchased salt bearing land near Sandbach, Cheshire
Sandbach
Sandbach is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock....
. The salt was produced by a new company formed specifically for the purpose and named the British Soda Company. The salt being needed to feed a new installation of mercury cells at the Staveley works. The first cells at Staveley came into operation in 1922 and in 1926 they went into partnership with the Krebs Company of Paris and Berlin to develop a new cell, which was based on lessons learned. This was marketed worldwide as the Krebs-Staveley cell. This installation lasted into the late 1950s when the cellroom at Staveley was replaced with German-made mercury cells.
In 1960 the Staveley Iron and Chemical Company, which had been taken over by Stewarts & Lloyds Limited
Stewarts & Lloyds
Stewarts & Lloyds was a steel tube manufacturer with its headquarters based at Corby, Northamptonshire, England. The company was created in 1903 by the amalgamation of two of the largest iron and steel makers in Britain, A. & J. Stewart & Menzies Ltd, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland and...
was merged with the Ilkeston-based Stanton Iron Works to form Stanton and Staveley Ltd. In 1967 Stewarts and Lloyds became part of the nationalised British Steel Corporation, Stanton and Staveley also being incorporated.
By 1980 BSC sold off sections of the site as they divested themselves of non-core activities and by 2007 most of the former works at Staveley has been shut down and cleared.
The former Chesterfield MP Eric Varley
Eric Varley
Eric Graham Varley, Baron Varley, PC was an English politician and former Cabinet Minister on the right wing of the Labour Party....
was an apprentice with the company in leaving school before he became a trade union man and then latter became Chairman of another local firm Coalite
Coalite
Coalite is a brand of low-temperature coke used as a smokeless fuel. The title refers to the residue left behind when coal is carbonised at 640 degrees Celsius. It was invented by Thomas Parker in 1904. In 1936 the Smoke Abatement Society awarded its inventor a posthumous gold medal.Coalite is...
.
Footnotes
- Duke of Portland papers - related to coal leases (Derbyshire & Notts area)
- Photographs of the Last Remaining parts of the Staveley Coal and Iron Company