United Steel Companies
Encyclopedia
The United Steel Companies were a steel making, engineering, coal mining and coal by-product group based in South Yorkshire
and Lincolnshire
.
of Stocksbridge; Steel, Peech and Tozer
of Templeborough and Ickles in Rotherham; the Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company
of Scunthorpe; and the coal mining and by-products interests of Rother Vale Collieries
at Orgreave
, Treeton
and Thurcroft
.
Over the years other companies were added to the portfolio:
The Sheffield Coal Company
, owners of Birley Collieries
, Brookhouse
and North Staveley
collieries, was bought by the United Steel Companies in 1937. This also included coal by-product operations at Orgreave and Brookhouse, suppliers of Metallurgical Coke for Blast Furnaces.
The Kiveton Park Colliery Company
was taken over in 1944 with reserves from, amongst others, the Barnsley seam being an attractive proposition. The facilities also included coke and coal by-products (including gas). The colliery interests became part of the National Coal Board
at nationalisation. The coke ovens closed in 1956 and the colliery in 1984.
In 1945 the mining portfolio was increased with the purchase of the Shireoaks Colliery Company
, the colliery being just over the Nottinghamshire
border. As with all their collieries this became part of the National Coal Board in 1947.
The Yorkshire Engine Company
was bought by the United Steel Companies Limited in 1948. It was said there were two reasons for the purchase. With United Steels wanting new locomotives following the end of World War II
the opportunity arose to purchase the company at a good price and also a suggestion to centralise the engineering workshops which would serve their steelworks at Templeborough (Rotherham) and Stocksbridge. The works, at Meadowhall, closed in 1967.
The iron and steel works on nationalisation became part of British Steel Corporation and the mining interests passed to the National Coal Board
. The coal by-products plants came under the ownership of a subsidiary, The United Coke and Chemical Company.
Nowadays the steel interests at Rotherham, Scunthorpe and Stocksbridge are part of Tata Steel
and all the mining interests have been closed, the last, at Treeton
, in the 1990s.
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
and Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
.
History
The company was registered in 1918 and the following year saw a joining together of steel makers Samuel Fox and CompanySamuel Fox and Company
Samuel Fox and Company or "Fox's" is the commonly used name for the major steel complex built in the Upper Don Valley at Stocksbridge, near Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.- History :...
of Stocksbridge; Steel, Peech and Tozer
Steel, Peech and Tozer
Steel, Peech and Tozer was a large steel maker with works situated at Ickles and Templeborough, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.- History :...
of Templeborough and Ickles in Rotherham; the Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company
Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company
The Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company was formed in 1912 by a take over of the Appleby Ironworks by the Frodingham Ironworks. Both of these companies, located in villages near Scunthorpe, in North Lincolnshire, are amongst the areas oldest iron producers....
of Scunthorpe; and the coal mining and by-products interests of Rother Vale Collieries
Rother Vale Collieries
Rother Vale Collieries were a group of coal producing pits originally in the Rother Valley parishes of Treeton, Woodhouse and Orgreave, nowadays on the south east Sheffield / Rotherham boundary, in South Yorkshire, England...
at Orgreave
Orgreave Colliery
Orgreave Colliery was a coal mine situated adjacent to the main line of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railwayabout south east of Sheffield. The colliery is within the parish of Orgreave, from which it takes its name.- History :...
, Treeton
Treeton Colliery
Treeton Colliery was a coal mine situated in the village of Treeton, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.Work on the sinking of Treeton Colliery commenced, with all due ceremony, in October 1875...
and Thurcroft
Thurcroft Colliery
Thurcroft Colliery was a coal mine situated in the village of Thurcroft, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England.In 1902 the Rother Vale Colliery Company leased the rights to work coal from below the Thurcroft Estates which were owned by Messrs...
.
Over the years other companies were added to the portfolio:
The Sheffield Coal Company
Sheffield Coal Company
The Sheffield Coal Company was a colliery owning and coal selling company with its head office situated in South Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.- Formation :...
, owners of Birley Collieries
Birley Collieries
The Birley Collieries were a group of coal mines set in the Shire Brook Valley in south east Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They were connected to the railway system by a branch line from the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Woodhouse East Junction, about 800 yards east of...
, Brookhouse
Brookhouse Colliery
Brookhouse Colliery was a coal mine situated about 6 miles east of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.- History :To develop coal seams in the area the Sheffield Coal Company opened a new colliery between Swallownest and Beighton, at that time on the borders of Rotherham Rural District and...
and North Staveley
North Staveley Colliery
Aston Colliery was a small coal mine sunk on Aston Common, within Rotherham Rural District but six miles east of Sheffield in the 1840s. In 1864 its workings were taken over and developed by the North Staveley Colliery Company, part of the Staveley Coal and Iron Company, based in North Derbyshire.-...
collieries, was bought by the United Steel Companies in 1937. This also included coal by-product operations at Orgreave and Brookhouse, suppliers of Metallurgical Coke for Blast Furnaces.
The Kiveton Park Colliery Company
Kiveton Park Colliery
Kiveton Park Colliery was a coal mine in the village of Kiveton Park, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Until 1845 Kiveton was a rural village, the main work being in agriculture. In that year a railway was built through the district which connected Sheffield with Worksop, Retford and...
was taken over in 1944 with reserves from, amongst others, the Barnsley seam being an attractive proposition. The facilities also included coke and coal by-products (including gas). The colliery interests became part of the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
at nationalisation. The coke ovens closed in 1956 and the colliery in 1984.
In 1945 the mining portfolio was increased with the purchase of the Shireoaks Colliery Company
Shireoaks Colliery
Shireoaks Colliery was a coal mine situated on the edge of the village of Shireoaks, near Worksop in North Nottinghamshire, close by the Yorkshire border....
, the colliery being just over the Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
border. As with all their collieries this became part of the National Coal Board in 1947.
The Yorkshire Engine Company
Yorkshire Engine Company
The Yorkshire Engine Company was a small independent locomotive manufacturer in Sheffield, England. The Company was formed in 1865 and continued to produce locomotives and carry out general engineering work until 1965...
was bought by the United Steel Companies Limited in 1948. It was said there were two reasons for the purchase. With United Steels wanting new locomotives following the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the opportunity arose to purchase the company at a good price and also a suggestion to centralise the engineering workshops which would serve their steelworks at Templeborough (Rotherham) and Stocksbridge. The works, at Meadowhall, closed in 1967.
The iron and steel works on nationalisation became part of British Steel Corporation and the mining interests passed to the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
. The coal by-products plants came under the ownership of a subsidiary, The United Coke and Chemical Company.
Nowadays the steel interests at Rotherham, Scunthorpe and Stocksbridge are part of Tata Steel
Tata Steel Europe
Tata Steel Europe is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest steel-maker in Europe and is a subsidiary of Tata Steel of India, one of the ten largest steel producers in the world.Corus Group was formed through the merger of Koninklijke...
and all the mining interests have been closed, the last, at Treeton
Treeton
Treeton is a village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is located about south of the town of Rotherham and east of Sheffield City Centre.-History:...
, in the 1990s.