Schneider, Hannay and Co
Owners of rich red haematite mines in Furness
1852 Formation of partnership between Henry William Schneider and Robert Hannay to continue the iron ore mines of Schneider and Co.
1858 Schneider, Hannay and Co bought land from the Furness Railway at Hindpool on which to build new furnaces
1859 The Ironworks of Schneider, Hannay and Co were established. With the setting up of the smelting plant at Hindpool the Furness Railway lost most of the shipment traffic in iron ore, as the bulk of this was now smelted locally, but this loss was more than offset by the pig iron and coke traffic which resulted from the establishment of Messrs. Schneider and Hannay's works [1]. This ensured the future prosperity of the railway.
The success of the enterprise was great.
1864 A limited company was formed which purchased and worked the mines together with the iron furnaces and steelworks at Barrow.
c.1864 It was decided to take up the manufacture of Bessemer steel, for which purpose a separate company was organised - the Barrow Haematite Steel Company, of which Mr. Smith was the manager, and also a shareholder in the very limited list of adventurers, as Bessemer steel had scarcely then established its reputation on an assured foundation.
1865 Barrow Hematite Steel Co erected premises alongside Schneider and Hannay's iron works which it then purchased. Ten blast furnaces gave an output of 5,000-5,500 tons a week - recognised as largest ironworks in world.
On the 1st January 1866, the Steel Company was enlarged, its capital was greatly increased, and it absorbed the mines and blast furnaces of Schneider, Hannay & Co.; the Duke of Devonshire was the chairman, and he, with the late Duke of Buccleuch, Mr. Schneider, and Mr. Hannay, were the principal shareholders. Almost at once the Company acquired a leading position in the steel trade.
1866 January 1st: Schneider, Hannay and Co ceased to exist as a separate entity.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Barrow Hematite Steel Company [2] Barrow Steel Web Site