Sir B. Samuelson and Co
of Newport Ironworks and Britannia Ironworks
1853 After meeting John Vaughan, Bernhard Samuelson established 3 blast furnaces at the Southbank Ironworks, Eston with capacity of 200 tons per week each (his first works on Teeside)[1]; also described as Clay Lane Works, Middlesbrough[2]
1863 Samuelson sold Southbank ironworks to Major Elwon; immediately he acquired 60 acres of land at Newport (west of Middlesbrough) and erected more extensive premises, with 4 furnaces, the beginnings of the Newport Iron Works.
1865 Bernhard Samuelson owned blast furnaces in the North East[3]. He studied the construction of blast furnaces, and resolved to enlarge their cubic capacity at the expense of their height.
1866 See 1866 Cleveland Blast Furnaces for detail of furnaces.
1868 A 5th furnace was added at Newport Iron Works
1869 Two new furnaces were being built at Middlesbrough for making pig iron[4]
1869 After experiments on making steel, helped by Richard Howson, Samuelson leased the North Yorkshire Ironworks at South Stockton to make steel rails, plates, etc but this was not successful and the works reverted to making finished iron.
1870 3 more furnaces built at Newport, with increased unit capacity. Opened ironstone mines near Guisborough.
Erected c.200 by-product ovens to make coke close to the Newport furnaces where it was needed.
1871 Built the Britannia Ironworks, Middlesbrough to manufacture iron rails.
c.1874 Britannia Ironworks was sold to a private company (presumably Skerne Iron Works Co).
1887 Incorporated as a private company.
1888 The mining company Sir B. Samuelson and Co (Durham) was launched with capital of £275,000[5]
1895 Sir Bernhard left the chairmanship and was succeeded Francis A. E. Samuelson
1896 Began production of by-products from the coke ovens
1900 (or maybe 1879) Bolckow, Vaughan and Co acquired the Clay Lane Works of Sir Bernhard Samuelson[6]
1903 Sir Bernhard Samuelson and Co ordered a large steam blowing engine from C. A. Parsons and Co, thus becoming the first firm in the Cleveland district to adopt this new type of blowing engine. "The new plant will consist of a steam turbine driving an air turbine, and will run at a speed of about 3000 revolutions per minute. It will be capable of maintaining a normal air pressure of 121b. per square inch when blowing 16,000 cubic feet of air per minute, and will be provided with a steam by-pass valve to enable the blast pressure to be increased to 15 lb. when required." [7]
1905 On Bernhard Samuelson's death, the company was continued by his son Francis and Thomas F. Ward.
1905 The blast furnaces were producing about 300,000 tons of pig iron annually, and the by-products from the coke ovens averaged about 270,000 tons of coke, 12,000 tons of tar, 3500 of sulphate of ammonia, and 150,000 gallons of crude naphtha.
1914 Ironmasters. Manufacturer iron under the brands "BS Newport", "BS Hematite". [8].
1913 Arrangement made to supply gas to Middlesbrough Corporation[9]; ordered regenerative coke ovens from Otto Coke Oven Co of Leeds.
1918 Dorman, Long and Co acquired Sir B. Samuelson and Co[10]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Engineer 1905/05/12
- ↑ The Times, Dec 18, 1930
- ↑ The Times Mar 20, 1865
- ↑ The Times, Apr 05, 1869
- ↑ The Times, Jan 14, 1888
- ↑ The Times, Dec 18, 1930
- ↑ The Engineer 1903/03/20 p 302.
- ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
- ↑ The Times, Aug 20, 1913
- ↑ The Times, May 09, 1918
- Obituary of Bernhard Samuelson The Engineer 1905/05/12