Bridging the World
By 1900 Teesside was producing a quarter of Britain’s steel.
Teesside’s ironworks were famous for building steel bridges. These included the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Tyne Bridge and the Tees (Newport) Bridge, all of which are still being used today.
Spectacular solution
At first, steel made from Cleveland’s ironstone was too brittle to be useful. Like much of the ironstone found across Europe, it contained too much phosphorus (the chemical used to make matches).
Chemist Sidney Gilchrist Thomas invented a way to remove the phosphorus in the 1870s, helped by his cousin Percy Gilchrist. This process significantly increased the world’s ability to produce steel.
What is in this case?
- Patterns These wooden patterns were used to cast a bronze plaque that tells the story of steelmaking in Skinningrove. They were made by Mr C Gorman, a pattern maker at Skinningrove Steelworks to commemorate the company’s centenary in 1974.
- Steel Bar This is a piece of the first steel bar rolled at Cargo Fleet Iron Co. in Middlesbrough, on 25th July 1906. The site had been upgraded to become the most modern steelworks in Britain.
- Skinningrove steel 1991 In 1991, Mr Colin Bainbridge of Loftus was presented with this commemorative plaque made from a slice of steel.
- Skinningrove rail This is a piece of the first steel rail rolled at the Skinningrove Steelworks in January 1912. It was presented to Mr Richard Rutherford, the rolling mill manager.
- Dorman Long & Co railway truck label Wagons were used to transport ironstone. The railway wagons that carried stone to the ironworks were marked with paper labels. The tubs used underground needed more robust numbered metal tokens.
- Skinningrove Iron Company: a history Even though the first mine in Skinningrove opened in 1848, the valley did not have its own iron and steel works until 1874. The short-lived Lofthouse Iron Company reopened in 1880 as the Skinningrove Iron Company.