Aldwarke Junction - Industry in The Area

Industry in The Area

The junction is sited within a heavy industrial area. Although the coal mines (Aldwarke and Roundwood collieries were adjacent to the junction) have closed, the last in 1964, the Parkgate Iron and Steel Company invested heavily in the mid-1960s in the development of a new site alongside the GC with rail access. Nowadays the site is owned by Corus and comprises not just the Aldwarke (new site) melting and steel processing but was developed further with the opening of the Thrybergh Bar Mill in 1976. At the north end of the junction, adjacent to the North Midland line, and rail connected to it, is situated the just post-war, and now closed, Roundwood Rolling Mill (commonly known because of the size of the mill as the "11 inch mill"). However, the former blast furnace and open hearth steel melting plant to the rear of Parkgate and Rawmarsh station are gone, replaced by large retail parks. The road names, however, reflect the railway theme, although most not from the railways of this area. (Note: The nearby "Great Eastern Way" is, in fact, named after the Isambard Kingdom Brunel ship of the same name; the metal plates for its construction being produced at the Parkgate Iron and Steel Company).