Iron and Steel
Iron-making has been known in Cleveland since the Romans found iron slags in North Yorkshire, with small-scale iron-making known to have taken place at Rievaulx and Whitby Abbeys and at Gisborough Priory in the 17th century.
Some of the key events connected with iron-making in Cleveland:
1837: The first Cleveland ironstone mine opens, at Grosmont, for the Losh, Wilson and Bell ironworks.
1841: Bolckow and Vaughan open the first ironworks in Middlesbrough.
1850: 8 June - The Discovery of the Cleveland Main Seam of Ironstone at Eston by Ironmaster John Vaughan and mining engineer John Marley both of Bolckow & Vaughan. The Cleveland iron rush begins.
1855: 30 blast furnaces operate within six miles (10 km) of Middlesbrough.
1865: One million tonnes per annum (TPA) of iron are produced to make the area one of the world's major centres of iron production.
1875: Number of blast furnaces increases to 100, producing two million TPA.
1879: Sidney Gilchrist Thomas arrives in Cleveland and introduces the first commercial steel.
1901: Partial amalgamation of Bell companies with Dorman Long.
1902: The first integrated steelworks, involving conversion of iron ore to finished rolled steel shapes, is built at Cargo Fleet.
1917: The Redcar steel plant is opened, making steel in the 'open hearth' process.
1918: Cleveland Works opens.
1924: Dorman Long wins the contract to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
1928-9: Dorman Long takes over residues of Bell and Bolckow Vaughan.
1946: Dorman Long purchases 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land between the Redcar and Cleveland Works to build the Lackenby development.
1967: Dorman Long, South Durham Steel Iron Co, and Stewarts and Lloyds come together to create British Steel and Tube Ltd.
1967: The steel industry is nationalised and the British Steel Corporation is born.
1973: The existing Redcar Ironworks site development begins.
1979: The number of blast furnaces drops to one - producing 3.3 million TPA.
1989: Company is privatised becoming British Steel plc.
1990: Merged with The Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company, Darlington.
1999: British Steel merges with the Dutch steel and aluminium company Koninklijke Hoogovens to become Corus Group.
2000: Dorman Long Technology Ltd formed as an independent company as part of a management buy out of Cleveland Bridge in August 2000.
Read more about this topic: Dorman Long
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