| Administrative History | Iron ore extraction took place in Stavely from at least the 17th century; a forge and furness was leased by George Sitwell of Renishaw Hall from Lord Frechville, the Lord of the Manor of Staveley. In the 1780s, Walter Mather leased the site, and in 1786, William Ward and Edward Lowe lit three blast furnaces there. On Mather's death in 1800, the business was inherited by his daughter, whose husband, George Hodgkinson Barrow of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, began managing the works. From 1811, when William Ward wound up his interest in the ironworks, George Hodgkinson Barrow became the sole proprietor. Over the next thirty years he built a second furnace in 1825 and also took the step of branching into the coal trade, leasing four collieries (Norbriggs New, Staveley Upper Ground, Handley Wood and Netherthorpe). In 1840 he leased the mineral rights in the Manor of Staveley from the Duke of Devonshire, who was then lord of the manor.
At around this time, his brother, Richard Barrow, took over the business. Richard Barrow further developed the ironworks, building two new furnaces. He also caused more pits to be sunk (Speedwell, Hopewell, Hollingwood, Springwell and Seymour) in the 1840s and 1850s. He worked hard to recruit professional, efficient managers and to establish a loyal workforce, which included the building of his own model community called Barrow Hill. All his developments led to large increases in output of iron and coal, which were regarded as a marvel of the age.
As a bachelor with no immediate heirs, Richard Barrow decided to convert his family's investment into a limited liability company with the assistance of a consortium of Manchester business men including the industrial chemist Henry Davis Pochin (1824-1895) and accountant David Chadwick (1821-1885). The Staveley Coal and Iron Company Limited was incorporated in 1863. Although Barrow was made first chairman of the company, his death not long afterwards meant that the direction of the company passed to Henry Davis Pochin.
In 1863, Charles Markham (1823-1888) was appointed managing director and chief engineer and the company saw a period of growth under his management, and after his death in 1888, George Bond (1840-1896). By 1894, when Charles Markham's son, Charles Paxton Markham (c1865-1926), became chairman, cast iron production was 700,000 tons per year. In the early 1900s, the company developed a revolutionary process for spinning iron pipes, and by 1905, total production was 2.5 million tons. Charles Paxton Markham also saw a modernising of the company's coal pits, the building of new furnaces in 1908 and a chemical plant, the Devonshire Chemical Works, in 1911-12, to take advantage of new processes to extract chemicals from coal and coke production. During the First World War, the company's modern collieries, furnaces, chemical works and pipe shops enabled the company to be extremely profitable. Shortly before his death, the company acquired Markham & Co, engine manufacturers, which had been bought by Charles Parker Markham in 1889.
After the death of Charles Parker Markham, the company continued to perform well, although competition from Stanton Ironworks impacted on pipe production. In 1946 the coal industry was nationalised, and in 1948, the Staveley Iron and Chemical Co was formed. This firm was subsequently nationalised under the Iron and Steel Act in 1951, and became part of the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain.
Following nationalisation, the shares of nationalised companies were taken over by the Iron and Steel Holding and Realisation Agency, and resold to private owners. The original directors opted not to buy the shares of the Staveley Iron and Chemical Co. The firm acquired W H Smith and Co, electrical engineers of Manchester in 1954. A year later, the Sheepbridge Coal and iron Co was transferred from the Holding and Realisation Agency to Staveley Iron and Chemical Co.
In 1960, the Holding and Realisation Agency sold Staveley Iron and Chemical Co to Stewarts and Lloyds, and it was merged with the Stanton Iron Works Co to form Stanton and Staveley. The name was changed to Staveley Industries by 1966, and in 1967 the nationalisation of the steel industry saw Stewarts and Lloyds, with its subsidiaries, become part of British Steel. |