Round Oak Steelworks

Round Oak Steelworks

The Round Oak Steelworks were an important steel production plant in Brierley Hill, West Midlands (formerly Staffordshire), England. It was founded by Lord Ward, later the Earl of Dudley in 1857 as an outlet for pig iron made in the nearby blast furnaces. During the Industrial Revolution, the majority of iron-making in the world was carried out within 32 kilometres of Round Oak. At their peak, thousands of people were employed at the works. The steelworks was the first in the United Kingdom to be converted to natural gas, which was supplied from the North Sea. [cite book|author=ProQuest Information and Learning Company|title=The Engineer|publisher=Morgan-Grampian|location=London]

In 1953, the steelworks was purchased by Tube Investments.cite book|author=Ronald Stanley Edwards|coauthors=Harry Townsend|title=Business enterprise: Its Growth and Organisation|year=1958|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York] In September 1966, the 3½ mile long railway between the steelworks and Baggeridge closed. [cite book|author=David St John Thomas|coauthors=J Allan Patmore|title=A regional history of the railways of Great Britain|year=1973|publisher=David & Charles|location=Newton Abbot|isbn=0715362089] By the 1970s, the factory's viability and profitability began to decline due a fall in demand for its products. It finally closed in December 1982 and brought high levels of unemployment to the local area. [cite book|author=W. G. M. Salet|coauthors=Anton Kreukels, Andy Thornley|title=Metropolitan Governance and Spatial Planning: Comparative Case Studies of European City-Regions|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=0415274486] Demolition work took place shortly afterwards.

The farmland which stood in the shadow of Round Oak Steelworks was designated by the Government as an Enterprise Zone in 1981.cite book|author=Patrick Keiller|title=Robinson in Space|year=1999|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=1861890281] Between 1985 and 1989 was developed as the Merry Hill Shopping Centre by Don and Roy Richardson. It brought thousands of jobs to the local area and spearheaded a region-wide transition from manufacturing to services as the key employer of local workers.

The first businesses did not move onto the steelworks site until 1990, when the Copthorne Hotel was opened. A former warehouse on the site has been converted into a pub, the Brewer's Wharf.

Despite the closure of the works in 1982, a steel terminal was opened on the adjacent railway in August 1986 and is still in use.

References

*cite book|author=Collie Knox|title=Steel at Brierley Hill : the story of Round Oak Steel Works, 1857-1957|year=1957|publisher=Newman Neame|location=Manchester


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Merry Hill Shopping Centre — Westfield Merry Hill Location Brierley Hill, Dudley, West Midlands, DY5 1QX, England Opening date 1985 Developer Richardson Developments …   Wikipedia

  • Brierley Hill — Coordinates: 52°28′46″N 2°07′28″W / 52.4795°N 2.1245°W / 52.4795; 2.1245 …   Wikipedia

  • Dudley Canal — The end of the No. 2 Line in 1987 Original owner Dudley Canal Company Date of act …   Wikipedia

  • Italy — /it l ee/, n. a republic in S Europe, comprising a peninsula S of the Alps, and Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, and other smaller islands: a kingdom 1870 1946. 57,534,088; 116,294 sq. mi. (301,200 sq. km). Cap.: Rome. Italian, Italia. * * * Italy… …   Universalium

  • Workington — For other uses, see Workington (disambiguation). Coordinates: 54°38′11″N 3°33′18″W / 54.6365°N 3.5549°W / 54.6365; 3.5549 …   Wikipedia

  • North America — North American. the northern continent of the Western Hemisphere, extending from Central America to the Arctic Ocean. Highest point, Mt. McKinley, 20,300 ft. (6187 m); lowest, Death Valley, 276 ft. (84 m) below sea level. 400,000,000 including… …   Universalium

  • Portugal — /pawr cheuh geuhl, pohr /; Port. /pawrdd too gahl /, n. a republic in SW Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, W of Spain. (Including the Azores and the Madeira Islands) 9,867,654; 35,414 sq. mi. (91,720 sq. km). Cap.: Lisbon. * * * Portugal… …   Universalium

  • Algeria — /al jear ee euh/, n. a republic in NW Africa: formerly comprised 13 departments of France; gained independence 1962. 29,830,370; 919,352 sq. mi. (2,381,122 sq. km). Cap.: Algiers. * * * Algeria Introduction Algeria Background: After a century of… …   Universalium

  • Ukraine — /yooh krayn , kruyn , yooh krayn/, n. a republic in SE Europe: rich agricultural and industrial region. 50,684,635; 223,090 sq. mi. (603,700 sq. km). Cap.: Kiev. Russian, Ukraina. Formerly, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. * * * Ukraine… …   Universalium

  • Poland — /poh leuhnd/, n. a republic in E central Europe, on the Baltic Sea. 38,700,291; ab. 121,000 sq. mi. (313,400 sq. km). Cap.: Warsaw. Polish, Polska. * * * Poland Introduction Poland Background: Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”