Copies of records of the Stanton Ironworks Co. Ltd and the Staveley Coal and Iron Co. Ltd, 1863-1939

This material is held atUniversity of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 159 St
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1863-1939
  • Language of Material
    • English.
  • Physical Description
    • 1 box, 16 volumes

Scope and Content

The copies cover records for the period 1863-1939 and include summaries of shares and annual balance sheets for both companies. The series of minute books are for the Staveley works only.

Administrative / Biographical History

Stanton-by-Dale and Staveley are two villages near Ilkeston, Derbyshire in an area rich in ironstone.

In the 1780s, quarrying began and ironworks were set up on Stanton Moor between the villages of Stanton-by-Dale and Dale Abbey by Charles, the third Earl Stanhope.

The first blast furnace plant at Stanton was completed and prepared for use in 1846 and this was followed by further furnaces constructed to meet the demands of the boom in the iron and coal trade. Production at Stanton increased from 500 tons of pig iron a month in the mid nineteenth century to 7,000 tons at the close of the century. Iron pipe manufacture began at Stanton in 1919 and concrete pipe production followed a year later. The Stanton Company acquired the share capital of Holwell Iron Co. Ltd near Melton Mowbray in 1918, the Oakwell Red and Blue Brick Co. Ltd near Ilkeston in 1919, Riddings Ironworks near Alfreton in 1920, and the Wellingborough Iron Co. Ltd in 1932 as well as the blast furnace and pipe foundry businesses of several other conglomerates. The Stanton Company merged with Stewarts and Lloyds Ltd, pipe manufacturers in 1939.

Quarrying for iron ore took place on the Duke of Devonshire's land at Staveley from the 17th century and an iron foundry and furnace was established there.

The Staveley Coal and Iron Company became a public limited company in 1863-1864 at a time when the ironworks was producing 20,000 tons of iron castings per year. Charles Markham (1823-1888) took over as managing director and chief engineer in 1863 overseeing a massive expansion in the company, particularly in iron pipe production and coal mining. His elder son, Charles Paxton Markham held the chairmanship from 1894 to 1926 with cast iron production increasing from 700,000 tons a year at the start of his tenure to 2.5 million tons by 1905. The coal industry was nationalised in 1946 and the Staveley Iron and Chemical Company was sold to Stewarts and Lloyds Ltd for six million pounds in 1960.

Arrangement

Material is arranged according to form (e.g. minutes, accounts) and further sub divided as necessary. Documents are listed chronologically within sections.

Access Information

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers.

REPROGRAPHIC: Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on copyright status and the condition of the documents.

Other Finding Aids

NOTE: Copyright on all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.

  • In the reading room of The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections: Typescript Catalogue to bundle level, 4 pp
  • At the National Register of Archives, London: Typescript Catalogue to bundle level, 4 pp

Separated Material

Conditions Governing Use

COPYRIGHT: Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but this can be difficult and the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishing to publish.

LANGUAGE: English

Custodial History

Copies of key records, made in the 1970s in connection with the writing of the firm's history, were given to The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts by a member of the University's academic staff in 1980. Since that time, the surviving archives of the Stanton and Staveley Ironworks have been transferred to Derbyshire Record Office.

Related Material

  • Corus Colors Regional Record Centre: private minutes of Stanton Ironworks Co. Ltd, iron manufacturers and colliery proprietors, 1921-1942
  • Derbyshire Record Office: minutes, reports, share records, accounts, financial papers, legal papers and personnel records of Stanton Ironworks Co Ltd and Staveley Coal and Iron Co. Ltd, 1841-1962; records of Stanton and Staveley Ltd of Nottingham, 1961-1977; and records of Stanton and Staveley Exports Ltd of London, 1975-1981. D3808
  • Nottinghamshire Archives: staff and production records of Stanton Ironworks Co Ltd, iron manufacturers and colliery proprietors, 1889-1952. NCB 11
  • Sheffield Archives: miscellaneous records of Staveley Coal and Iron Co Ltd, 1690-1901. SIR 1-32

Bibliography

  • Stanley Chapman, Stanton and Staveley: a business history (Woodhead-Faulkner; Cambridge, 1980)

Geographical Names