East Midlands

Ian Godson Ian Godson [godson@ntlworld.com] writes:-

Fifteen intrepid members of the East Midlands branch of CERSA, with their enquiring minds, visited Rotherham’s Magna Science Adventure Centre on 11 October.

Before plunging into the Stygian darkness of the defunct Templeborough steelworks, our guide Bob, who had spent his working life selling special steels, (e.g. for spark plugs to the world’s automotive industry) gave us a brief history of steel making on the site. Needless to say, once on our tour, he blinded us with science.

Would you believe that iron making started with the Romans on that very site? The steel works was built over the Roman fort near Dead Man's Hollow. After the Romans went home to Italy, there was a break of 800 years before it re-started. The present steel works was built in 1917, is 160 feet high, and a third of a mile long. It was originally set up by two Sheffield bookies, Steel & Peech – wonder how they came by their money to invest?
Templeborough Steelworks
The history of steel and iron-making was explained in terms that meant we understood most of it, but the statistics were incredible. Steel, Peech and Tozer's massive Templeborough steelworks was, at its peak, over a mile long, employing 10,000 workers, and housing six electric arc furnaces producing 1.8 million tonnes of steel a year. The company became a major force in the production of steel in Britain. The plant was greatly expanded with cogging mills, rail mills and plants for the manufacture of steel springs and railway axles. In earlier days, the Bessemer converters were replaced by three open hearth furnaces by 1897. The existing building, built in 1917, was modified in the 1960's and became in the 1970's, the largest foundry in Europe. The electricity used by the six electric arc furnaces would have supported a town the size of Rochdale. It closed in 1993. The history of the Templeborough Steelworks can be found at Steel Town - Steel, Peech and Tozer - Templeborough Steel Works.

The Transformation

The design of the new Magna makes full use of two massive 350 metres long, 35 metres tall bays that form the main cathedral-like shed, the interior of which is an awe-inspiring space with a scale only hinted at by the exterior. Pin holes in the cladding allow shafts of light to penetrate deep in to the dark interior. The enormous nine-storey high transverse aisles form a striking entrance to the attraction, whilst inside artefacts from the original steel making process have been retained as evocative sculptures from the past. Only the old scrap delivery bays, on the north side of the building, have been demolished. The main building has been retained, its steel structure displaying a patina of rust, heat and scorch marks, reminiscent of its past life. Within the building, the original artefacts sit amongst the individually themed pavilions: earth, air, fire and water, each incorporating spectacular special effects, using the latest technology, to explore the four elements and the basic components of the steelmaking process. Lightweight walkways and bridges connect the exhibits horizontally with minimum intervention, whilst vertical access is provided via the refurbished transformer building. The car park features the 'skeleton' of retained steel uprights of the crane rail supports and elements of the building's past, offering a dramatic three-dimensional backdrop to the sheer bulk of the main building. The new north elevation has been clad in profiled steel, matching the retained, black painted, cladding of the old building. The steelwork of the existing crane rails and hoppers is exposed. The Big Melt, ( http://www.visitmagna.co.uk/content/59/the-big-melt) is undoubtedly one of Magna's most breathtaking features. Heard and seen from almost every part of the building, the show is set around 'E' furnace, one of the original electric arc furnaces, unused since the days of Sheffield's booming steel industry.In a pyrotechnic and audio display powerful enough to shake everything underfoot and overhead, the steel making process is perfectly re-created (except for hundreds of tons of molten steel, and of course the melting temperatures!)
Templeborough Steel Works

The Templeborough Melting Shop, once described as 'the Anvil of South Yorkshire', was built during the early months of the First World War by Steel, Peech & Tozer to meet the demand for steel suitable for shells. It was the largest melting shop of its type in Europe. The structure was nine storeys high, with the main building formed of two 350m long bays containing 14 open hearth furnaces. Here scrap steel from many sources was melted down. Much of the steel needed in both world wars was produced here. World War Two saw steel production at Templeborough for shells, tanks and wheels increase to such an extent that it became a prime target for the Luftwaffe in the North of England. By the 1950s, Templeborough's open hearth furnaces were out of date and the United Steels Company, of which SPT had become a part in 1918, replaced them with electric arc furnaces. At its height in the 1950s, the plant employed more than 10,000 people as part of the SPT empire, which included Templeborough, Ickles and Brinsworth. SPEAR (Steel Peech Electric Arc Reorganization) introduced brand new technology and Templeborough thrived as the world's largest electric arc steel making plant providing steel for the railways and motor industry. The nationalisation of the steel industry in 1967 saw SPEAR become part of the British Steel Corporation's Rotherham Division. In the early 1980s, the plant enjoyed a brief revival when a continuous casting machine was introduced producing quality engineering steel, but the doors were finally closed in 1993.

After an amazing morning, lunch was taken, and then some of us visited the interactive pavilions - air, earth, fire & water - within the huge building. Mike & Pat Patten were found discussing how much water they each used in the course of a day. (It apparently depended on who washed up, how often, how many showers/baths each had, etc, etc.). I was able to achieve a lifelong, but minor ambition, by driving a JCB digger in the “Earth” pavilion. All in all, a most interesting day, learning what put the Great in Great Britain! Thanks are due to Irene & Ralph Chapman, who provided some of the pictures and organised everything for us.

Carol and Roger obviously had a word as the weather was suberb ... even down to the cooling "sprinkle" on the return leg. The trip was out from Stoke Golding to The Lime Kiln ? Inn for Lunch .. preordered as we past on our way to the turnaround. The pictures I hope give a flavour of another excellent "cruise"!