CHEMICALS

 

See Also: MURDERS Arsenic Poisoning; PHARMACEUTICALS; RED GLARE, BURSTING IN THE AIR; THE WHITBY TRADE

 

Explosives

The Silvertown Explosion

Brunner Mond manufactured caustic soda; opened in 1893. The War Office took over part of the factory to purify raw T.N.T. in. A fire broke out in the melt pot room got out of control. 50 tons of T.N.T. were waiting to be taken off site. The buildings it destroyed included the local fire station.

19 January 1917 50 tons of T.N.T. exploded in Silvertown. 73 people in Poplar were killed. The Savoy Hotel's windows were blown out.

A gasometer the other side of the Thames was caught by debris and exploded.

Location: North Woolwich Road, c.E16 2BE. Close to the junction with Mill Road.

 

Gunpowder

Willow trees were used in the manufacture of gunpowder.

The Royal Navy was the principal recipient of the gunpowder.

Hounslow Gunpowder Mills

King Henry VIII started the manufacture of gunpowder on Hounslow Heath.

By the 1920s there were 90 buildings on the site. They were largely made of wood and canvas to guard against excessive loss of life in a blast.

In the late 1920s the site's gunpowder licence was removed.

The shot tower survives.

Location: Crane Park, Mill Road, TW2 5HA

Website: www.twickenham-museum.org.uk

Royal Gunpowder Mills

Location: The Royal Gunpowder Mills, Beaulieu Drive, Waltham Abbey, EN9 1JY

Website: www.royalgunpowdermills.com

 

I.C.I.

I.C.I. s history meant that it was active both in the commodity bulk chemicals sector and the specialist chemicals business. The former was highly cyclical while the latter was more profitable. In 1987 Sir Denys Henderson (1934-2016) was appointed to be the company's chairman. Following review, he decided to break up the business so that its more profitable operations could flourish. John Mayo, a Warburgs banker, was brought in to furnish a degree of objectivity. In 1993 the pharma and biosciences operations were placed in Zeneca, while chemicals and paints were retained in I.C.I.. In 1999 the former merged with Astra of Sweden. The latter was broken up, the paints business being acquired by AkzoNobel of The Netherlands in 2007. Many of its commodity chemicals business were acquired by INEOS.

Location: Imperial Chemical House, 9 Millbank, SW1P 3HX (blue, red)

 

Linoleum

In 1860 Frederick Walton (1834-1928) acquired a house and workshop in Chiswick. He noticed that a film collected on the surface of paint when it stood in tins. Before it took off as a floor covering, he thought that it might have potential as a material for insulating sub-maritime telegraphic cables. This was lino. He submitted his full patent in 1863. The following year the business moved to larger premises in Staines.

Location: British Grove, Chiswick, W4 2NL

 

Liquid Crystal Displays

The Ministry of Defence disliked the cost of cathode ray tubes. Therefore, the Ministry of Technology, which was headed by John Stonehouse, indicated that it wanted a flat-screen technology to be developed. George Gray (1926-2013) of Hull University appreciated the potential of liquid crystals. He synthesised the chemicals that enabled liquid crystal displays to work.

Location: The Ministry of Technology, 21-41 Millbank, SW1P 4QP (orange, red)

 

Liquid Crystal Displays

The Ministry of Defence disliked the cost of cathode ray tubes. Therefore, the Ministry of Technology, which was headed by John Stonehouse, indicated that it wanted a flat-screen technology to be developed. George Gray (1926-2013) of Hull University appreciated the potential of liquid crystals. He synthesised the chemicals that enabled liquid crystal displays to work.

Location: The Ministry of Technology, 21-41 Millbank, SW1P 4QP (orange, red)

 

William Perkins

In 1856 William Perkin (1838-1907) discovered the first aniline dye in his home laboratory.

Location: Gosling House, Cable Street, E1 0DR (purple, yellow)

Oldfield Lane, Greenford, UB6 8QE. South of The Black Horse pub. Canalside-factory.

 

Plastic

Alexander Parks created Parksine, a form of celluloid that he sought to use as a substitute for ivory, bone, tortoiseshell, etc.. It was the first plastic. He had a factory in Hackney Wick. The business went bankrupt in 1868. Its assets were acquired by Daniel Spills, who ran a waterproofing business that located in a neighbouring factory. He changed the material's name to Xylonite. This business failed. Spills established a new factory in Homerton.

Spill had hopes that the material might be used to insulate sub-maritime telegraphic cables. Its big breakthrough was when it was used to make washable cuffs and collars. It went on to be used to manufacture a range of items. For a period, the business was the world s largest manufacturer of ping-pong balls.

Location: Parkesine Works, Berkshire Road (formerly Windsor Road), Hackney Wick, c.E9 5NN

British Xylonite, 124 Homerton High Street, E9 6JA

 

The Salters' Company

The goods that dry salters dealt in included chemicals.

Location: 4 London Wall, Fore Street, EC2Y 5DE (orange, red)

See Also: THE GREAT TWELVE COMPANIES

Website: https://salters.co.uk

David Backhouse 2024