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Stanton Ironworks: A Local Issue Part.1

Apologises for an uninspiring lesson, I know that many of you had covered this work before, but we needed to draw it together for everyone.

We basically should have discovered the following points via our discussion and classification task.

So, what’s the issue with Stanton?

Mainly that for 161 years steel and iron products have been manufactured on mass in the area. There is evidence to suggest that smelting had taken place on a small-scale in the area since Roman times. Remember that this is an example of heavy industry or Secondary industry, which where a product is manufactured. Secondary products command higher values, because the process of manufacturing adds value to them.
Of course, a number of factors lead to the develop of industry in this area, including coal, used for energy,iron ore- a raw material, and the accessibility of the site, due good to railway and canal infrastructure, though you need to ask an Historian which came first!
There was also a market for the products, during both war and peace, the British Empire was a huge and guaranteed market, whilst Stanton during both World Wars provided steel for shell casings, gun barrels, and concrete for air-raid shelter components. I suppose where the name Stanton Shelter came from. (?) Steel from Stanton was also used in the London Underground and the Mersey Tunnel. Today, the core business of the site is specialist steel pipes.
At the height of its success Stanton employed over 7,000 people, it was one of the area’s biggest employers. Now fewer than three hundred people are employed on site.
The local area also changed because of Stanton, terrace houses were built to house the workers, many of these were demolished in the 1960’s, workers were rehoused in on a new estate called Kirk Hallam.
The Ironworks also had other impacts on the landscape, that can still be seen today, including the Nutbook Canal, that once served the site, the waste/sl*g heap and the vast, but somewhat empty area the site covers, now somewhat left to fallow. As we saw from the old images, in the past it was an imposing sight!

Stanton Ironworks is no longer British owned and is downsizing? But why, and what impact will this have on the local area?

It’s all about globalised trade, labour costs, multi-nationals, and negative multiplier effects.

I’m afraid I’m tired, so will finish this post tomorrow, I’ve also found a cheeky little link between the company which runs the present site and Iraq, I’ll leave you guessing.

I think you enjoyed the novelty map annotation at the end though! Good luck with the exam on Friday, you’ll do great!

I’d also be keen to hear from locals on their reaction to the downsizing and what impact they think it will have on the town. Feel free to leave a comment.

What about you students? Is this a local issue that is important to you?

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