South Durham Steel and Iron Company Limited Collection

BS/SDS/1. Corporate Records
BS/SDS/2. Share Records
BS/SDS/3. Administration Records
BS/SDS/4. Financial and Accounting Records
BS/SDS/5. Legal Records
BS/SDS/6. Operational Records
BS/SDS/7. Marketing and PR Records
BS/SDS/8. Staff and Employment Records
BS/SDS/9. Property Records

South Durham Steel and Iron Company, incorporated 29th December 1898, formed by William C. Gray for the purpose of amalgamating Moor Steel and Iron Works, Stockton Malleable Iron Works and West Hartlepool Steel and Iron Works. Output for the first year in operation was 284,520 tons of variety of finished products: steel plates, iron plates, iron angles and bars, steel angles and bars, and steel sheets.

In March 1900 South Durham became a public company with £850,000 of capital, £250,000 of which being ordinary shares. The first meeting of the shareholders was held in the same year. The company's first Directors were Sir Christopher Furness, William Cresswell Gray, E. Lloyd Pease and James Stothart, with C.J. Bagley, vastly experienced in the iron and steel trades, as Managing Director.

In 1901 one of the principal proprietors of Cargo Fleet Iron Company died and control passed to the Weardale Steel Coal and Coke Company which became owners of the whole of the capital for £120,000. Discussions between the Directors of South Durham and Weardale (some of whom overlapped) resulted in a proposal for a merger effected by means of an exchange of shares. Realising the advantageous position of Cargo Fleet Works, with its large river frontage and close proximity to ironstone, South Durham engaged in what was to be the first of many programmes of redevelopment and expansion. The old blast furnaces were demolished and a modern integrated works with coke ovens, blast furnaces, steel plant and rolling mills emerged. The wharf on the river frontage was also extended. An Expert Committee was set up in 1903 to consider developments and strategies within the company, one of which was to pursue an aggressive policy in the rail trade that undercut competitors significantly by charging less than the price operated by the International Rail Makers Association.

In 1904 Benjamin Talbot, possessing extensive knowledge of the steel industry and a pioneer of new processes, joined South Durham and Cargo Fleet as a Director. The West Hartlepool and Cargo Fleet sites later adopting his Talbot Process. 1910 saw William Cresswell Gray retire from the board in what was to be a decade characterised by significant boardroom changes. The death of Lord Furness (1912) saw Sir Stephen Wilson Furness, nephew of Lord Furness and Director at South Durham since 1906, succeed him as Chairman until his own death in 1914. John Edwin Rogerson then took over the role and was succeeded in 1917 by Viscount Furness. Changes in the Managing Directorship of the company also occurred; Benjamin Talbot succeeding C.J. Bagley in 1919. During World War 1, the company devoted much of its output to the war effort, producing a large amount of steel for shell casings. This period also saw South Durham purchase Cochranes and Co. Ltd. (1918).

The following decade started badly for the Company with coalfield unrest resulting in part of the works shutting down in 1920 and 1921. Benjamin Talbot was appointed Vice Chairman following the death of John Edwin Rogerson in 1925. The same year a proposal for development of a pipe works at the Malleable Works, Stockton was made, and despite the General Strike of 1926 bringing severe difficulties, the project reached fruition and the first pipe supplied. In 1928 the complete fusion of South Durham and Cargo Fleet's interests was completed, with the combined capital of the two companies being £2,230,500 with the capacity of 540,000 tons of finished steel products.

Calls for rationalisation of the industry led to proposals for a closer working relationship with Dorman Long and Co. Ltd. However, South Durham felt such a move would not be materially beneficial given the continued import of foreign products. The introduction of import duties on iron and steel in 1932 temporarily offered the prospect of improving fortunes. Discussions with Dorman Long resumed, and a complete amalgamation was agreed by the boards of the two groups. The proposed move, however, was unpopular amongst some debenture stockholders and shareholders of South Durham. Strong local sentiment emerged in West Hartlepool with concern expressed that such a merger would be Middlesbrough centric. Furthermore, Dorman Long had suffered acute financial difficulties due to fluctuations in the trade and losses caused by unfavourable exchange rates on transfer of payments for the Sydney Harbour Bridge contract. Calls even being made for the appointment of a receiver for the stricken Dorman Long. In light of such conditions, the merger was never completed.

The years leading up to and during the Second World War were characterised by an increased demand for steel and perhaps more so by significant changes within the company. These changes began in 1940, with the death of Viscount Furness seeing the Chairmanship pass to Benjamin Talbot until his own death in 1947. J.H. Bacon Forster (1948-1950) then succeeded Talbot, before Benjamin Chetwynd Talbot, the son of Benjamin Talbot, took over the role in 1950 until his death in 1966.

In line with the rest of the industry, South Durham underwent a brief period of nationalisation at the beginning of the 1950s, with, the company becoming part of the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain. However, nationalisation lasted just ten months following a change of government in October 1951. The company was then transferred to the Iron and Steel Holding and Realisation Agency and in 1956 it was made available for public purchase. By this time the company had undergone substantial reorganisation, with Cargo Fleet and the other subsidiaries ceasing to trade in 1953 with their undertakings and assets becoming directly owned and operated by South Durham, although the name was retained for trading purposes. Benjamin Chetwynd Talbot offered the business for sale to the public and this was readily accepted, the 8 million of £1 ordinary shares at 27s.6d had been heavily oversubscribed and £3m of 5¼% debenture stock fully taken up. B.C. Talbot sanctioned further development of the company's works during the 1960s, with the opening of a new integrated steel works at Greatham, a Universal Beam Mill at the Cargo Fleet Works and by modernising the Pipe Department, including the establishment of a new welded pipe plant at the South Works.

With nationalisation looming again in the late 1960s, South Durham proposed a merger with Stewart and Lloyd's of Sheffield, which was looking to build a new tube plant and have access to steel producers. The proposed merger and formation of the British Steel and Tube Limited that would allow for the resource pooling favoured by the nationalisation framework was announced in 1966 and the necessary court sanction obtained in June 1967.

(Source: W.G. Willis 'A History of South Durham Steel and Iron Company' (1969); The Times; E. Green 'Dorman Long at a Crossroads', CTLHS, 49, 1985; Times Magazine 1966)