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John Hutchinson's No 1 Works
The remains of Hutchinson's No.1 Works.
These broken arches of brickwork mark the site of the factory with which John Hutchinson, in 1847 founded the Widnes chemical industry. The arches are said to have supported vitriol chambers and also to have been used as a storage place for Pyrites. It was at the factory on this site that Ludwig Mond, in 1863-72, developed the first successful process for the recovery of sulphur from alkali waste, thus partially solving one of the great problems of the nineteenth-century soda industry.
Weldon Chlorine Still bases
Remains of the Weldon Chlorine Still bases, 1940's-2026.
Acid Condensing Towers, 1864.
The 8 Gay Lussac Tower's, Widnes, 1864.
These are made with lead walls, with a “ turned-up ”lead bottom, packed with coke, etc., and the lower part lined with blue bricks without mortar. It is built up in brickwork, is 4-10 ft. wide and 30-50 ft. high.
These Yorkshire stone bases are the remains of John Hutchinson's condensing towers, used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, 1864.
The wages and conditions of an alkali worker in Widnes, 1890.
Bleaching powder work was especially well paid, reflecting the risks which these workers took. Most firms worked a two twelve-hour shift, though the night shift was sometimes lengthened and the day shift shortened.
The attempt to introduce three eight-hour shifts often met with opposition from two directions; the men saw a decrease in their wages, and their wives (backed by the foremen) feared the results of more free time for drinking.
Nevertheless, the change from a twelve-hour to an eight-hour shift at Brunner Mond reduced the number of men attended by the works doctor to one half its previous level.
The Nature of the Early Chemical Industry on Merseyside.
The early chemical industry was founded on the synthetic production of soda from common salt by a method first devised in 1787 by the French physician Nicholas Leblanc. This involved the reaction of sulphuric acid with salt to produce 'salt-cake' (sodium sulphate), which was then heated together with coal and limestone to produce soda ash Unfortunately the production of this 'black ash' soda was extremely wasteful of raw materials In 1856 the Widnes chemical trade consumed 50.000 tons of salt. 40.000 tons of pyrites (sulphur ore) and 60.000 tons of limestone in order to produce 30.000 tons of soda ash. 1.500 tons of bicarbonate of soda. 3.000 tons of soda crystals, and 1.500 tons of bleaching powder. Consequently, 66% of the original raw materials ended up as waste products to be dumped in great heaps (calcium sulphide) or emitted into the atmosphere as clouds of choking hydrogen chloride These wastes produced new and distinctive landscapes in the vicinity of alkali works and were to provoke serious complaint from farmers and landowners suffering from the original 'acid rain'. The alkali industry thus involved the use of bulky raw materials and employed a manufacturing process which inevitably led to widespread environmental pollution.
"the cheapness with which alkali can be manufactured depend on the locality. Four elements enter into the composition of alkali — salt, pyrites, coal and limestone and chalk. There are very few localities in which these several products are found in close proximity." (H. Vivian MP — debate in House of Commons on Alkali Bill, 1863)
A Widnes Chemical Works, 1897.
Hutchinson's No 1 works with the reservoir on the right c1900's
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