Paul's point about coal is correct but in that case St Helens should have
continued as the place for working the Le Blanc process but land became
available in Widnes due to the merger of the canal company and the railway
company so there was more room for expansion( and for dumping the waste
which was a major factor in operating the Le Blanc process).So salt from
Cheshire and Coal from St Helens came together in Widnes. Some of the early
workers in the industry in Widnes in fact commuted to Widnes by train to
work each day from St Helens and St Helens continued to have Le Blanc
plants e.g those of Gamble, and of Kurtz.
Trans Hist Soc Lancs and Ches 134(1984) pp98-116 Widnes and the early
chemical industry F.J .Williams describes the changing employment
opprtunities in Widnes. In a further paper Vol 141(1992) p289-304 The
Emergence of supervisory elites in the 19th century chemical industry in
Widnes expands ion his earlier study.To return to Sulphuric acid, I started
my working life on West Bank in Widnes in 1954, while the last lead
chambers in the area were still being used, pending the completion of the
United Sulphuric Acid Company's plant in Widnes.
Tom Jackson Silloth Cumbria
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