Monument record 6302/1 - Corby Steelworks

Corby was dominated by Stewarts and Lloyds steelworks (which were nationalised to become part of the British Steel Corporation in 1967) between 1932 and 1979.

{1} The ironworks operated between 1910 and 1980.

{2} Smoke screen generators, 1942. During WWII the steelworks considered a prime target. To reduce the risk of attack, the works buildings were painted in camouflage colours and smoke screen generators, worked by paraffin, were set up in the area to create a smoke screen at the first sign of danger. Picture identifies these encircling the roundabout near the Open Hearth Pub.

{3} "the principle ammunition and armament components produced in the company". These include steel forgings, finished shells, shot, parts for spigot mortars, vehicle assemblies, cluster bombs, marine boiler parts, gun mountings, 1,000 miles for Operation 'Pluto', and many other parts.

{4} Corby was involved in the production of PLUTO (the pipeline under the ocean; there were two pipelines, one lead cased and one steel cased), manufacturing several miles of hardened steel pipeline.

{5} Page devoted to the manufacture of PLUTO by Stewarts and Lloyds of Corby now part of BSC.

{6} In 1910, Stewarts and Lloyds, the largest producer of steel pipes and tubes in the country began to look at areas where the mining of ironstone and production of iron and steel could be integrated at a single site. It was not until 1927 that Corby was put forward, but by 1933 site clearance had begun. Initially, there was little accommodation for the thousands of men who flooded into the area for work and, apparently, some were reduced to sleeping in hedgerows. By the end of the 1930s significant numbers of houses had been built, the first in Bessemer Grove.

{7}{8} A steel tube some 30ft (9m) high representing the Corby Candle, the exhaust pipe used to burn off waste gases, has been placed at the side of the road near the centre of the site of the former steelworks.

{11} Promotional video for Stewart & Lloyd's Iron & Steel Company (also providing a brief history of the industry).

<1> STARMER G., List of Industrial Sites in Northamptonshire (Various, Including N.R.I.M.), (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN1444.

<2> Hill P., 1998, Corby: The Second Selection, p.89 (unchecked) (Book). SNN104592.

<3> Stewarts & Lloyds Limited, An Industrial War Record, (checked) (Extract). SNN104593.

<4> Searle A., 1995?, P.L.U.T.O. Pipeline Under The Sea, (unchecked) (Book). SNN104594.

<5> 1978, Northamptonshire At War 1939-45, A Selection Of Photographs, p.70 (unchecked) (Book). SNN100251.

<6> Walker, C., 2013, Archaeological Desk-Based Heritage Assessment of Land at Forest Gate, Corby, Northamptonshire, p.7 (checked) (Report). SNN108523.

<7> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage Of Northamptonshire, Site 68 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN104759.

<8> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2011, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire (2nd Edition), Site 70 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN107622.

<9> STARMER G., 1970, Ironworks in Northamptonshire, p. 30-33 (Article). SNN56646.

<10> Page, M and Bristow, M, 2013, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: A History of the County of Northampton: Corby and Great Oakley (Book). SNN115418.

<11> Stewart & Lloyd's Iron Ore Co, 1956, Iron Ore in Britain (Video). SNN116818.

Record last edited

May 12 2025 3:03PM