Crucible Workshop At Former Williams Brothers

CRUCIBLE WORKSHOP AT FORMER WILLIAMS BROTHERS

A crucible furnace, also known as a melting shop, dating from 1864–8. The building is constructed of brick with a modern tile and corrugated asbestos sheeting roof.

The plan is rectangular with a single stack positioned at the south-west gable. The casting floor is undivided and was originally lit by four openings in the north-east gable wall. Five melting holes are set in the floor in front of the stack, and an L-shaped cellar with steps against the north-west side wall lies beneath.

The exterior is a single storey with a double pitched roof featuring two skylights to each side and a central ridge louvre. A tall, wide gable stack dominates the structure. A segmental arched doorway is located to the left of the north-west yard elevation. A separate building abuts the rest of this elevation. The north-east gable wall, which originally faced the yard, is now completely covered by later buildings. Where it remains visible to the yard, it features four closely-spaced, tall segmental-arched windows. The lower sections of these windows have been removed to form a large opening with a rolled steel joist over. The tops of two south-east arches remain open, while the two north-west arches are blocked.

The interior preserves the essential features of a working furnace. The south-west gable stack is stepped to both sides and diminishes slightly in width from base to top, with three horizontal rows of metal ties. Five wall flues and melting holes are set in the floor in front of the stack. The wall flues have sandstone lintels with refractory bricks to sides and bases. Some melting holes retain metal grate bars. The right-hand melting hole was later widened to hold two crucible pots. In front of the melting holes, a cellar is reached by a narrow flight of stone steps; the cellar is partially filled with rubble. Individual ash pits for each melting hole are positioned to the stack side, with a horizontal iron tie band just below the cellar ceiling. The opposing cellar wall is constructed of roughly coursed sandstone rubble. The cellar ceiling is formed by large metal plates resting on iron cross girders. Pipework in the cellar suggests a later conversion to gas. A doorway was inserted to the right of the stack. The north-east gable wall has been opened up with a rolled steel joist cutting through the original windows. A blocked doorway exists in the east corner. A wide, segmental-arched window with small pane glazing is located in the apex of the gable wall. A large section of the north-west side wall has been opened into the adjoining building, with a rolled steel joist supporting the upper wall. The south-east side wall is blind. The floor is partially covered with iron plates. The roof features a single central kingpost truss with raking struts and a single purlin to each side. The softwood kingpost retains a Baltic timber mark and a notch for a ridge board. A later small travelling crane is set on two rolled steel joists running between the two gable walls, with a working load of twelve hundredweight.

The site was occupied in 1868 by F Binge, listed as a brass caster. The previous owner, recorded in 1864, was a joiner. Williams Brothers was established in 1870 and subsequently took the complex over, being listed in 1883 as nut and bolt manufacturers, and later as brass founders. The crucible furnace is shown on the 1890 Ordnance Survey map standing in the south corner of a yard complex. Over the course of the 20th century, the company expanded, taking over neighbouring buildings to the south-west and south-east. The premises were vacated in 1997.