Cement Kilns: Robins

Approximate capacity: tonnes per year

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This was taken on 26/4/1927 and shows the remains of the plant from the south. The plant had been abandoned since 1910. The last-operated kilns were on the far side of the creek and had by now been demolished. The original bank of twelve bottle kilns is in centre view. The last-built of these, at the left-hand end, still exists today. View in High Definition.

Robins kiln 12 today. This heavily-restored kiln was on the end of the bottle kiln bank and was one of the last built at the plant. A unique survival from the early years of the cement industry at its birthplace, it is of international importance, and is a National Scheduled Monument. It is kiln 12 in the table opposite. Although often referred to as "Aspdin's kiln", it was built in the late 1860s at the earliest, long after Aspdin departed. Such kilns rarely survived, because if not regularly warmed up they would quickly collapse.

Robins kilns 8-12 (12 nearest). The western end of the kiln bank remained intact into the 1950s. Two more kilns were constructed to the left: one can make out the remains of a hearth, and the 1895 map shows the bank extended by two more bays to the west. The stack is that of the Robins power house.

Robins kiln 9. This was the first of the newer kilns, constructed in the 1860s, long after William Aspdin had departed. The structure in the left foreground is part of the set of drying flats used by the later kilns. Presumably gangways extended from there across the clinker extraction area (ground level) to the kiln loading stage.

Robins kiln bank. A 1926 drawing by Donald Maxwell showing all the remaining kilns at that time, viewed from the west. The Aspdin kilns (or their successors) are at the far end.

RobinsThree Kilns Brand.

Location:

Grid reference: TQ61787488
x=561780
y=174880
51°26'59"N; 0°19'42"E
Civil Parish: Northfleet, Kent

Clinker manufacture operational: 1846-1910

Approximate total clinker production: 690,000 tonnes

Raw materials:

Upper Chalk (Seaford Chalk Formation: 85-88 Ma):
- 1846-1868: from just south of the plant
- 1868-1900: from the NCBC quarries
Thames and Medway Alluvial Clay
After 1900, slurry was supplied from Bevans

Ownership:

1798-1846 Parker and Wyatt
1846-1847 Maude, Jones and Aspdin
1848-1851 Robins, Aspdin and Co.
1851-1900 Robins and Co. Ltd
1900-1910 APCM (Blue Circle)

This small site has the distinction of having been occupied by both James Parker, the inventor of “Roman” cement, and William Aspdin, the inventor of “true” Portland cement. Parker made Roman Cement from septarian nodules from the Isle of Sheppey at this site around 1790, but as a non-Portland product, it is outside the scope of this work. William Aspdin had been the first to manufacture true Portland cement at his plant at Rotherhithe in 1842. He relocated to Northfleet in 1846. For many years, clinker continued to be ground, as Parker had done, using the ancient tidal water mill at the head of the creek. Parker had also used a nearby windmill. The initial five wet process bottle kilns situated south of the creek were extended piecemeal: there were eight by 1864, and twelve by 1876.

The locations (1-m grid reference) and dates of the bottle kilns are of importance:

	x	y	approx. date
1	561808	174860	1846
2	561802	174862	1846
3	561796	174865	1846
4	561791	174868	1846
5	561783	174871	1846
6	561779	174874	1852-1863
7	561776	174877	1852-1863
8	561773	174881	1852-1863
9	561768	174884	1866-1876
10	561763	174886	1866-1876
11	561758	174888	1866-1876
12	561753	174890	1866-1876
?13	561749	174892	1866-1876
?14	561745	174894	1866-1876

The 1864 revision of the OS map shows only kilns 1-8. The positions of kilns 9-12 were at that time a bank separating two slurry backs.

Aspdin was ousted from the company following financial irregularities fairly typical of his business dealings, and amid the acrimony of his departure, he sold his technology to Thomas Sturge, setting up the adjacent Bevans in 1851, and sowing the seeds of the Robins plant’s eventual destruction. The plant was carried on under the management of R. A. Gibbons. A set of four “Gibbons” chamber kilns were installed north of the creek in 1867-1869. These were intended to be semi-continuous, but evidently did not perform well in that capacity. In 1880 seven standard Johnson chamber kilns were added, and the Gibbons kilns were abandoned, leaving the plant capacity at 475 t/week. A further six Michele kilns were added in 1887, and the bottle kilns were abandoned, leaving capacity of 325 t/week. Most of the rest of the plant, including the washmills were now relocated north of the creek and a new wharf was built, leaving the original site more or less abandoned. The plant used water transport exclusively. Although relatively efficient and innovative in its time, it seems to have been squeezed out by the raw materials acquisitions of the neighbouring plants, and by the time of the APCM takeover, the company had little influence in the new organization. The plant’s operations were coordinated with Bevans, and the kilns were phased out as rotary kilns became available, although the wharfs remained in use, and the finish mills were retained as backup capacity for Bevans. The part of the plant south of Northfleet Creek was absorbed into the Bevans plant. The bottle kiln bank remained an intact landmark until engulfed in warehouse buildings in the late 1950s. Some structures still remain, if buried, including an intact and much-restored bottle kiln claimed to be one of Aspdin’s, although it was in fact one of the last to be constructed in the 1860s. A detailed discussion of the history of these kilns can be found in a separate page. The more modern part of the plant north of the creek was completely cleared and became part of an oil depot.

Power supply

The plant originally used the ancient tidal mill for power. With the construction of the main bottle kiln bank, the adjacent washmills were powered by steam engine. As the plant developed, until closure, all equipment was direct-driven by steam engine.

Rawmills

No rotary kilns were installed.

Sources:

Primary Sources:
- Greenhithe Archive
- Francis, pp 115, 161-163
- Aerial photography
- Ordnance Survey 1:2500 mapping
- BGS mapping and monographs
Confirmatory Sources:
- Preston, p 70
- Jackson, p 269
- Pugh, p 4
- Eve, p 19