Development of the Frindsbury cement plants
The bank of the river on Limehouse Reach was the site of the first Portland cement plant in the Medway Valley in 1851. At this point the river cuts through the uppermost levels of the Upper Chalk in an incised meander. A ridge of chalk runs NW-SE, and the river, in rounding the Frindsbury peninsula, runs hard against the chalk slope on the upstream (west) side, and forms an alluvial flood plain on the downstream (east) side. Thus, when I. C. Johnson decided to set up in business on his own, the location had a number of advantages:
- it had (by the standards of the time) good sea-going communications
- there was chalk available within 100 m of the waterfront
- the Medway Alluvium - at that time the most favoured clay for Portland cement, was close at hand.
Furthermore, a disused steam-powered oil mill already existed on the site, and Johnson took over the lease on this. In order to facilitate construction of the cement plant to his specifications, Johnson went into partnership with the prominent engineering contractor George Burge. The company was called Burge, Johnson & Co, and the plant was named the Crown Works. George Burge put his son (George junior) in charge of the cement operations, and when Johnson left in 1853, Burge junior was left in sole charge. George Burge Jr (1832-1911) concentrated on cement manufacture and on the development of new kilns, and became the key figure in the subsequent development of the site, constructing all seven cement plants. He also constructed the Falcon and Gillingham plants and rebuilt the Wouldham Court plant.
Operation of the Frindsbury plants was complicated by land ownership considerations. The southern part of the peninsula was (and still is) owned by the Rochester Bridge Trust, and the northern part was (and still is) owned by the Dean and Chapter of Rochester Cathedral. Both were inalienable feudal lands, and the landlords were due both ground rents and mineral extraction royalties. Johnson's original plant straddled the boundary of the two land lots. Rather than deal with multiple quarry operators, a single mineral extraction company was nominated, and all users were required to source their chalk from this. George Burge Jr went into partnership with wheeler-dealer William Tingey (1821-1907) to obtain the lease on most of the peninsula chalk land, and they formed the Rochester Chalk Company to work it. The chalk at Frindsbury was of limited extent and difficult to develop, and the company opened up more reliable chalk lands up-river at Wouldham. For the rest of the 19th century the operation of the cement plants was affected by strained relations with the chalk company.
George Burge Jr sold his Crown plant to William Tingey in 1868 and set up the Phoenix Portland Cement Co Ltd (in partnership with John McGowan) to operate the Phoenix plant on the site of a previous lime plant at the north end of the site. The Crown plant was from then on owned by William Tingey & Son until 1900, although Burge continued to design and construct its expanding manufacturing equipment. Both the Crown and Phoenix plants initially had wet process bottle kilns with slurry backs and separately-heated drying flats. In the 1870s, probably in co-operation with his mentor I. C. Johnson, Burge developed a chamber kiln design, and subsequently obtained a patent 1872. He formed a partnership with William Morgan and C. R. Cheffins to set up the Gillingham plant (trading as the Gillingham Portland Cement Co Ltd) and probably installed his first chamber kilns there. The partnership was subsequently joined by Frank Chapman – William Tingey’s son in law.
Burge probably installed his first Frindsbury chamber kilns at Crown in 1876. After this, the proven compactness and labour economy of chamber kilns prompted Burge to construct more plants. In 1880 he set up the Globe plant for J. C. Gostling & Co Ltd, who had previously set up and operated the London Portland plant at Northfleet. He also set up the Beehive plant which he operated himself as an experiment in his first use of a double-deck chamber kiln design similar to the Batchelor kiln. After the success of the latter, most of the kilns he installed were of this type, allowing many kilns to be crammed in to the restricted footprint of the Medway bank. The Phoenix plant was converted to chamber kiln operation in 1883, in which year he also built the Falcon plant at Otterham Quay for F. C. Barron.
The subsequent timeline of the Frindsbury site was as follows:
- 1884 Burge built the Beaver plant at the south end of the peninsula for a partnership of William Slark and Charles Jones, trading (from 9/1885) as the Beaver Cement Co Ltd.
- 1885 Burge built the Bridge plant for T. C. Hooman & Co Ltd.
- 1887 the Beaver plant was acquired by McLean & Co Ltd - a Newark-based company apparently primarily concerned with gypsum-based products.
- 1888 Burge built the Quarry plant as an expansion of the Gillingham Portland Cement Co Ltd.
- 1890 the Bridge plant was acquired by Gillingham Portland Cement Co Ltd, as the first of a series of rationalisations of the site.
- 1892 Burge sold the Beehive plant to William Levett & Co Ltd, who already operated the Elmley plant.
- 1893 the Gillingham company, including the Bridge and Quarry plants, was acquired by Britain’s largest cement company - J. B. White & Brothers Ltd.
- 1895 White’s acquired the Globe plant (so operating Globe, Bridge and Quarry), and McLean’s and Levett’s merged to form McLean, Levett & Co Ltd (operating Beehive and Beaver).
- 1900 White’s, McLean Levett, William Tingey & Son, the Phoenix Portland Cement Co Ltd and the Rochester Chalk Co, along with twenty other cement firms, merged to form the APCM. Thus all seven plants were brought under common management. William Tingey Jr became one of 25 directors of the new company, which was mainly dominated by White’s.
- November 1907 Independent operation of the plants ceased. The plant was progressively dismantled and the remaining functioning parts became Crown & Quarry Works, which finally ceased clinker manufacture on 8/3/1963.
There follows a list of all the chamber kilns installed at the Frindsbury site, based upon the best available information. This provides a large database of chamber kiln characteristics, but it should be borne in mind that, given that all the kilns were constructed by George Burge Jr, they are not necessarily representative of chamber kilns in general.
Plant | # | started | grid x | grid y | kiln dia ft | chamber length ft | decks | drying area m2 | clinker capacity tonne |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phoenix | 1 | 1883 | 4723 | 9328 | 17.25 | 57 | 2 | 188 | 28.4 |
Phoenix | 2 | 1883 | 4727 | 9324 | 17.25 | 57 | 2 | 188 | 28.4 |
Phoenix | 3 | 1887 | 4731 | 9319 | 18.75 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 31.1 |
Phoenix | 4 | 1887 | 4735 | 9315 | 18.75 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 31.1 |
Phoenix | 5 | 1887 | 4739 | 9310 | 18.75 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 31.1 |
Phoenix | 6 | 1887 | 4743 | 9306 | 18.75 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 31.1 |
Phoenix | 7 | 1887 | 4747 | 9301 | 18.75 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 31.1 |
Phoenix | 8 | 1887 | 4751 | 9297 | 18.75 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 31.1 |
Phoenix | 9 | 1887 | 4755 | 9292 | 18.75 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 31.1 |
Phoenix | 10 | 1887 | 4759 | 9288 | 18.75 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 31.1 |
Phoenix | 11 | 1890 | 4764 | 9283 | 19.75 | 55 | 2 | 205 | 32.0 |
Globe | 1 | 1880 | 4773 | 9268 | 13.00 | 67 | 1 | 68 | 16.9 |
Globe | 2 | 1880 | 4776 | 9265 | 13.00 | 67 | 1 | 84 | 16.9 |
Globe | 3 | 1880 | 4779 | 9262 | 13.00 | 67 | 1 | 84 | 16.9 |
Globe | 4 | 1880 | 4782 | 9258 | 13.00 | 67 | 1 | 84 | 16.9 |
Globe | 5 | 1880 | 4785 | 9255 | 13.00 | 67 | 1 | 84 | 16.9 |
Globe | 6 | 1880 | 4788 | 9252 | 13.00 | 67 | 1 | 84 | 16.9 |
Globe | 7 | 1888 | 4791 | 9249 | 15.00 | 65 | 2 | 172 | 22.2 |
Globe | 8 | 1888 | 4794 | 9245 | 15.00 | 65 | 2 | 172 | 22.2 |
Globe | 9 | 1888 | 4798 | 9241 | 15.00 | 65 | 2 | 172 | 22.2 |
Globe | 10 | 1888 | 4801 | 9238 | 15.00 | 65 | 2 | 172 | 22.2 |
Globe | 11 | 1888 | 4804 | 9234 | 15.00 | 65 | 2 | 154 | 22.2 |
Globe | 12 | 1897 | 4813 | 9306 | 17.50 | 99 | 1 | 165 | 29.0 |
Globe | 13 | 1897 | 4817 | 9302 | 17.50 | 99 | 1 | 165 | 29.0 |
Globe | 14 | 1897 | 4821 | 9298 | 17.50 | 99 | 1 | 165 | 29.0 |
Globe | 15 | 1897 | 4825 | 9294 | 17.50 | 99 | 1 | 165 | 29.0 |
Globe | 16 | 1897 | 4829 | 9290 | 17.50 | 99 | 1 | 165 | 29.0 |
Globe | 17 | 1897 | 4833 | 9285 | 17.50 | 99 | 1 | 165 | 29.0 |
Bridge | 1 | 1885 | 4864 | 9213 | 17.50 | 102 | 1 | 155 | 29.0 |
Bridge | 2 | 1885 | 4866 | 9208 | 17.50 | 100 | 1 | 161 | 29.0 |
Bridge | 3 | 1885 | 4869 | 9203 | 17.50 | 78 | 1 | 129 | 29.0 |
Bridge | 4 | 1885 | 4871 | 9198 | 17.50 | 96 | 1 | 165 | 29.0 |
Bridge | 5 | 1888 | 4873 | 9192 | 19.50 | 97 | 1 | 173 | 31.8 |
Bridge | 6 | 1888 | 4875 | 9186 | 19.50 | 94 | 1 | 168 | 31.8 |
Bridge | 7 | 1889 | 4869 | 9229 | 20.00 | 65 | 1 | 126 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 8 | 1889 | 4866 | 9235 | 20.00 | 67 | 1 | 129 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 9 | 1889 | 4864 | 9241 | 20.00 | 69 | 1 | 133 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 10 | 1889 | 4861 | 9247 | 20.00 | 70 | 1 | 136 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 11 | 1889 | 4858 | 9253 | 20.00 | 72 | 1 | 139 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 12 | 1892 | 4853 | 9267 | 20.00 | 43 | 2 | 163 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 13 | 1892 | 4851 | 9271 | 20.00 | 43 | 2 | 162 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 14 | 1892 | 4848 | 9276 | 20.00 | 43 | 2 | 163 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 15 | 1892 | 4846 | 9280 | 20.00 | 43 | 2 | 163 | 32.1 |
Bridge | 16 | 1892 | 4844 | 9284 | 20.00 | 43 | 2 | 163 | 32.1 |
Crown | 1 | 1876 | 4917 | 9093 | 16.00 | 56 | 2 | 171 | 25.0 |
Crown | 2 | 1876 | 4919 | 9088 | 16.00 | 55 | 2 | 168 | 25.0 |
Crown | 3 | 1876 | 4921 | 9083 | 16.00 | 54 | 2 | 166 | 25.0 |
Crown | 4 | 1877 | 4923 | 9078 | 16.00 | 53 | 2 | 164 | 25.0 |
Crown | 5 | 1877 | 4925 | 9073 | 16.00 | 53 | 2 | 161 | 25.0 |
Crown | 6 | 1877 | 4927 | 9069 | 16.00 | 52 | 2 | 159 | 25.0 |
Crown | 7 | 1877 | 4929 | 9064 | 16.00 | 51 | 2 | 156 | 25.0 |
Crown | 8 | 1877 | 4931 | 9059 | 16.00 | 50 | 2 | 154 | 25.0 |
Crown | 9 | 1877 | 4934 | 9054 | 16.00 | 50 | 2 | 152 | 25.0 |
Crown | 10 | 1877 | 4936 | 9049 | 16.00 | 49 | 2 | 149 | 25.0 |
Crown | 11 | 1881 | 4939 | 9043 | 19.50 | 48 | 2 | 177 | 31.8 |
Crown | 12 | 1881 | 4941 | 9037 | 19.50 | 48 | 2 | 177 | 31.8 |
Crown | 13 | 1881 | 4943 | 9031 | 19.50 | 48 | 2 | 177 | 31.8 |
Crown | 14 | 1881 | 4945 | 9025 | 19.50 | 48 | 2 | 177 | 31.8 |
Crown | 15 | 1889 | 4947 | 9019 | 19.75 | 40 | 2 | 149 | 32.0 |
Crown | 16 | 1889 | 4949 | 9013 | 19.75 | 40 | 2 | 149 | 32.0 |
Crown | 17 | 1889 | 4951 | 9007 | 19.75 | 40 | 2 | 149 | 32.0 |
Crown | 18 | 1889 | 4953 | 9001 | 19.75 | 40 | 2 | 149 | 32.0 |
Crown | 19 | 1889 | 4955 | 8995 | 19.75 | 40 | 2 | 149 | 32.0 |
Crown | 20 | 1889 | 4957 | 8989 | 19.75 | 40 | 2 | 149 | 32.0 |
Crown | 21 | 1889 | 4959 | 8983 | 19.75 | 40 | 2 | 149 | 32.0 |
Crown | 22 | 1899 | 4915 | 9099 | 18.00 | 58 | 2 | 200 | 30.0 |
Crown | 23 | 1899 | 4913 | 9105 | 18.00 | 58 | 2 | 200 | 30.0 |
Crown | 24 | 1903 | 4961 | 8977 | 18.00 | 41 | 2 | 142 | 30.0 |
Crown | 25 | 1903 | 4963 | 8971 | 18.00 | 41 | 2 | 142 | 30.0 |
Crown | 26 | 1903 | 4965 | 8965 | 18.00 | 41 | 2 | 142 | 30.0 |
Crown | 27 | 1903 | 4967 | 8960 | 18.00 | 41 | 2 | 142 | 30.0 |
Crown | 28 | 1903 | 4969 | 8954 | 18.00 | 41 | 2 | 142 | 30.0 |
Crown | 29 | 1903 | 4971 | 8949 | 18.00 | 41 | 2 | 142 | 30.0 |
Quarry | 1 | 1889 | 4957 | 8915 | 19.50 | 91 | 1 | 168 | 31.8 |
Quarry | 2 | 1889 | 4957 | 8908 | 19.50 | 91 | 1 | 168 | 31.8 |
Quarry | 3 | 1889 | 4958 | 8902 | 19.50 | 91 | 1 | 168 | 31.8 |
Quarry | 4 | 1889 | 4958 | 8896 | 19.50 | 91 | 1 | 168 | 31.8 |
Quarry | 5 | 1889 | 4958 | 8889 | 19.50 | 91 | 1 | 168 | 31.8 |
Quarry | 6 | 1890 | 4961 | 8882 | 18.25 | 99 | 1 | 170 | 30.4 |
Quarry | 7 | 1890 | 4963 | 8877 | 18.25 | 99 | 1 | 171 | 30.4 |
Quarry | 8 | 1890 | 4966 | 8871 | 18.25 | 100 | 1 | 172 | 30.4 |
Quarry | 9 | 1892 | 4970 | 8861 | 18.50 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 30.8 |
Quarry | 10 | 1892 | 4973 | 8856 | 18.50 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 30.8 |
Quarry | 11 | 1892 | 4976 | 8850 | 18.50 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 30.8 |
Quarry | 12 | 1892 | 4978 | 8845 | 18.50 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 30.8 |
Quarry | 13 | 1892 | 4981 | 8839 | 18.50 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 30.8 |
Quarry | 14 | 1892 | 4983 | 8834 | 18.50 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 30.8 |
Quarry | 15 | 1892 | 4986 | 8828 | 18.50 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 30.8 |
Quarry | 16 | 1892 | 4988 | 8823 | 18.50 | 56 | 2 | 199 | 30.8 |
Quarry | 17 | 1894 | 4993 | 8813 | 18.00 | 52 | 2 | 178 | 30.0 |
Quarry | 18 | 1894 | 4996 | 8807 | 18.00 | 52 | 2 | 178 | 30.0 |
Quarry | 19 | 1894 | 4998 | 8802 | 18.00 | 52 | 2 | 178 | 30.0 |
Quarry | 20 | 1894 | 5001 | 8797 | 18.00 | 52 | 2 | 178 | 30.0 |
Quarry | 21 | 1894 | 5003 | 8791 | 18.00 | 52 | 2 | 178 | 30.0 |
Quarry | 22 | 1896 | 5010 | 8787 | 19.00 | 45 | 2 | 162 | 31.4 |
Quarry | 23 | 1896 | 5013 | 8781 | 19.00 | 45 | 2 | 162 | 31.4 |
Quarry | 24 | 1896 | 5015 | 8776 | 19.00 | 45 | 2 | 162 | 31.4 |
Quarry | 25 | 1896 | 5018 | 8770 | 19.00 | 45 | 2 | 162 | 31.4 |
Beehive | 1 | 1880 | 5048 | 8700 | 17.50 | 53 | 2 | 177 | 29.0 |
Beehive | 2 | 1880 | 5046 | 8705 | 17.50 | 53 | 2 | 177 | 29.0 |
Beehive | 3 | 1880 | 5044 | 8711 | 17.50 | 53 | 2 | 177 | 29.0 |
Beehive | 4 | 1880 | 5041 | 8716 | 17.50 | 53 | 2 | 177 | 29.0 |
Beehive | 5 | 1892 | 5045 | 8727 | 17.50 | 51 | 2 | 169 | 29.0 |
Beehive | 6 | 1892 | 5043 | 8732 | 17.50 | 51 | 2 | 171 | 29.0 |
Beehive | 7 | 1892 | 5041 | 8737 | 17.50 | 51 | 2 | 171 | 29.0 |
Beehive | 8 | 1892 | 5038 | 8742 | 17.50 | 51 | 2 | 166 | 29.0 |
Beehive | 9 | 1895 | 5077 | 8713 | 16.25 | 55 | 2 | 171 | 25.7 |
Beehive | 10 | 1895 | 5075 | 8718 | 16.25 | 55 | 2 | 171 | 25.7 |
Beehive | 11 | 1895 | 5073 | 8723 | 16.25 | 55 | 2 | 171 | 25.7 |
Beehive | 12 | 1895 | 5071 | 8728 | 16.25 | 55 | 2 | 171 | 25.7 |
Beehive | 13 | 1900 | 5074 | 8736 | 19.00 | 52 | 2 | 187 | 31.4 |
Beehive | 14 | 1900 | 5071 | 8742 | 19.00 | 52 | 2 | 187 | 31.4 |
Beehive | 15 | 1900 | 5069 | 8748 | 19.00 | 52 | 2 | 187 | 31.4 |
Beehive | 16 | 1900 | 5067 | 8753 | 19.00 | 52 | 2 | 187 | 31.4 |
Beaver | 1 | 1884 | 5053 | 8669 | 14.50 | 60 | 1 | 83 | 20.8 |
Beaver | 2 | 1884 | 5055 | 8665 | 14.50 | 60 | 1 | 83 | 20.8 |
Beaver | 3 | 1884 | 5057 | 8660 | 14.50 | 60 | 1 | 83 | 20.8 |
Beaver | 4 | 1884 | 5059 | 8656 | 14.50 | 60 | 1 | 83 | 20.8 |
Beaver | 5 | 1884 | 5061 | 8652 | 14.50 | 60 | 1 | 83 | 20.8 |
Beaver | 6 | 1888 | 5063 | 8647 | 16.50 | 58 | 2 | 182 | 26.4 |
Beaver | 7 | 1888 | 5065 | 8642 | 16.50 | 58 | 2 | 182 | 26.4 |
Beaver | 8 | 1888 | 5068 | 8637 | 16.50 | 58 | 2 | 182 | 26.4 |
Beaver | 9 | 1888 | 5070 | 8632 | 16.50 | 58 | 2 | 182 | 26.4 |
Beaver | 10 | 1891 | 5072 | 8627 | 17.00 | 59 | 2 | 193 | 27.7 |
Beaver | 11 | 1891 | 5075 | 8622 | 17.00 | 59 | 2 | 193 | 27.7 |
Beaver | 12 | 1891 | 5077 | 8617 | 17.00 | 59 | 2 | 193 | 27.7 |
Beaver | 13 | 1891 | 5079 | 8612 | 17.00 | 59 | 2 | 193 | 27.7 |
Beaver | 14 | 1891 | 5082 | 8607 | 17.00 | 59 | 2 | 193 | 27.7 |
Beaver | 15 | 1893 | 5084 | 8601 | 18.00 | 51 | 2 | 176 | 30.0 |
Beaver | 16 | 1893 | 5087 | 8596 | 18.00 | 51 | 2 | 176 | 30.0 |
Beaver | 17 | 1893 | 5089 | 8591 | 18.00 | 51 | 2 | 176 | 30.0 |
Beaver | 18 | 1893 | 5092 | 8585 | 18.00 | 51 | 2 | 176 | 30.0 |