150 years of the Shelton Works

Shelton blast furnaces and pig beds, c.1890

Blast furnace workers

The Earl was to remain in absolute control of the blast furnaces until his death in 1891. Eight years later the partnership decided more capital was needed, and formal steps to amalgamate iron and steel production within one company were taken.

The result was the Shelton Iron Steel and Coal Company Ltd, which had a share capital of half a million pounds in £10 shares. The new company Chairman was the third Earl, and the Managing Director was Alexander Henderson, a merchant banker and financier.

This partnership also had other interests outside steel, including the setting up of the Hanley Economic Building Society.

For the first time reference to the company's interests in coal were brought into its name, althoough it had been a feature of the Earl's family fortune for some time. The Lilleshall Company in Shropshire was heavily involved in coal and iron, and belonged to the family of the second Earl.