Structure Name: Anglo Great Lakes Graphite Plant

Description:
 

Large sprawling industrial site, now demolished, located by the bend in the Tyne at Lemington. The site is currently under redevelopment as part of the Newburn Riverside Industry Park.
 

Extant: No

Location: Lemington, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

Eastings: 418500m (view map)

Northings: 564000m (view map)

Position Accuracy: 200m

Positional Confidence: Absolute Certainty

Structure Types Identified: MINERAL PRODUCT SITE

Historical Background
 

'I am not really sure just what this works produced; it always seemed very ‘hush hush'. It was described to me as a Carbide Manufactory. [It is possible that] this air of secrecy stemmed from the earlier use of the site, which was a munitions factory, established during World War I. A substance with a bright yellow colour was used in the factory, and this coloured its workers yellow; consequently the site was known locally as ‘Canary Island'.
[Stafford Linsley's annotation]

For many years after the war local people in the area still had traces of this colouring on their hair and skin.
 

Notes
 

'The site was later used by the Anglo Great Lakes Corporation who produced high grade carbon for magnox nuclear reactors, and then a lower grade carbon for carbon-arc furnaces.'
[Stafford Linsley's annotation]
 

References:

• Tyne and Wear SMR

The information displayed in this page has been derived from authoritative sources, including any referenced above. Although substantial efforts were made to verify this information, the SINE project cannot guarantee its correctness or completeness.

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