Chittening: Difference between revisions
→No.23 Filling Factory: expanded content |
|||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
===No. 23 Filling Factory=== |
===No. 23 Filling Factory=== |
||
During [[World War 1]], the [[Ministry of Munitions]] built a [[filling factory]] for shells on the site, which was farmland commandeered by the military for its closeness to [[Avonmouth]] docks and the [[National Smelting Company]]'s chemical works in St Andrew's Road, Avonmouth. There, operated by [[AkzoNobel|Nobel Explosives]], shells were filled with [[chloropicrin]] (derived industrially from [[picric acid]]). In defiance of the [[Hague Convention]] on weapons, the German army used [[mustard gas]] ([[dichloroethyl sulphide]]) against Allied troops on the Eastern and Western Fronts in 1917, and the [[British]] minister of munitions, [[Winston Churchill]], ordered supplies to be manufactured in Britain for use in retaliation. Having first used captured German gas in late 1917, from June 1918 three filling factories, at [[Banbury]], [[ROF Rotherwas]] at [[Hereford]], and Chittening, were supplied with freshly manufactured mustard gas by the [[National Smelting Company]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Haber L.F.|date=1986|title=''The Poisonous Cloud|publisher=Oxford University Press|ISBN=9780198581420|chapter=10}}</ref> By November 1918, Chittening had produced 85,424 mustard gas shells; but at a human cost of 1213 notified cases of associated illness, including at least two deaths which were later attributed to [[influenza]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VCtRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT38&lpg=PT38&dq=Chittening+munitions+factory&source=bl&ots=q9nhVgd-yj&sig=fww3lJqB1nT2bgazcc3WUzF5PJ4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=noVyU5KlHfTb7Ab004Fw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Chittening%20munitions%20factory&f=false|title=The Home Front 1914-1918: How Britain Survived the Great War|author=Ian F.W. Beckett|accessdate=13 May 2014}}</ref> |
During [[World War 1]], the [[Ministry of Munitions]] built a [[filling factory]] for shells on the site, which was farmland commandeered by the military for its closeness to [[Avonmouth]] docks and the [[National Smelting Company]]'s chemical works in St Andrew's Road, Avonmouth. There, operated by [[AkzoNobel|Nobel Explosives]], shells were filled with [[chloropicrin]] (derived industrially from [[picric acid]]). In defiance of the [[Hague Convention]] on weapons, the German army used [[mustard gas]] ([[dichloroethyl sulphide]]) against Allied troops on the Eastern and Western Fronts in 1917, and the [[British]] minister of munitions, [[Winston Churchill]], ordered supplies to be manufactured in Britain for use in retaliation. Having first used captured German gas in late 1917, from June 1918 three filling factories, at [[Banbury]], [[ROF Rotherwas]] at [[Hereford]], and Chittening, were supplied with freshly manufactured mustard gas by the [[National Smelting Company]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Haber L.F.|date=1986|title=''The Poisonous Cloud|publisher=Oxford University Press|ISBN=9780198581420|chapter=10}}</ref> By November 1918, Chittening had produced 85,424 mustard gas shells; but at a human cost of 1213 notified cases of associated illness, including at least two deaths which were later attributed to [[influenza]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VCtRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT38&lpg=PT38&dq=Chittening+munitions+factory&source=bl&ots=q9nhVgd-yj&sig=fww3lJqB1nT2bgazcc3WUzF5PJ4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=noVyU5KlHfTb7Ab004Fw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Chittening%20munitions%20factory&f=false|title=The Home Front 1914-1918: How Britain Survived the Great War|author=Ian F.W. Beckett|accessdate=13 May 2014}}</ref> |
||
===Post WW1=== |
|||
| ⚫ | The industrial estate (or "trading estate") developed after the war, under the management of the [[Port of Bristol|Port of Bristol Authority]]. In 1951 a factory producing [[carbon black]] was built next to the estate, and operated until 2008 when its closure was announced.<ref>[http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/88-jobs-risk-chemical-company-close-Avonmouth-factoryarticle-518250-details/article.html Bristol Evening Post, 3 December 2008]</ref> |
||
===Surviving relics of the filling factory=== |
===Surviving relics of the filling factory=== |
||
| ⚫ | One major building survives from the World War I factory: the headquarters of Brandon Lifting at 7 Worthy Road. There is also the shell of a despatch shed, and the stub of a railway line that one entered the works complex. The original internal railway of the filling factory was operated by four-wheel battery-driven locomotives built for the Ministry of Munitions by [[Brush]] of Loughborough. Two of them, maker's numbers 16302 and 16307, still exist. At the end of the war three, including these two, were acquired by the [[General Estates Company Ltd]] as surplus to wartime requirements and then sold in 1922 to the [[Hythe Pier Railway]] in [[Hampshire]], where they were converted from battery-driven operation to a third-rail electric system operating at 250 volts. |
||
| ⚫ | One major building survives from the World War I factory: the headquarters of Brandon Lifting at 7 Worthy Road. There is also the shell of a despatch shed, and the stub of a railway line that one entered the works complex. The original internal railway of the filling factory was operated by four-wheel battery-driven locomotives built for the Ministry of Munitions by Brush of Loughborough. Two of them, maker's numbers 16302 and 16307, still exist. At the end of the war three, including these two, were acquired by the General Estates Company Ltd as surplus to wartime requirements and then sold in 1922 to the Hythe Pier Railway in Hampshire, where they were converted from battery-driven operation to a third-rail electric system operating at 250 volts. |
||
===Internal structure of the trading estate=== |
===Internal structure of the trading estate=== |
||
The estate is now organized around a structure of named roads: the spine, Worthy Road, and the peripheral Greensplott Road and Bank Road, all named after farms whose land disappeared under the industrial development. |
The estate is now organized around a structure of named roads: the spine, Worthy Road, and the peripheral Greensplott Road and Bank Road, all named after farms whose land disappeared under the industrial development. |
||
===Current businesses=== |
===Current businesses=== |
||
A selection of the current businesses operating from the site can be viewed at http://www.bristol.org.uk/street/Chittening_Industrial_Estate/. They include specialists in transport and logistics, lifting gear, pallet distribution, sectional buildings and vehicle repairs. |
A selection of the current businesses operating from the site can be viewed at http://www.bristol.org.uk/street/Chittening_Industrial_Estate/. They include specialists in transport and logistics, lifting gear, pallet distribution, sectional buildings and vehicle repairs. |
||
=== |
===Rail link=== |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | The industrial estate (or "trading estate") developed after the war, under the management of the [[Port of Bristol|Port of Bristol Authority]]. In 1951 a factory producing [[carbon black]] was built next to the estate, and operated until 2008 when its closure was announced.<ref>[http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/88-jobs-risk-chemical-company-close-Avonmouth-factoryarticle-518250-details/article.html Bristol Evening Post, 3 December 2008]</ref> |
||
| ⚫ | |||
== Chittening Warth == |
== Chittening Warth == |
||
Revision as of 13:36, 11 November 2014
Chittening is an industrial estate 2 miles north of Avonmouth, Bristol, England on the A403 road, near the River Severn. It lies within the Bristol city boundary.
History
Name
Chittening was once a farm, historically in the parish of Redwick and Northwick, which had been detached from Henbury at an unknown date. It was first recorded in 1658 and 1702 as Chitnend. The name apparently comes from the Middle English chitten ende, from Middle English or Early Modern English chitte 'young of an animal; brat, child' + end(e) 'end [of a parish or estate]'. [1]
No. 23 Filling Factory
During World War 1, the Ministry of Munitions built a filling factory for shells on the site, which was farmland commandeered by the military for its closeness to Avonmouth docks and the National Smelting Company's chemical works in St Andrew's Road, Avonmouth. There, operated by Nobel Explosives, shells were filled with chloropicrin (derived industrially from picric acid). In defiance of the Hague Convention on weapons, the German army used mustard gas (dichloroethyl sulphide) against Allied troops on the Eastern and Western Fronts in 1917, and the British minister of munitions, Winston Churchill, ordered supplies to be manufactured in Britain for use in retaliation. Having first used captured German gas in late 1917, from June 1918 three filling factories, at Banbury, ROF Rotherwas at Hereford, and Chittening, were supplied with freshly manufactured mustard gas by the National Smelting Company.[2] By November 1918, Chittening had produced 85,424 mustard gas shells; but at a human cost of 1213 notified cases of associated illness, including at least two deaths which were later attributed to influenza.[3]
Post WW1
The industrial estate (or "trading estate") developed after the war, under the management of the Port of Bristol Authority. In 1951 a factory producing carbon black was built next to the estate, and operated until 2008 when its closure was announced.[4]
Surviving relics of the filling factory
One major building survives from the World War I factory: the headquarters of Brandon Lifting at 7 Worthy Road. There is also the shell of a despatch shed, and the stub of a railway line that one entered the works complex. The original internal railway of the filling factory was operated by four-wheel battery-driven locomotives built for the Ministry of Munitions by Brush of Loughborough. Two of them, maker's numbers 16302 and 16307, still exist. At the end of the war three, including these two, were acquired by the General Estates Company Ltd as surplus to wartime requirements and then sold in 1922 to the Hythe Pier Railway in Hampshire, where they were converted from battery-driven operation to a third-rail electric system operating at 250 volts.
Internal structure of the trading estate
The estate is now organized around a structure of named roads: the spine, Worthy Road, and the peripheral Greensplott Road and Bank Road, all named after farms whose land disappeared under the industrial development.
Current businesses
A selection of the current businesses operating from the site can be viewed at http://www.bristol.org.uk/street/Chittening_Industrial_Estate/. They include specialists in transport and logistics, lifting gear, pallet distribution, sectional buildings and vehicle repairs.
Rail link
Between 1917 and 1964 Chittening was served by Chittening Platform railway station on the Henbury Loop connectiong Avonmouth with Filton Junction.
Chittening Warth
Chittening Warth is an area of salt marsh beside the Severn Estuary, just to the west of the industrial estate. At low tide the mudflats there are visited by large numbers of birds, including Dunlin, Eurasian Curlew, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Common Redshank and Whimbrel. In some winters there are large populations of field voles, which attract Short-eared Owls.[5]
Transport
Chittening is served by St Andrews Road railway station.
References
- ^ Smith, A. H. (1964) The Place-Names of Gloucestershire vol. 3 (Cambridge University Press), p. 138.
- ^ Haber L.F. (1986). "10". The Poisonous Cloud. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198581420.
- ^ Ian F.W. Beckett. "The Home Front 1914-1918: How Britain Survived the Great War". Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ^ Bristol Evening Post, 3 December 2008
- ^ Bristol City Council Biodiversity Action Plan: Estuarine habitats