123-485: British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated from the nationalised British Steel Corporation ( BSC ), formed in 1967, which was privatised as a public limited company, British Steel plc , in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . The company merged with Koninklijke Hoogovens to form Corus Group in 1999. Alasdair M. Blair (1997), Professor of International Relations and Head of
246-407: A special share which carried no voting rights but until 31 December 1993, permitted the government to stop any one party controlling more than 15% of the shares. British Steel employees were given a free allocation of shares, and offered two free shares for each they purchased up to £165, discounted shares up to £2,200, and priority on applying for shares up to £10,000. Dealing in shares opened on
369-412: A BOS process is manufactured in one-twelfth the time. Today, electric arc furnaces (EAF) are a common method of reprocessing scrap metal to create new steel. They can also be used for converting pig iron to steel, but they use a lot of electrical energy (about 440 kWh per metric ton), and are thus generally only economical when there is a plentiful supply of cheap electricity. The steel industry
492-713: A carbon-intermediate steel by the 1st century AD. There is evidence that carbon steel was made in Western Tanzania by the ancestors of the Haya people as early as 2,000 years ago by a complex process of "pre-heating" allowing temperatures inside a furnace to reach 1300 to 1400 °C. Evidence of the earliest production of high carbon steel in South Asia is found in Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu ,
615-444: A change of volume. In this case, expansion occurs. Internal stresses from this expansion generally take the form of compression on the crystals of martensite and tension on the remaining ferrite, with a fair amount of shear on both constituents. If quenching is done improperly, the internal stresses can cause a part to shatter as it cools. At the very least, they cause internal work hardening and other microscopic imperfections. It
738-517: A church in Wrexham is made. Following the loss of Welsh independence and the death in battle of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282, Wrexham became part of the semi-independent Marcher lordship of Bromfield and Yale. Wrexham increased in importance throughout the Middle Ages as the lordship's administrative centre, and the then town's position made it a suitable centre for the exchange of
861-465: A complacency with existing equipment, plants operating below full capacity (hence the low efficiency), poor-quality assets, outdated technology, government price controls, higher coal and oil costs, lack of funds for capital improvement, and increasing competition on the world market. By the 1970s, the Labour government's main goal for the declining industry was to keep employment high. Since British Steel
984-428: A ferrite BCC crystal form, but at higher carbon content it takes a body-centred tetragonal (BCT) structure. There is no thermal activation energy for the transformation from austenite to martensite. There is no compositional change so the atoms generally retain their same neighbours. Martensite has a lower density (it expands during the cooling) than does austenite, so that the transformation between them results in
1107-445: A hard but brittle martensitic structure. The steel is then tempered, which is just a specialized type of annealing, to reduce brittleness. In this application the annealing (tempering) process transforms some of the martensite into cementite, or spheroidite and hence it reduces the internal stresses and defects. The result is a more ductile and fracture-resistant steel. When iron is smelted from its ore, it contains more carbon than
1230-591: A large HQ building in Llay and a police station in the city centre. The police were formerly based at the Wrexham Police Station from 1973 to 2019, with the building being demolished in 2020. The region's main fire station is situated on Croesnewydd Road and is part of the newly combined Ambulance Service station. Other local fire stations are located in the nearby towns of Chirk and Llangollen . Wrexham has applied for city status three times since
1353-525: A market town, as a crossroads between England and Wales, and later as an industrial hub – due to its rich natural reserves of iron ore and coal. But three small rivers flow through parts of the city: the Clywedog , Gwenfro and Alyn . Wrexham is also famed for the quality of its underground water reserves, which gave rise to its previous dominance as a major brewing centre. Originally a market town with surrounding urban villages, Wrexham has now coalesced with
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#17327723904951476-426: A mining tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. 18th century literary visitors included Samuel Johnson , who described Wrexham as "a busy, extensive and well-built town", and Daniel Defoe who noted the role of Wrexham as a "great market for Welch flannel". The artist J. M. W. Turner also visited the town in 1792-93 and 1794 which resulted in his drawings of St Giles Parish Church and surrounding buildings and
1599-412: A narrow range of concentrations of mixtures of carbon and iron that make steel, several different metallurgical structures, with very different properties can form. Understanding such properties is essential to making quality steel. At room temperature , the most stable form of pure iron is the body-centred cubic (BCC) structure called alpha iron or α-iron. It is a fairly soft metal that can dissolve only
1722-508: A number of urban villages and forms North Wales' largest city. Including adjacent urban areas to Wrexham, such as that of the Gwersyllt , Rhosllanerchrugog , Coedpoeth and Llay totals to a population of over 100,000 residents. In 2021, the urban population was 44,785. In the previous census in 2011, Wrexham's built-up area also included settlements to the west, which increased the population to between 61,603 and 65,692 in 2011. Wrexham
1845-665: A profit last year for the first time in over ten years." We will continue the successful programme of privatisation. Following Margaret Thatcher 's re-election, on 3 December 1987 the Conservative government formally announced in a statement by Kenneth Clarke , Minister of State for Trade and Industry , that it intended to privatise the British Steel Corporation. … the Government are committed to returning successful state industries such as steel to
1968-534: A small concentration of carbon, no more than 0.005% at 0 °C (32 °F) and 0.021 wt% at 723 °C (1,333 °F). The inclusion of carbon in alpha iron is called ferrite . At 910 °C, pure iron transforms into a face-centred cubic (FCC) structure, called gamma iron or γ-iron. The inclusion of carbon in gamma iron is called austenite. The more open FCC structure of austenite can dissolve considerably more carbon, as much as 2.1%, (38 times that of ferrite) carbon at 1,148 °C (2,098 °F), which reflects
2091-453: A steel's final rolling, it is heat treated for strength; however, this is relatively rare. Steel was known in antiquity and was produced in bloomeries and crucibles . The earliest known production of steel is seen in pieces of ironware excavated from an archaeological site in Anatolia ( Kaman-Kalehöyük ) which are nearly 4,000 years old, dating from 1800 BC. Wootz steel
2214-415: A watercolour painting of a street scene. Rev. William Bingley described Wrexham in 1839 as "of such size and consequence as to have occasionally obtained the appellation of the metropolis of North Wales". Wrexham gained its first newspaper in 1848. The Market Hall was built in 1848, and in 1863 a volunteer fire brigade was founded. In addition to brewing, tanning became one of Wrexham's main industries. In
2337-672: Is continuously cast into long slabs, cut and shaped into bars and extrusions and heat treated to produce a final product. Today, approximately 96% of steel is continuously cast, while only 4% is produced as ingots. The ingots are then heated in a soaking pit and hot rolled into slabs, billets , or blooms . Slabs are hot or cold rolled into sheet metal or plates. Billets are hot or cold rolled into bars, rods, and wire. Blooms are hot or cold rolled into structural steel , such as I-beams and rails . In modern steel mills these processes often occur in one assembly line , with ore coming in and finished steel products coming out. Sometimes after
2460-403: Is common for quench cracks to form when steel is water quenched, although they may not always be visible. There are many types of heat treating processes available to steel. The most common are annealing , quenching , and tempering . Annealing is the process of heating the steel to a sufficiently high temperature to relieve local internal stresses. It does not create a general softening of
2583-403: Is desirable. To become steel, it must be reprocessed to reduce the carbon to the correct amount, at which point other elements can be added. In the past, steel facilities would cast the raw steel product into ingots which would be stored until use in further refinement processes that resulted in the finished product. In modern facilities, the initial product is close to the final composition and
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#17327723904952706-453: Is distinguishable from wrought iron (now largely obsolete), which may contain a small amount of carbon but large amounts of slag . Iron is commonly found in the Earth's crust in the form of an ore , usually an iron oxide, such as magnetite or hematite . Iron is extracted from iron ore by removing the oxygen through its combination with a preferred chemical partner such as carbon which
2829-408: Is heat treated to contain both a ferritic and martensitic microstructure to produce a formable, high strength steel. Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steel involves special alloying and heat treatments to stabilize amounts of austenite at room temperature in normally austenite-free low-alloy ferritic steels. By applying strain, the austenite undergoes a phase transition to martensite without
2952-535: Is known as stainless steel . Tungsten slows the formation of cementite , keeping carbon in the iron matrix and allowing martensite to preferentially form at slower quench rates, resulting in high-speed steel . The addition of lead and sulphur decrease grain size, thereby making the steel easier to turn , but also more brittle and prone to corrosion. Such alloys are nevertheless frequently used for components such as nuts, bolts, and washers in applications where toughness and corrosion resistance are not paramount. For
3075-643: Is noted for hosting Wrexham A.F.C. (one of the oldest professional football teams in the world); the nationally significant industrial heritage of the Clywedog Valley ; the National Trust Property of Erddig ; and the fine Tudor church of St Giles , which towers over the historic Wrexham city centre . Human activity in the Wrexham area dates back to the Mesolithic period (8000 to 4300 BC), with tools made from flint being found to
3198-691: Is often considered an indicator of economic progress, because of the critical role played by steel in infrastructural and overall economic development . In 1980, there were more than 500,000 U.S. steelworkers. By 2000, the number of steelworkers had fallen to 224,000. The economic boom in China and India caused a massive increase in the demand for steel. Between 2000 and 2005, world steel demand increased by 6%. Since 2000, several Indian and Chinese steel firms have expanded to meet demand, such as Tata Steel (which bought Corus Group in 2007), Baosteel Group and Shagang Group . As of 2017 , though, ArcelorMittal
3321-514: Is one of the largest manufacturing industries in the world, but also one of the most energy and greenhouse gas emission intense industries, contributing 8% of global emissions. However, steel is also very reusable: it is one of the world's most-recycled materials, with a recycling rate of over 60% globally . The noun steel originates from the Proto-Germanic adjective * * stahliją or * * stakhlijan 'made of steel', which
3444-463: Is one of the most commonly manufactured materials in the world. Steel is used in buildings, as concrete reinforcing rods, in bridges, infrastructure, tools, ships, trains, cars, bicycles, machines, electrical appliances, furniture, and weapons. Iron is always the main element in steel, but many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels , which are resistant to corrosion and oxidation , typically need an additional 11% chromium . Iron
3567-551: Is one of the world's most-recycled materials, with a recycling rate of over 60% globally; in the United States alone, over 82,000,000 metric tons (81,000,000 long tons; 90,000,000 short tons) were recycled in the year 2008, for an overall recycling rate of 83%. As more steel is produced than is scrapped, the amount of recycled raw materials is about 40% of the total of steel produced - in 2016, 1,628,000,000 tonnes (1.602 × 10 long tons; 1.795 × 10 short tons) of crude steel
3690-520: Is possible only by reducing iron's ductility. Steel was produced in bloomery furnaces for thousands of years, but its large-scale, industrial use began only after more efficient production methods were devised in the 17th century, with the introduction of the blast furnace and production of crucible steel . This was followed by the Bessemer process in England in the mid-19th century, and then by
3813-434: Is possible to make very high-carbon (and other alloy material) steels, but such are not common. Cast iron is not malleable even when hot, but it can be formed by casting as it has a lower melting point than steel and good castability properties. Certain compositions of cast iron, while retaining the economies of melting and casting, can be heat treated after casting to make malleable iron or ductile iron objects. Steel
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3936-400: Is quite ductile , or soft and easily formed. In steel, small amounts of carbon, other elements, and inclusions within the iron act as hardening agents that prevent the movement of dislocations . The carbon in typical steel alloys may contribute up to 2.14% of its weight. Varying the amount of carbon and many other alloying elements, as well as controlling their chemical and physical makeup in
4059-457: Is related to * * stahlaz or * * stahliją 'standing firm'. The carbon content of steel is between 0.02% and 2.14% by weight for plain carbon steel ( iron - carbon alloys ). Too little carbon content leaves (pure) iron quite soft, ductile, and weak. Carbon contents higher than those of steel make a brittle alloy commonly called pig iron . Alloy steel is steel to which other alloying elements have been intentionally added to modify
4182-441: Is the base metal of steel. Depending on the temperature, it can take two crystalline forms (allotropic forms): body-centred cubic and face-centred cubic . The interaction of the allotropes of iron with the alloying elements, primarily carbon, gives steel and cast iron their range of unique properties. In pure iron, the crystal structure has relatively little resistance to the iron atoms slipping past one another, and so pure iron
4305-547: Is the world's largest steel producer . In 2005, the British Geological Survey stated China was the top steel producer with about one-third of the world share; Japan , Russia , and the United States were second, third, and fourth, respectively, according to the survey. The large production capacity of steel results also in a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions inherent related to
4428-498: Is then lost to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. This process, known as smelting , was first applied to metals with lower melting points, such as tin , which melts at about 250 °C (482 °F), and copper , which melts at about 1,100 °C (2,010 °F), and the combination, bronze, which has a melting point lower than 1,083 °C (1,981 °F). In comparison, cast iron melts at about 1,375 °C (2,507 °F). Small quantities of iron were smelted in ancient times, in
4551-556: The 1994–95 season , with a view to British Steel-sponsored Middlesbrough shirts making their appearance the following season . But the sponsorship deal was terminated before it commenced after it was revealed that British steel only made up a tiny fraction of steel used in construction of the stadium, and that the bulk of the steel had been imported from Germany . The English rock band XTC mentioned British Steel in their 1979 song Making Plans for Nigel . The heavy metal band Judas Priest named their 1980 album British Steel after
4674-655: The Golconda area in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka , regions of India , as well as in Samanalawewa and Dehigaha Alakanda, regions of Sri Lanka . This came to be known as wootz steel , produced in South India by about the sixth century BC and exported globally. The steel technology existed prior to 326 BC in the region as they are mentioned in literature of Sangam Tamil , Arabic, and Latin as
4797-523: The Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain . American Marshall Plan aid in 1948–50 reinforced modernisation efforts and provided funding for them. However, the nationalisation was reversed by the Conservative government after 1952. The industry was re-nationalised in 1967 under another Labour government, becoming British Steel Corporation (BSC). But by then, 20 years of political manipulation had left companies, such as British Steel, with serious problems:
4920-651: The UK Parliament and the Senedd . The constituency includes both the city and some of its outlying villages such as Gwersyllt, Llay , Marford , Rossett and Holt . The UK Parliament constituency of Wrexham was considered a safe seat for the Labour Party until 2019. At the 2019 general election , Wrexham elected Sarah Atherton MP to the House of Commons , the first Conservative Member of Parliament for
5043-610: The Wrexham Industrial Estate , previously used in the Second World War , has become home to many manufacturing businesses. Wrexham Town Hall, an early 18th century arcaded structure with an assembly hall on the first floor, which had been built at the top of Town Hall, was demolished to improve traffic flows in the area in February 1940. Wrexham's former police station on Regent Street, originally
British Steel (1967–1999) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-599: The cementation process was described in a treatise published in Prague in 1574 and was in use in Nuremberg from 1601. A similar process for case hardening armour and files was described in a book published in Naples in 1589. The process was introduced to England in about 1614 and used to produce such steel by Sir Basil Brooke at Coalbrookdale during the 1610s. The raw material for this process were bars of iron. During
5289-607: The open-hearth furnace . With the invention of the Bessemer process, a new era of mass-produced steel began. Mild steel replaced wrought iron . The German states were the major steel producers in Europe in the 19th century. American steel production was centred in Pittsburgh , Bethlehem, Pennsylvania , and Cleveland until the late 20th century. Currently, world steel production is centered in China, which produced 54% of
5412-497: The 17th century but there were workshops of weavers, smiths, nailers as well as dye houses. The 1620 Norden's jury of survey of Wrexham Regis stated that four-fifths of the land-holding classes of Wrexham bore Welsh names and every field except one within the manor bore a Welsh or semi-Welsh name. A grammar school was established in 1603 by Alderman Valentine Broughton of Chester. During the English Civil War , most of
5535-537: The 17th century, Wrexham served as an educational and cultural focal point for local society and became a 'Puritan Metropolis'. Morgan Llwyd , the radical nonconformist preacher and writer, was educated at the Wrexham Grammar School and became Vicar of Wrexham in 1645. Wrexham was known for its leather industry and by the 18th century there were a number of skinners and tanners in the town. The Industrial Revolution began in Wrexham in 1762 when
5658-445: The 17th century, it was realized that the best steel came from oregrounds iron of a region north of Stockholm , Sweden. This was still the usual raw material source in the 19th century, almost as long as the process was used. Crucible steel is steel that has been melted in a crucible rather than having been forged , with the result that it is more homogeneous. Most previous furnaces could not reach high enough temperatures to melt
5781-475: The 17th century, the first step in European steel production has been the smelting of iron ore into pig iron in a blast furnace . Originally employing charcoal, modern methods use coke , which has proven more economical. In these processes, pig iron made from raw iron ore was refined (fined) in a finery forge to produce bar iron , which was then used in steel-making. The production of steel by
5904-443: The 2011 census, Wrexham's built-up area was determined to extend further into villages like Brymbo , Brynteg , Gwersyllt , New Broughton and Pentre Broughton with a population of 61,603, while also including nearby Bradley and Rhostyllen for a population of 65,692 in 2011. Wrexham was likely founded prior to the 11th century and developed in the Middle Ages as a regional centre for trade and administration. The city became
6027-608: The Arabs from Persia, who took it from India. It was originally created from several different materials including various trace elements , apparently ultimately from the writings of Zosimos of Panopolis . In 327 BC, Alexander the Great was rewarded by the defeated King Porus , not with gold or silver but with 30 pounds of steel. A recent study has speculated that carbon nanotubes were included in its structure, which might explain some of its legendary qualities, though, given
6150-466: The British Steel Corporation. Lead singer Rob Halford explained in an interview that the 'sounds of heavy metal' have been with him since childhood, due to the close proximity of the BSC plant where he grew up. Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon with improved strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, steel
6273-577: The Chair and the Crown . Parry-Williams later recalled returning home to Rhyd-ddu , where he had been working as a hired hand upon the farm of a relative. Upon telling his employer of his double-victory, Parry-Williams was advised to, "seek grace." When Parry-Williams then explained that both victories had gained him £40, the relative shouted in angry disbelief, "Ac mi gwnest nhw i gyd ar dy din!!!" ("And you earned them all sitting on your arse!!!!") By 1913,
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#17327723904956396-575: The Department of Politics and Public Policy at De Montfort University, has explored the history of British Steel since the Second World War to evaluate the impact of government intervention in a market economy. He suggests that entrepreneurship was lacking in the 1940s; the government could not persuade the industry to upgrade its plants. For generations, the industry had followed a piecemeal growth pattern that proved relatively inefficient in
6519-506: The Labour government of James Callaghan , a review by Lord Beswick had led to the reprieve of the so-called 'Beswick plants', for social reasons, but subsequent governments were obliged under EU rules to withdraw subsidies. Major changes resulted across Europe, including in the UK: The Conservative manifesto for the 1987 general election noted that "British Steel has more than doubled its productivity since 1979 and made
6642-470: The Linz-Donawitz process of basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), developed in 1952, and other oxygen steel making methods. Basic oxygen steelmaking is superior to previous steelmaking methods because the oxygen pumped into the furnace limited impurities, primarily nitrogen, that previously had entered from the air used, and because, with respect to the open hearth process, the same quantity of steel from
6765-752: The London Stock Exchange on 5 December 1988. The privatised company later merged with the Dutch steel producer Koninklijke Hoogovens to form Corus Group on 6 October 1999. Corus itself was taken over in March 2007 by the Indian steel operator Tata Steel . Ian MacGregor later became famous for his role as Chairman of the National Coal Board during the UK miners' strike (1984–1985) . During
6888-596: The North East Wales coal field was producing up to 3 million tonnes a year and employed over 10,000 people, dominating the economic and cultural life of the area. One of the worst mining disasters in British history occurred at Gresford Colliery in 1934 when underground explosions and a subsequent fire cost the lives of 266 men. However the industry went into decline after the First World War , and of
7011-483: The Parish Church of St Giles which was the focal point around which the city developed. The church precinct, and the surrounding narrow enclosed streets and alleyways retain a medieval character. Several complete medieval buildings survive on Town Hill and Church Street . Hope Street, Regent Street and Queen Street form the traditional main shopping streets and are wider in some parts than others, resulting from
7134-454: The RWF, as well as official records. The local police was housed in the high-rise Wrexham Police Station from 1973 to 2019, with the building demolished the following year. The police moved to a smaller facility next to Wrexham Library . Wrexham County Borough Council is made up of 56 Councillors, with one then appointed to serve as Mayor for a year. The most recent election to the council
7257-528: The UK's steelmaking capacity; it had around 268,500 employees and around 200 wholly or partly-owned subsidiaries based in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Africa, South Asia, and South America. Dorman Long, South Durham and Stewarts and Lloyds had merged as British Steel and Tube Ltd before vesting took place. BSC later arranged an exchange deal with Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds Ltd (GKN),
7380-509: The addition of heat. Twinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP) steel uses a specific type of strain to increase the effectiveness of work hardening on the alloy. Wrexham Wrexham ( / ˈ r ɛ k s əm / REK -səm ; Welsh : Wrecsam [ˈrɛksam] ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales . It is located between the Welsh mountains and
7503-436: The austenite grain boundaries until the percentage of carbon in the grains has decreased to the eutectoid composition (0.8% carbon), at which point the pearlite structure forms. For steels that have less than 0.8% carbon (hypoeutectoid), ferrite will first form within the grains until the remaining composition rises to 0.8% of carbon, at which point the pearlite structure will form. No large inclusions of cementite will form at
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#17327723904957626-471: The austenite is for it to precipitate out of solution as cementite , leaving behind a surrounding phase of BCC iron called ferrite with a small percentage of carbon in solution. The two, cementite and ferrite, precipitate simultaneously producing a layered structure called pearlite , named for its resemblance to mother of pearl . In a hypereutectoid composition (greater than 0.8% carbon), the carbon will first precipitate out as large inclusions of cementite at
7749-705: The barracks for the Royal Denbighshire Militia, is now home to Wrexham County Borough Museum . The museum has two galleries devoted to the history of the city and its surrounding communities. The museum also holds the archive of the Royal Welch Fusiliers ; battalions were stationed in Wrexham during the First World War. The collection is notable for containing original documents in the handwriting of Siegfried Sassoon , Robert Graves , J. C. Dunn and other notable members of
7872-530: The beginning of a long struggle between the Welsh and English for territory in this part of Wales. During the eighth century, the Anglo-Saxon royal house of Mercia pushed their frontiers westwards and established the earth boundaries of Wat's Dyke and Offa's Dyke to the west of the present city. It was probably during this first period of Mercian advance in the eighth century that the settlement of Wrexham
7995-636: The birthplace of the Football Association of Wales, which was formed at a meeting in the hotel in 1876. The Golden Lion Pub on the High Street is of 16th century origin and became an inn c.1700. The listed Border Brewery chimney towers over Tuttle Street and forms a local landmark in the city centre. Wrexham held the National Eisteddfod of Wales for the sixth time in 2011. A number of visitor attractions can be found in
8118-494: The boundaries in hypoeutectoid steel. The above assumes that the cooling process is very slow, allowing enough time for the carbon to migrate. As the rate of cooling is increased the carbon will have less time to migrate to form carbide at the grain boundaries but will have increasingly large amounts of pearlite of a finer and finer structure within the grains; hence the carbide is more widely dispersed and acts to prevent slip of defects within those grains, resulting in hardening of
8241-521: The characteristics of steel. Common alloying elements include: manganese , nickel , chromium , molybdenum , boron , titanium , vanadium , tungsten , cobalt , and niobium . Additional elements, most frequently considered undesirable, are also important in steel: phosphorus , sulphur , silicon , and traces of oxygen , nitrogen , and copper . Plain carbon-iron alloys with a higher than 2.1% carbon content are known as cast iron . With modern steelmaking techniques such as powder metal forming, it
8364-529: The coast for ease of access by sea, and closing older, smaller plants, especially those that had been located inland for proximity to coal supplies. From the mid-1970s, British Steel pursued a strategy of concentrating steelmaking in five areas: South Wales, South Yorkshire , Scunthorpe , Teesside and Scotland . This policy continued following the Conservative victory at the 1979 general election . Other traditional steelmaking areas faced cutbacks. Under
8487-533: The company and its work force to be best placed to go on to further achievements and to secure a firmly based competitive industry with a long-term future. On 5 September 1988 the assets, rights and liabilities of British Steel Corporation were transferred to British Steel plc, registered under the Companies Act as company number 2280000, by the British Steel Act 1988. The government retained
8610-596: The constituency. Lesley Griffiths MS, Welsh Labour , has represented the Wrexham constituency in the Senedd since 2007 and has held a number of cabinet positions in the Welsh Government . Wrexham Maelor Hospital (Welsh: Ysbyty Maelor Wrecsam ) is the region's major acute district hospital, with over 900 beds, and is the largest of the three core hospitals in North Wales . The other NHS hospital within
8733-553: The county borough is Chirk Community Hospital and a former Penley Polish Hospital . Yale Hospital (Welsh: Ysbyty Iâl ), situated close to the Maelor Hospital on the Wrexham Technology Park, is Wrexham's largest private hospital with over 25 beds. Formerly BUPA Yale Hospital , it is now owned and operated by Spire Healthcare. Wrexham is served by North Wales Police ; their Eastern Division HQ has
8856-422: The desired properties. Nickel and manganese in steel add to its tensile strength and make the austenite form of the iron-carbon solution more stable, chromium increases hardness and melting temperature, and vanadium also increases hardness while making it less prone to metal fatigue . To inhibit corrosion, at least 11% chromium can be added to steel so that a hard oxide forms on the metal surface; this
8979-412: The east of the city. Two Bronze Age burial mounds are located to the west of the modern city centre and there is evidence that the area had developed into a centre for an innovative metalworking industry by the early Middle Bronze Age. A series of Iron Age hill-forts is located to the west of present-day Wrexham along the upland-lowland line suggesting the presence of an ancient tribal boundary. At
9102-495: The entrepreneur John Wilkinson (1728–1808), known as "Iron Mad Wilkinson", opened Bersham Ironworks . Wilkinson's steam engines enabled a peak of production at Minera Lead Mines on the outskirts of Wrexham. From the late 18th century numerous large-scale industrialised collieries operated in the southern section of the North East Wales coalfield , alongside hundreds of more traditional small-scale pits belonging to
9225-403: The face of world competition. The Labour Party came to power at the 1945 general election , pledging to bring several industries into state ownership . In 1946, it put the first steel development plan into practice with the aim of increasing capacity. It passed the Iron and Steel Act 1949 , which meant nationalisation of the industry, as the government bought out the shareholders, and created
9348-413: The final steel (either as solute elements, or as precipitated phases), impedes the movement of the dislocations that make pure iron ductile, and thus controls and enhances its qualities. These qualities include the hardness , quenching behaviour , need for annealing , tempering behaviour , yield strength , and tensile strength of the resulting steel. The increase in steel's strength compared to pure iron
9471-648: The finest steel in the world exported to the Roman, Egyptian, Chinese and Arab worlds at that time – what they called Seric Iron . A 200 BC Tamil trade guild in Tissamaharama , in the South East of Sri Lanka, brought with them some of the oldest iron and steel artifacts and production processes to the island from the classical period . The Chinese and locals in Anuradhapura , Sri Lanka had also adopted
9594-465: The following Conservative governments of the 1950s with only Britain's largest steel company, Richard Thomas and Baldwins , remaining in public ownership. BSC was established under the Iron and Steel Act 1967 , which vested in the Corporation the shares of the fourteen major UK-based steel companies then in operation, being: At the time of its formation, BSC comprised around ninety per cent of
9717-513: The form of charcoal) in a crucible, was produced in Merv by the 9th to 10th century AD. In the 11th century, there is evidence of the production of steel in Song China using two techniques: a "berganesque" method that produced inferior, inhomogeneous steel, and a precursor to the modern Bessemer process that used partial decarburization via repeated forging under a cold blast . Since
9840-599: The hardenability of thick sections. High strength low alloy steel has small additions (usually < 2% by weight) of other elements, typically 1.5% manganese, to provide additional strength for a modest price increase. Recent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) regulations have given rise to a new variety of steel known as Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS). This material is both strong and ductile so that vehicle structures can maintain their current safety levels while using less material. There are several commercially available grades of AHSS, such as dual-phase steel , which
9963-526: The local Welsh gentry supported King Charles I and in 1642 the King addressed enthusiastic crowds in the town. However, local landlord Sir Thomas Myddelton declared for the Rump Parliament and Parliamentarians occupied the town in 1643 and 1645. Wrexham served as military headquarters for both forces and a quarter of houses were burned down in 1643 during the quartering of troops in the town. In
10086-459: The location of the street markets, which occurred from Medieval times through to the 19th century. The shopping streets and indoor markets are interconnected by historic narrow alleyways and arcades, such as Bank Street and Central Arcade , which host small independent businesses. The half-timbered Talbot Hotel building , built in 1904, stands in a prominent position at the junction of Hope Street and Queen Street. The Horse and Jockey Public House,
10209-536: The lower Dee Valley , near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county of Denbighshire , and later the county of Clwyd in 1974, it has been the principal settlement of Wrexham County Borough since 1996. Wrexham has historically been one of the primary settlements of Wales. At the 2021 Census , it had an urban population of 44,785. The core of the city comprises the local government communities of Acton , Caia Park , Offa and Rhosddu . In
10332-439: The main production route. At the end of 2008, the steel industry faced a sharp downturn that led to many cut-backs. In 2021, it was estimated that around 7% of the global greenhouse gas emissions resulted from the steel industry. Reduction of these emissions are expected to come from a shift in the main production route using cokes, more recycling of steel and the application of carbon capture and storage technology. Steel
10455-403: The mid 19th century Wrexham was granted borough status. By 1851, the population of Wrexham was 6,714; within thirty years this had increased to 10,978 as the town became increasingly industrialised. Wrexham benefited from good underground water supplies which were essential to the brewing of beer: by the mid-19th century, there were 19 breweries in and around the town. Wrexham Lager brewery
10578-450: The most part, however, p-block elements such as sulphur, nitrogen , phosphorus , and lead are considered contaminants that make steel more brittle and are therefore removed from steel during the melting processing. The density of steel varies based on the alloying constituents but usually ranges between 7,750 and 8,050 kg/m (484 and 503 lb/cu ft), or 7.75 and 8.05 g/cm (4.48 and 4.65 oz/cu in). Even in
10701-590: The most populous settlement in Wales in the 17th century and was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century. Prior to de-industrialisation in the 20th century, the city and surrounding area were a hub of coal and lead mining; the production of iron, steel and leather; and brewing. Today, Wrexham continues to serve north Wales and the Welsh borderlands as a centre for manufacturing, retail, education and administration. The city
10824-436: The oxidation rate of iron increases rapidly beyond 800 °C (1,470 °F), it is important that smelting take place in a low-oxygen environment. Smelting, using carbon to reduce iron oxides, results in an alloy ( pig iron ) that retains too much carbon to be called steel. The excess carbon and other impurities are removed in a subsequent step. Other materials are often added to the iron/carbon mixture to produce steel with
10947-507: The parent company of GKN Steel, under which BSC acquired Dowlais Ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil and GKN took over BSC's Brymbo Steelworks near Wrexham . According to Blair (1997), British Steel faced serious problems at the time of its formation, including obsolescent plants; plants operating under capacity and thus at low efficiency; outdated technology; price controls that reduced marketing flexibility; soaring coal and oil costs; lack of capital investment funds; and increasing competition on
11070-440: The private sector as soon as practicable. It is quite apparent that the British Steel Corporation has now reached the stage where it would benefit from a return to a fully commercial environment. I am therefore pleased to announce that I am setting in hand the work necessary to privatise the corporation as soon as possible, subject to market conditions. […] I believe that early privatisation and full commercial freedom will enable
11193-513: The produce of the Dee valley and Denbighshire uplands, whilst iron and lead were also mined locally. From 1327 onwards, the town is referred to as a villa mercatoria (market town) and became a celebrated centre for Welsh craftsmen. The town was particularly well known in the 14th and 15th centuries for the manufacture of Welsh bucklers , as illustrated by the mention in the 1547 Inventory of King Henry VIII of 'wreckesham Buckelers'. In 1391 Wrexham
11316-449: The product but only locally relieves strains and stresses locked up within the material. Annealing goes through three phases: recovery , recrystallization , and grain growth . The temperature required to anneal a particular steel depends on the type of annealing to be achieved and the alloying constituents. Quenching involves heating the steel to create the austenite phase then quenching it in water or oil . This rapid cooling results in
11439-759: The production methods of creating wootz steel from the Chera Dynasty Tamils of South India by the 5th century AD. In Sri Lanka, this early steel-making method employed a unique wind furnace, driven by the monsoon winds, capable of producing high-carbon steel. Since the technology was acquired from the Tamilians from South India, the origin of steel technology in India can be conservatively estimated at 400–500 BC. The manufacture of wootz steel and Damascus steel , famous for its durability and ability to hold an edge, may have been taken by
11562-555: The reign of Henry VIII brought the lordship into the full system of English administration and law. It became part of the new shire of Denbighshire in 1536. In 1584 St Richard Gwyn , a local Recusant , schoolteacher, and poet in the Welsh-language, was convicted of high treason based on his Catholic beliefs by a panel of judges headed by the Chief Justice of Chester , Sir George Bromley . On 15 October 1584, Gwyn
11685-544: The same problems as much of industrialised Britain and saw little investment in the 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) funded a major dual carriageway (the A483) bypassing Wrexham town centre and connecting it with nearby Chester and with England's trunk road network. New shopping areas have been created within the town at Henblas Square, Island Green and Eagles Meadow and
11808-582: The seven large-scale collieries operating in the Wrexham area in 1946, only two functional collieries remained by 1968. The last pit to close in the Borough was Bersham Colliery in 1986.The leatherworks in Pentrefelin and Tuttle Street, the many coal mines in the area, the brickworks in Abenbury, Brymbo Steelworks and the breweries all closed in the latter half of the 20th century. Wrexham suffered from
11931-477: The solid-state, by heating the ore in a charcoal fire and then welding the clumps together with a hammer and in the process squeezing out the impurities. With care, the carbon content could be controlled by moving it around in the fire. Unlike copper and tin, liquid or solid iron dissolves carbon quite readily. All of these temperatures could be reached with ancient methods used since the Bronze Age . Since
12054-401: The steel. At the very high cooling rates produced by quenching, the carbon has no time to migrate but is locked within the face-centred austenite and forms martensite . Martensite is a highly strained and stressed, supersaturated form of carbon and iron and is exceedingly hard but brittle. Depending on the carbon content, the martensitic phase takes different forms. Below 0.2% carbon, it takes on
12177-561: The steel. The early modern crucible steel industry resulted from the invention of Benjamin Huntsman in the 1740s. Blister steel (made as above) was melted in a crucible or in a furnace, and cast (usually) into ingots. The modern era in steelmaking began with the introduction of Henry Bessemer 's process in 1855, the raw material for which was pig iron. His method let him produce steel in large quantities cheaply, thus mild steel came to be used for most purposes for which wrought iron
12300-526: The strike the " Battle of Orgreave " took place at British Steel's coking plant. In 1971 British Steel sponsored Sir Chay Blyth in his record-making non-stop circumnavigation against the winds and currents, known as 'The Impossible Voyage'. In 1992 they sponsored the British Steel Challenge , the first of a series of 'wrong way' races for amateur crews. British Steel had agreed a sponsorship deal with Middlesbrough Football Club during
12423-561: The technology of that time, such qualities were produced by chance rather than by design. Natural wind was used where the soil containing iron was heated by the use of wood. The ancient Sinhalese managed to extract a ton of steel for every 2 tons of soil, a remarkable feat at the time. One such furnace was found in Samanalawewa and archaeologists were able to produce steel as the ancients did. Crucible steel , formed by slowly heating and cooling pure iron and carbon (typically in
12546-747: The time of the Roman conquest of Britain , the area which Wrexham formed part of was held by a Celtic tribe called the Cornovii . A Roman civilian settlement was located in the Plas Coch area of Wrexham and excavations have revealed evidence of agriculture and trade with the wider Roman world. Following the end of Roman rule in Britain, Wrexham formed part of the Romano-British Kingdom of Powys . The Battle of Chester circa 615/616 marked
12669-457: The town in 1161 is to a castle at 'Wristlesham'. Stability under the princes of Powys Fadog enabled Wrexham to develop as a trading town and administrative centre of one of the two commotes making up the Lordship. In 1202, Madoc ap Gruffydd Maelor , Lord of Dinas Brân , granted some of his demesne lands in 'Wrechcessham' to the abbey of Valle Crucis and in 1220 the earliest reference to
12792-499: The turn of the 21st century, in competitions to mark the new Millennium, and for both the Queen's Golden and Diamond Jubilees. In March 2012, it was announced that Wrexham had again missed out on city status as the community of St Asaph , which was previously a city, was granted city status. In 2021, the Wrexham council announced their intention to apply for a fourth time for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee award . On 20 May 2022, it
12915-525: The upper carbon content of steel, beyond which is cast iron. When carbon moves out of solution with iron, it forms a very hard, but brittle material called cementite (Fe 3 C). When steels with exactly 0.8% carbon (known as a eutectoid steel), are cooled, the austenitic phase (FCC) of the mixture attempts to revert to the ferrite phase (BCC). The carbon no longer fits within the FCC austenite structure, resulting in an excess of carbon. One way for carbon to leave
13038-480: The uprising led by Owain Glyndŵr against King Henry IV of England during the early 15th century. Local poet Guto'r Glyn (c. 1412 – c. 1493) heralded Siôn ap Madog, the great-nephew of Owain Glyndŵr, as ' Alecsander i Wrecsam ' ("an Alexander for Wrexham") and the poet Hywel Dafi addresses Siôn's heir as ' Gwregys am ais Gwregsam wyt' ('a girdle around the heart of Wrexham.’). The Acts of Union passed during
13161-408: The world market. By the 1970s, the government adopted a policy of keeping employment high in the declining industry. This especially impacted BSC since it was a major employer in a number of depressed regions. One of the arguments made in favour of nationalisation was that it would enable steel production to be rationalised. This involved concentrating investment on major integrated plants, placed near
13284-428: The world's steel in 2023. Further refinements in the process, such as basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), largely replaced earlier methods by further lowering the cost of production and increasing the quality of the final product. Today more than 1.6 billion tons of steel is produced annually. Modern steel is generally identified by various grades defined by assorted standards organizations . The modern steel industry
13407-406: Was a major employer in depressed regions, it was decided to keep many mills and facilities operating at a loss. In the 1980s, Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher re-privatised BSC as British Steel. Under private control, the company dramatically cut its workforce and underwent a radical reorganisation and massive capital investment to again become competitive in the world marketplace. BSC
13530-488: Was announced that as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours , Wrexham would receive city status . The status was confirmed by Letters Patent on 1 September 2022. It became Wales' seventh city . Wrexham is not built on a major river, but on a relatively flat plateau between the lower Dee Valley and easternmost mountains of north-east Wales . This position enabled it to grow as
13653-718: Was developed in Southern India and Sri Lanka in the 1st millennium BCE. Metal production sites in Sri Lanka employed wind furnaces driven by the monsoon winds, capable of producing high-carbon steel. Large-scale wootz steel production in India using crucibles occurred by the sixth century BC, the pioneering precursor to modern steel production and metallurgy. High-carbon steel was produced in Britain at Broxmouth Hillfort from 490–375 BC, and ultrahigh-carbon steel
13776-509: Was established in 1882 in Central Road and became the first brewery in the United Kingdom to produce lager beer. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Hightown Barracks in 1877. The Poyser Street drill hall was completed in 1902. When the 1912 National Eisteddfod of Wales was held at Wrexham, T.H. Parry-Williams achieved for the first time the feat, almost unheard of since, of winning both
13899-400: Was formed from the assets of former private companies which had been nationalised, largely under the Labour government of Harold Wilson , on 28 July 1967. Wilson's was the second attempt at nationalisation; the post-war government of Clement Attlee had created the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain in 1951 taking public ownership of 80 companies but this had been largely reversed by
14022-509: Was formerly used. The Gilchrist-Thomas process (or basic Bessemer process ) was an improvement to the Bessemer process, made by lining the converter with a basic material to remove phosphorus. Another 19th-century steelmaking process was the Siemens-Martin process , which complemented the Bessemer process. It consisted of co-melting bar iron (or steel scrap) with pig iron. These methods of steel production were rendered obsolete by
14145-587: Was founded on the flat ground above the meadows of the River Gwenfro . The name Wrexham probably comes from the old English for Wryhtel's river meadow. Alternatively, the name may have described a settlement of the Wreocensæte people, who were possibly a continuation of the Cornovii tribe of Roman Britain. The settlement may have originally been named 'Caer Fantell' in Welsh but by the 13th century
14268-424: Was home to approximately 40% of the total population of the county borough in 2007. Wrexham is approximately 13 miles (21 km) south of Chester, 30 miles (50 km) north-west of Shrewsbury , 43 miles (69 km) south-west of Manchester , and 140 miles (230 km) north of Cardiff . The historic city centre contains a large number of listed buildings set on a Medieval street pattern radiating out from
14391-650: Was on 5 May 2022, the election resulted in a Independent Group – Conservative coalition , as well as various ward changes and the addition of 4 new councillor seats from the 2022 election. The main contiguous part of the city of Wrexham, east of the A483 dual carriageway , is divided into the communities of Acton , Rhosddu , Offa and Caia Park . Although other definitions of the city, may consider Wrexham to extend westwards into other communities such as Gwersyllt and New Broughton which are part of Wrexham's built-up area. The Wrexham constituency elects members to
14514-474: Was probably originally built in the 16th century as a hall-house and retains its thatched roof. High Street is notable for its grand 18th and 19th century properties of varying scale, colour and detail which were built on long, narrow burgage plots probably of medieval origin. The 18th century façade of the Wynnstay Hotel on Yorke Street closes the vista down the High Street. The hotel is notable as
14637-438: Was produced globally, with 630,000,000 tonnes (620,000,000 long tons; 690,000,000 short tons) recycled. Modern steels are made with varying combinations of alloy metals to fulfil many purposes. Carbon steel , composed simply of iron and carbon, accounts for 90% of steel production. Low alloy steel is alloyed with other elements, usually molybdenum , manganese, chromium, or nickel, in amounts of up to 10% by weight to improve
14760-706: Was produced in the Netherlands from the 2nd-4th centuries AD. The Roman author Horace identifies steel weapons such as the falcata in the Iberian Peninsula , while Noric steel was used by the Roman military . The Chinese of the Warring States period (403–221 BC) had quench-hardened steel, while Chinese of the Han dynasty (202 BC—AD 220) created steel by melting together wrought iron with cast iron, thus producing
14883-575: Was recorded in Welsh as 'Gwrexham' or 'Gregsam'. The Mercians fought over north-east Wales during the eighth to tenth centuries but the Welsh Kings of Powys re-conquered the Wrexham area during the 11th century. Following the Welsh reconquest, Wrexham formed an integral part of the Powys lordship of Maelor and so does not appear in the Domesday Book of 1086. The first recorded reference to
15006-586: Was taken to the Beast Market and hung, drawn and quartered for his faith. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales . His Feast Day is 17 October. The main body of the church of St Giles was rebuilt in the late 15th and early 16th centuries to become one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Wales. The economic character remained predominantly as an agricultural market town into
15129-468: Was wealthy enough for a bard, jester, juggler, dancer and goldsmith to earn their living there. The traditional pattern of Welsh life – law , administration, customs and language – remained undisturbed through the Middle Ages and the pattern was for local English people to rapidly adopt the Welsh-language and to be assimilated into Welsh culture , even to point of adopting Welsh Patronymic surnames . The local Welsh nobility and peasantry backed
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