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39-588: William Gossage (1799–1877) was the founder of the dynasty and the youngest of 13 children. He was born in Burgh in the Marsh, near Skegness , Lincolnshire . He had his chemical training from his uncle, a druggist in Chesterfield to whom he was apprenticed at the age of 12, in 1823. He set up in business at Leamington , where he made Leamington Salts . There he met a girl and was married in 1830. Their first son

78-513: A commuter route to the centre of Manchester , making the clean air and tranquility of the Bowdon Downs more attractive to developers. Initially, terraces and semi-detached houses were built, but by the 1860s and 1870s, the 'merchant princes' had built the large houses on Green Walk which are still a defining feature of the ward. By 1878, Kelly's Directory was describing Bowdon as "studded with handsome villas and mansions", and around 60% of

117-696: A copper smelter. Vast quantities of iron pyrites (FeS) were burnt in the town. to produce sulphur compounds for the sulphuric acid vital for the Leblanc Process. Copper was a common impurity in pyrites, and he devised a way to extract from the burnt pyrites. However, as soon as the pyrites mine owners heard of his process, they adopted it themselves. Gossage ruefully observed: "That is the worst of telling people you can get something out of their refuse" Gossage continued soda making in Widnes, patenting important new methods in 1852. His greatest commercial success

156-508: A derelict windmill with gorse and brushwood, introduced the gas at the bottom, and water at the top, and found that little or no fumes remained at the top. He developed this technique into the Gossage tower , using a deep bed of coke in a high tower to absorb the gas. The Gossage condensing towers were eventually used almost universally by the Leblanc factories. From 1841 to 1844 Gossage

195-600: A factory owned by the Tennant Company, he set up his own business in Leamington trading in medicinal salts. In about 1830 he went into partnership with a Mr. Farndon making alkali at The British Alkali Works, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire . During this time Gossage experimented with a method of absorbing the hydrochloric acid gas released as a result of the Leblanc process of manufacturing alkali. He filled

234-480: A marbled appearance. This became a best seller, domestically and abroad. It was protected by patent 1120 of 21 April 1857. The original blocks of soap were brown. Gossage called in James Hargreaves, (1834–1915) a local consultant chemist. After many sleepless nights they eventually discovered a way to produce a whitish soap with the mottle (particles of ultra marine) distributed evenly through it, producing

273-619: A much lower cost than by the methods existing at the time and in 1855 he gave up making alkali to set up his soap works. Two years later he started to add pigments to his soap, producing mottled soap, his 'blue mottled' soap being famous both in the UK and abroad. This became extremely successful commercially under the brand name of Gossage . The soap was exhibited at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London where it won

312-423: A prize medal for "excellence in quality". Gossage continued to experiment throughout the rest of his career and his patents totalled over 50. One of his patents was an attempt to make alkali by the ammonia-soda process and another to recover sulphur from alkali waste. William Gossage married Mary Herbert of Leamington in 1824 with whom he had seven children. Two of their sons, Alfred and Frederick continued in

351-618: A ridge which rises above the Cheshire Plain. Bowdon is the largest ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, and comprises several small, rural villages surrounded by open countryside, including Dunham Massey Country Park and other more densely populated residential areas. It has been described as an affluent and attractive place to live. The majority of the ward is owned by the National Trust as part of

390-555: A soap that looked rather like a blue cheese. Other companies followed his lead- mottled soaps were widely made, by companies such as Christopher Price of Bristol. It is unclear whether they copied Gossage's ideas, or had some kind of licensing agreement. Some sources say that the Gossage company was responsible for 50% of all the UK's soap exports in the 1860s and 1870s. Gossage made soaps for India and China. For domestic sale, it made special soaps, such as kosher soaps. He retired from

429-773: Is a suburb of Altrincham and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford , Greater Manchester , England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire , both Bowdon and Dunham Massey are mentioned in the Domesday Book , citing the existence of a church and a mill in Bowdon, and Dunham Massey is identified as Doneham: Hamo de Mascy . The name Bowdon came from Anglo-Saxon Boga-dūn = " bow (weapon) -hill" or "curved hill". Both areas came under Hamo de Masci in Norman times. His base

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468-609: Is covered by the Bowdon electoral ward; this ward has three out of the 63 seats on the Trafford Council; as of the 2012 local elections all three seats were held by the Conservative Party . The councillors for the Bowdon ward are Sean Anstee, Karen Barclay, and Michael Hyman, all members of the Conservative Party. Bowdon is located at the southwest edge of Greater Manchester . It is situated on

507-724: Is part of the Archdeaconry of Macclesfield within the Anglican Diocese of Chester. The parish covers a number of churches in the south west part of the Greater Manchester conurbation, including: Altrincham St George, Altrincham St John, Ashley, Ashton upon Mersey St Martin, Ashton upon Mersey St Mary Magdalene, Bowdon, Broadheath, Dunham Massey St Margaret, Dunham Massey St Mark, Hale, Oughtrington, Partington and Carrington, Ringway, Sale St Anne, Sale St Paul, Timperley and Warburton. The main parish church of St Mary

546-682: The House of Commons by the Conservative MP , Graham Brady . This is one of only a small number of seats in the North West held by the Conservative Party , and one of only two in Greater Manchester. Bowdon is in Trafford Metropolitan Borough ; Trafford Council is responsible for the administration of local services, such as education, social services, town planning, waste collection and council housing . Bowdon

585-703: The 1980s they have formed the core of Catalyst Science Discovery Centre (formerly Catalyst Museum of the Chemical Industry). The waste ground near the Gossage Buildings formed the site of the Spike Island Festival of 1990. The acid gas emitted by the Leblanc Process was a considerable nuisance. The first successful user of the process, James Muspratt in Liverpool , was forced from Everton due to complaints by neighbours. This

624-530: The Brunner-Mond company, alkali makers. During the Great War (1914–18) the company produced glycerine for the war effort. In peacetime, competition resumed. Brunner-Mond sold Gossage's and other soap companies to Lever, under an agreement: they would exit the soap market, and Lever would not make his own alkali, instead buying it from Brunner-Mond at preferable rates. So, by 1923, after complex negotiations,

663-520: The Dunham Massey Estate, which serves as a significant communal asset for the residents of the local and wider areas. The estate includes Dunham Massey Hall and a deer park. Bowdon is a semi-rural ward and has a low population density. There are four distinct neighbourhoods of Bowdon: According to a Trafford Metropolitan Council report, the population of Bowdon in 2001 was 8,806. 1,730 were under 16 and 1,699 were 65 and over. In 2004,

702-569: The Gossage factory became a Lever property. By 1932, Lever Bros had joined with the Margarine Union of the Netherlands to form Unilever . By that year, 'Magical', and other brands were basically slight variants of 'Sunlight'. So, rationalisation meant the closure of the Widnes plant, and concentration of soap production at Port Sunlight. The factory was demolished, save for the office buildings, which lay derelict for many years. From

741-750: The Trafford Local Studies Centre. Bowdon has formed part of two poor law unions : Altrincham (1837–1895); and Bucklow (1895–1930). Bowdon was in the parliamentary constituency of Altrincham from 1885 until 1945; in Bucklow from 1945 until 1950; in Knutsford from 1950 until 1983; and in Altrincham and Sale from 1983 until 1997. Bowdon has been part of the parliamentary constituency of Altrincham and Sale West since 1997. Since its formation this constituency has been represented in

780-423: The age of 12 he went to work as an apprentice to his uncle, a chemist and druggist in Chesterfield , Derbyshire . During his time there he studied chemistry and French. At the age of 24 he took out his first patent which was a portable alarm to attach to clocks and watches. The purpose of this was to wake his French tutor to begin his lessons early. After working for a time as manager at Ardwick Bridge in

819-532: The business in the 1860s, leaving it to his sons Alfred and Frederick Herbert , and his astute business manager, Thomas Sutton Timmis . William Gossage died at his home in Bowdon , Cheshire on 9 April 1877, with less than £160,000 to his name. The 1881 Census reports that Alfred was then described as 'retired soap manufacturer'. Frederick Herbert became the manager of the company. He left around £720,000 in his will. After their enormous success with silicated soap,

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858-443: The cold process (saponification without the addition of external heat). In 1856 provisional patent 252, full patent 1293, was for adding extra fatty acids or salts of 'lime, magnesia, ammonia, alumina or mixtures of same. Patent 2100 of 1856 was also concerned with making the soap milder. The silicated soap could be made and sold for two pennies per pound, compared to six for normal soaps. In 1857 he introduced 'mottled soap' which had

897-476: The company faced a new threat from 1884. This was William Hesketh Lever 's Sunlight soap . The new Sunlight was a technical and commercial novelty. Gossage's response was to produce their own similar soap, also wrapped, branded and advertised. This was 'Magical', whose logo included a wizard, and mystical symbols, such as crescent moons. This was successful, but other competitors also entered the market, such as Crosfields of Warrington and Hazelhursts of Runcorn. In

936-526: The crops of nearby farmers. By 1836 Gossage had solved the problem with his Gossage Tower . Gossage left Stoke Prior for Birmingham in 1841, where he entered the white lead trade. In 1844 he switched locations and businesses again, becoming a copper smelter in South Wales . However, he would return to Stoke Prior in 1848. In 1850 he made his final move, to Widnes in Lancashire , where he set up

975-447: The early 1900s Lever's empire purchased Hudson's soap flake business. Hudson's soap flakes had been made under contract by Gossage's. Lever moved production to Port Sunlight. Gossage's soon produced an own brand soap flake. Unfortunately, Lever claimed they were using Hudson's (now Lever's) proprietary recipes, and sued the Gossage company. The resulting lawsuit damaged Gossage's finances and reputation. In 1910–1911, they were taken over by

1014-743: The family business after Wiliam's death. Gossage's Widnes home was Marsh Hall, near to his works. He was the first chairman of the Widnes Local Board set up in 1865. He was a signatory to an appeal for donations to build an Anglican church at West Bank. He died in 1877 at his home in Dunham Massey , which was then in the county of Cheshire . He is buried in Smithdown Lane cemetery , Liverpool . His estate amounted to under £ 160,000 (£19024963 in 2016). Citations Sources Bowdon, Greater Manchester Bowdon

1053-462: The hydrochloric acid, thereby ending the water pollution problem caused by the acid. William Gossage William Gossage (12 May 1799 – 9 April 1877) was a chemical manufacturer who established a soap making business in Widnes , Lancashire , England. William Gossage was born in the village of Burgh-le-Marsh , Lincolnshire to Thomas and Eleanor Gossage, the youngest of 13 children. At

1092-538: The majority of residents (8,343) described themselves as white . Out of 8,414 wards of the United Kingdom , Bowdon ranks as 8,235th in terms of deprivation, indicating that only 2.2% of UK wards suffer less deprivation. In 1931, 27.6% of Bowdon's population was middle class compared with 14% in England and Wales, and by 1971, this had increased to 58.9% compared with 24% nationally. Parallel to this doubling of

1131-441: The middle classes in Bowdon was the decline of the working class population. In 1931, 16.1% were working class compared with 36% in England and Wales; by 1971, this had decreased to 14.7% in Bowdon and 26% nationwide. The rest of the population was made up of clerical workers and skilled manual workers or other miscellaneous. Bowdon contains both state and independent schools. State schools Independent schools Bowdon Parish

1170-469: The other Booth estates passed to the Earl of Stamford by his marriage to Lady Mary Booth. The 10th and last Earl of Stamford died in 1976, who bequeathed Dunham Massey and his Carrington estates to the National Trust . The development of Bowdon as a residential area began apace in the 1840s, when the landowners of the area sold off parcels of land. The opening of Bowdon railway station in 1849 provided

1209-512: The residents were business owners. Mains water appeared in 1864, and gas lighting by 1865. The Altrincham History Society Tour highlights historical facts about Bowdon: From 1894 to 1974, Bowdon formed an Urban District local government district in the administrative county of Cheshire . Since 1 April 1974, Bowdon has formed an electoral ward and component area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford. Prior to this Bowdon formed: The records of Bowdon Urban District Council are held at

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1248-635: Was Alfred Howard Gossage, born 1830. The following year he fathered another son, Frederick Herbert Gossage (1831–1907). Around the same year of 1830, he set up partnership with Mr Farndon to form the British Alkali Works at Stoke Prior , Worcestershire . British alkali meant sodium carbonate made by the Leblanc Process . The process involved the use of coal , limestone , salt and sulphuric acid , which produced copious quantities of hydrogen chloride . The noxious gas destroyed

1287-519: Was a wooden castle at Dunham . Watch Hill Castle was built on the border between Bowdon and Dunham Massey between the Norman Conquest and the 13th century. The timber castle most likely belonged to Hamo de Mascy ; the castle had fallen out of use by the 13th century. The last Hamo de Masci died in 1342. The Black Death came to the area in 1348. Before 1494, the ruins of the castle at Dunham were acquired by Sir Robert Booth . In 1750, this and

1326-604: Was in Birmingham manufacturing white lead and from 1844 to 1848 he was in Neath , Wales , experimenting with copper smelting . In 1843 and 1845 he took out patents in the field of metallurgy. He returned to Stoke Prior in 1848 and in 1850 he moved to Widnes. Here he established an alkali works on the opposite side of the Sankey Canal from Hutchinson's No 1 factory near to Widnes Dock . Gossage's alkali production

1365-402: Was on a small scale and he spent time in various experiments, including extracting sulphur from copper ores , extracting copper from iron pyrites , concentrating sulphuric acid and manufacturing caustic soda from the black ash liquor resulting from the Leblanc process. Following another experiment, consisting of adding sodium silicate to soda ash , he discovered he could produce soap at

1404-506: Was one reason why the early alkali makers set up in then remote spots such as Widnes , which they thought would be distant from litigious neighbours. To absorb the waste gas, an apparatus was needed. Muriatic acid gas (HCl) was known to be soluble in water, but at that time it was thought that volume was the crucial variable and no known process could deliver the enormous quantities of water thought to be necessary. In experiments at Stoke Prior, Gossage discovered that surface area, not volume,

1443-620: Was poured into the local rivers and canals, replacing the vast amounts of air pollution with vast amounts of water pollution. However, not all makers used the Gossage Tower; even Gossage himself may not have used it at his Widnes plant until all alkali makers were forced to use it by the Alkali Act of 1863 . In the 1880s chlorine became a valuable resource, used in bleaching powder and other products. Inventors such as Henry Deacon and Walter Weldon devised ways to extract chlorine from

1482-454: Was the key to absorption (it is likely that he collaborated with Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac , who came to the same conclusion at about the same time in 1820s-1830s). He filled an old windmill with twigs and brushwood, and ran a trickle of water over the twigs. An early example of a packed bed , this made for a great surface area of water, able to absorb over 90% of the noxious gas. The dissolved gas created liquid hydrochloric acid . The liquid acid

1521-553: Was with 'silicated soap', pure soap with sodium silicate added. The corrosive water glass had to be neutralised somewhat by additives such as starch. His original patent for silicated soap was patent BP 762/54, patented on 3 April 1854, rapidly followed with patents for the addition of other substances to the mixture. Examples are patents 826 and 908, for firming up the soap with the addition of 'wheat flour or other farinaceous substance', or 'finely divided china clay or flints'. Patent 908 also extended protection to silicated soaps made by

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