Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

An Iron Foundary was constructed in the Charlton Green area of Dover and is visible on Historic maps dating to the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. The foundary was redeveloped on a number of occasions and was finally demolished in the 1980s. (location accurate to the nearest 10m based on available information)

Monument Types

• FOUNDRY (Demolished, Post Medieval to Modern - 1850 AD? to 1988 AD?)

Full description

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An Iron Foundary was constructed in the Charlton Green area of Dover and is visible on Historic maps dating to the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. (1-4) Earlier in the post medieval period, this land had been used for the popular Charlton Fair but in 1850 the fair was moved to Barton Meadow. Following the move, Anthony Lewis Thomas started a jobbing foundry on Charlton Green, which continued after his death in 1878. By this time the expanding foundry was named AL Thomas & Sons that specialised in manhole covers and street lamps. In 1902 it became a limited company and by 1908, Dover Mayor, Walter Emden, owned a controlling number of ordinary shares in the company and put his nephew, Vivian Elkington, in charge. During World War I the foundry was renamed Dover Engineering Works Ltd, and was responsible for maintaining the two-hundred-strong fleet of the Dover Patrol. When peace returned work resumed making manhole covers and lampposts but due to the increasing number of motor vehicles there was a demand for stronger and better fitting covers. After experiments, in 1928 Elkington and his foreman developed what became the well-known Gatic Cover (Gas & Air Tight Inspection Cover). During World War II the Engineering Works moved to Watford but agreed to come back to Dover if they could use their old premises on Charlton Green. Initially, they opened a small foundry within the Eastern Dockyard while the Charlton foundry was rebuilt. The new foundry meant that the company could expand operations to included large projects for airfields, power stations and oil installations. The Company became a subsidiary of Newman Industries, Bristol, in 1977, then eleven years later, in July 1988, they called in the Receiver. Bought by the Parkfield Group, most of the foundry work moved to Irvine in Scotland. Some production did move to Coombe Valley Road but only 23 out of the 155 jobs were saved. The Charlton Green engineering complex was demolished and a B&Q superstore and car park was built on the site. (5)

<1> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 1st edition 1862-1875): Landmark Epoch 1 (Map). SKE30964.

<2> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 2nd Edition, 1897-1900): Landmark Epoch 2 (Map). SKE30965.

<3> Landmark, 1907-1923, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 3rd Edition, 1907-1923): Landmark Epoch 3 (Map). SKE30966.

<4> Landmark, Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 map (OS 4th Edition, 1929-1952): Landmark Epoch 4 (Map). SKE30967.

<5> Lorraine Sencicle, 2016, The Dover Historian - Dour River - Part I an Historical Overview (Website). SKE51679.

Sources and further reading