Adrodd fel Amhriodol
Testun Gwreiddiol (Anodiad: EAW027393 / 2170195)
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Darlington Forge. The Darlington Forge Company Limited was established on Albert Hill in 1854 by Cowans, Sheldon & Co of Carlisle. Together with other manufacturers, including the Whessoe Foundry Company Limited, the Darlington Forge went on to help the town to develop a world-class reputation for heavy engineering. Among other achievements the Darlington Forge Company were responsible for casting mammoth parts for the most famous ships in the Cunard fleet.
During the second war the Forge opened a Ministry of Supply unit for gun-making, and for the first time employed women on the shop-floor. The workforce in December 1942 numbered 1,700 men and 300 women. The company was said to have spent £250,000 on new plant and shops, and by the end of the war again employed about a thousand workers.
1954 Although the foundry remained busy, the forging department was much reduced. There followed a long decline, with closure mooted in 1963.
1967 The axe finally fell in January 1967 when the English Steel Corporation announced the closure of the Darlington Forge, blaming 'considerable excess capacity in Great Britain for the production of heavy forgings' and the effect of continental imports. 120 staff and 530 works personnel lost their jobs in a phased closure.
1970 The Darlington Forge Ltd was finally dissolved. '