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<p>[QUOTE="Laser_space, post: 4320554, member: 24111"]2nd plaque. Loock like - </p><p><b>Webster..........</b></p><p><b>Caustic Soda-Class 1</b> (on russian)</p><p><br /></p><p>another <b><font size="5"><a href="https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Allhusen_Works" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Allhusen_Works" rel="nofollow">Allhusen Newcastle</a> </font></b><font size="4">(soap and alkali manufacturer)</font></p><p><font size="4">[ATTACH]353165[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]353166[/ATTACH] </font></p><p><b>Caustic Soda St Helens Great Britain </b><font size="4">(<a href="https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/11157080.a-piece-of-st-helens-history-found-in-mexico/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/11157080.a-piece-of-st-helens-history-found-in-mexico/" rel="nofollow">site </a>not work/ click to the spoiler)</font></p><p><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj156qpmq3zAhUitYsKHaK_DecQFnoECBoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FRESissues%2Fcomments%2Fe3t3uw%2Fplease_do_something_about_click_to_see_spoiler%2F&usg=AOvVaw1GLfdjZW_fjKQNCwYrfMkU" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj156qpmq3zAhUitYsKHaK_DecQFnoECBoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FRESissues%2Fcomments%2Fe3t3uw%2Fplease_do_something_about_click_to_see_spoiler%2F&usg=AOvVaw1GLfdjZW_fjKQNCwYrfMkU" rel="nofollow"><b>[ATTACH]353168[/ATTACH] </b></a></p><p><br /></p><p><b>[SPOILER="Text"][/SPOILER]</b>[SPOILER="Text"]</p><p><font size="3">STEPHEN Wainwright, who compiles the Sutton Beauty and Heritage website, tells me: “To me the joy of having a heritage website is not knowing who will get in touch next.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">On October 4 I received my first email from Mexico after Eliseo Amavizca unearthed a relic from the industrial past of St Helens. The metal detector enthusiast found a plate measuring seven inches by five inches with the writing ‘United Alkali Co Ltd, Walker Works, 70% 72%, Caustic Soda, St Helens, Great Britain’.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">“Although Eliseo got in touch via Sutton Beauty & Heritage, the Walker Works was actually in Merton Bank. Barker and Harris’s ‘Industrial Town’ describes it as being owned by Thomas Walker from 1876 until 1890, when it was swallowed up by the giant United Alkali Company. It was a small chemical works which was apparently closed in 1892. I expect that it was taken over just to eliminate the competition. So Eliseo’s discovery can be dated as between 1890 and 1892.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">“I asked Eliseo to have some photographs taken and asked him a few questions about his find.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">This was then packaged up for the St Helens Star and an article was published. Eliseo was delighted when I sent him the page from the Star’s electronic edition.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">“He wrote: ‘It is excellent. I can print it and translate for my detectorist friends to learn that valuable things are not always made of precious metals.’ I quite agree!</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">“How the plate ended up under Mexican soil will no doubt never be known. However that isn’t the only mystery.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">The day after publication I received an email from the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes, who it turns out have been tracking these oval-shaped iron relics for some years. They sent me a photo of one from Golding Davis of Widnes, which had also been part of the United Alkali Company.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">They acquired it via eBay and have seen two others being auctioned in the past, all located within the USA.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">“In the Star article I speculated that Eliseo’s find may have been the iron lid of a caustic soda container that had been shipped to the Americas. However the Discovery Centre say they haven’t been able to figure out the exact function of these old relics. One was advertised on eBay as a “trivet”, an iron device for holding cooking pots over flames or a grate, as it has a circular ring on its back.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">“I would be very interested to hear if anyone has any ideas about the purpose of these ‘plates’.</font></p><p><font size="3"><br /></font></p><p><font size="3">The common characteristics are that they’ve all been discovered abroad (in the US and Mexico) and all seem to have been connected to works within the United Alkali Company.”</font></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b></b>[/SPOILER][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Laser_space, post: 4320554, member: 24111"]2nd plaque. Loock like - [B]Webster.......... Caustic Soda-Class 1[/B] (on russian) another [B][SIZE=5][URL='https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Allhusen_Works']Allhusen Newcastle[/URL] [/SIZE][/B][SIZE=4](soap and alkali manufacturer) [ATTACH]353165[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]353166[/ATTACH] [/SIZE] [B]Caustic Soda St Helens Great Britain [/B][SIZE=4]([URL='https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/11157080.a-piece-of-st-helens-history-found-in-mexico/']site [/URL]not work/ click to the spoiler)[/SIZE] [URL='https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj156qpmq3zAhUitYsKHaK_DecQFnoECBoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FRESissues%2Fcomments%2Fe3t3uw%2Fplease_do_something_about_click_to_see_spoiler%2F&usg=AOvVaw1GLfdjZW_fjKQNCwYrfMkU'][B][ATTACH]353168[/ATTACH] [/B][/URL] [B][SPOILER="Text"][/SPOILER][/B][SPOILER="Text"] [SIZE=3]STEPHEN Wainwright, who compiles the Sutton Beauty and Heritage website, tells me: “To me the joy of having a heritage website is not knowing who will get in touch next. On October 4 I received my first email from Mexico after Eliseo Amavizca unearthed a relic from the industrial past of St Helens. The metal detector enthusiast found a plate measuring seven inches by five inches with the writing ‘United Alkali Co Ltd, Walker Works, 70% 72%, Caustic Soda, St Helens, Great Britain’. “Although Eliseo got in touch via Sutton Beauty & Heritage, the Walker Works was actually in Merton Bank. Barker and Harris’s ‘Industrial Town’ describes it as being owned by Thomas Walker from 1876 until 1890, when it was swallowed up by the giant United Alkali Company. It was a small chemical works which was apparently closed in 1892. I expect that it was taken over just to eliminate the competition. So Eliseo’s discovery can be dated as between 1890 and 1892. “I asked Eliseo to have some photographs taken and asked him a few questions about his find. This was then packaged up for the St Helens Star and an article was published. Eliseo was delighted when I sent him the page from the Star’s electronic edition. “He wrote: ‘It is excellent. I can print it and translate for my detectorist friends to learn that valuable things are not always made of precious metals.’ I quite agree! “How the plate ended up under Mexican soil will no doubt never be known. However that isn’t the only mystery. The day after publication I received an email from the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes, who it turns out have been tracking these oval-shaped iron relics for some years. They sent me a photo of one from Golding Davis of Widnes, which had also been part of the United Alkali Company. They acquired it via eBay and have seen two others being auctioned in the past, all located within the USA. “In the Star article I speculated that Eliseo’s find may have been the iron lid of a caustic soda container that had been shipped to the Americas. However the Discovery Centre say they haven’t been able to figure out the exact function of these old relics. One was advertised on eBay as a “trivet”, an iron device for holding cooking pots over flames or a grate, as it has a circular ring on its back. “I would be very interested to hear if anyone has any ideas about the purpose of these ‘plates’. The common characteristics are that they’ve all been discovered abroad (in the US and Mexico) and all seem to have been connected to works within the United Alkali Company.”[/SIZE] [B] [/B][/SPOILER][B][/B][/QUOTE]
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