Description and History of Site:-

Site only, works demolished in 1952.Peter Spence was born at Brechin in 1806 and his early experiments took place at Burgh-by-Sands near Carlisle to find a less labour-intensive, cheaper and more efficient way of producing alum than the established alum works on the coast of north-east Yorkshire, whose processes took many months. He was granted a patent in 1845 and produced the chemical by applying hot, concentrated sulphuric acid to hot calcined shale. In 1846 he set up his first works at Pendleton, Manchester, then opened his second works on Albert Street, Goole in 1855. This was highly successful, producing 25 tons in its first week.
The Goole works produced sulphuric acid on site, with gas-liquor coming from various Yorkshire gasworks and coal shale from the South Yorkshire coalfield.
Spence's works became the biggest producer in the world, taking just weeks rather than months to produce alum.

Further Reading and References:-

Appleton P, A Forgotten Industry, Boroughgate Books, 2018

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Key Words :- Goole alum

Viewing the Site :- Can be viewed from the road

Address :- Albert Street, Goole, East Yorkshire
Grid Ref :- SE 73948 22890
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.697224 , Long -0.881477
Local Authority :- East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - East Riding
Site Status :- Site demolished or no longer extant
Site Condition :- Site cleared - no above ground remains visible
Site Dates :- - 1950
Contributor :- Jane Ellis - 5 February 2021

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Jane Ellis