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Lampblack Works
The Blacking Factory
Owned by Richard Hoyle then later by Messrs Wood & Fairweather, the works were situated on the River Derwent. It employed one foreman, three blackmakers or firemen, one warehouseman, two coopers to make casks and two wherrymen to man the wherries which carried the produce to ships for transport to countries as distant as India and Italy. Lampblack was the smoke from burning a mixture of tar and creosote oil and was used in the manufacture of paint and rubber. The mixture was fed into fires and the smoke was carried by draught into "arches". These were sealed up by iron doors at the beginning of each week and were not opened until the end of the week when men went in to rake up the deposit of soot and put it into casks. The firm closed in 1930 having opened in the early 19th century.