The Anglo Great Lakes Graphite Plant was a large

graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...

works situated in the

North East of England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...

. It was positioned at

Lemington Lemington is an area and electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. History Lemington has a strong industrial history. It is famous for its brick glassworks cone, built in 1787. The River Tyne used to pass very close to Lem ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, on the north bank of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...

. The plant was operated by the Anglo Great Lakes Corporation and produced high grade carbon for use in Magnox nuclear reactors, Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors and low grade carbon for use in carbon arc burning.

History

The plant was built on the Newburn Haugh. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

a munitions factory was built on the site. The factory was demolished following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the land reclaimed. The graphite plant was then constructed in 1958 for the conversion of carbon into graphite for use in the nuclear industry, supplying graphite for nuclear power stations including; Bradwell, Dungeness 'A', Hinkley Point 'B', Hunterston 'A', Hunterston 'B', Latina & Oldbury. The plant continued operating until the early 1990s and was subsequently demolished, along with the neighbouring Stella North power station. The two adjoining sites were redeveloped as an

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...

, ''Newburn Riverside''. The reclamation scheme cost £46 million. One North East, North East Ambulance Trust and DEFRA are amongst the organisations which now have premises there.

References

{{Authority control 1958 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne Manufacturing companies of England