The Levington Research Station is a fertiliser research institute in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

History

Fisons

It was opened by Fisons in 1957. It received a Civic Trust Award in 1959. Fisons sold the property in 1981. Around three hundred people worked at the site and it was one of Europe's largest research institutes in the field of fertiliser.

Ownership

On 1 January 1960, Fisons Horticulture and Fisons Fertilisers were formed. The research site worked with both. The horticultural division of Fisons was sold off for £25.4m in a management buy out in 1994 known as Levington Horticulture; the division had around 280 people and around 26% of the UK market, turning over £47m. In 1997 this division was sold on again to the present ownership.

Fertiliser

The research site developed the first specialist sports turf fertiliser; typical agricultural fertiliser was too concentrated: this is now found at all main golf courses across Europe under the Greensmaster brand. Levington Horticulture also made Turfclear herbicide, and had a

Royal Warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...

Compost

The site is known for developing Levington Compost in the 1960s. The compost was made in South Yorkshire and the fertiliser was made at Bramford, west of Ipswich, next to the

Great Eastern Main Line The Great Eastern Main Line (GEML, sometimes referred to as the East Anglia Main Line) is a major railway line on the British railway system which connects Liverpool Street station in central London with destinations in east London and t ...

. Levington Multi-Purpose Compost (when owned by Fisons) had a 1984 television advert featuring Jack and the Beanstalk.

Visits

On Tuesday 1 May 1956, the site was visited by the Duke of Edinburgh.''Times'' Wednesday 2 May 1956, page 12

Structure

It is in the

Suffolk Coastal Suffolk Coastal was a local government district in Suffolk, England. Its council was based in Melton, having moved from neighbouring Woodbridge in 2017. Other towns include Felixstowe, Framlingham, Leiston, Aldeburgh, and Saxmundham. The ...

district of Suffolk.

References

External links

History
{{authority control 1957 establishments in England Chemical industry in the United Kingdom Chemical research institutes Horticultural organisations based in the United Kingdom Research institutes established in 1957 Research institutes in Suffolk East Suffolk (district)