Chamberlin & Hill Castings (S. Russell & Sons), Leicester

Chamberlin Hill Castings - Former S. Russell & Sons, Leicester

Dating back to 1920 the iron foundry on Bonchurch Street in Leicester produced small to medium sized castings until its closure in 2016.

Visited April 2017  UK Bonchurch Street , Leicester, UK

Formed in 1864 when Samuel Russell moved to Leicester from Loughborough, the brass and iron foundry based its head office, engineering and foundry operations on Bath Lane in Leicester. The company later became S. Russell & Sons when his two sons joined the firm in 1881.

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Front entrance
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Front entrance

As the company expanded, 1920 saw the opening of a further works in Bonchurch Street in the Woodgate area of Leicester. The Bonchurch Street foundry produced medium-sized castings, weighing 30-100kg primarily for the hydraulics and rail industries.

The Bonchurch Street foundry was taken over by Chamberlin & Hill Castings in 2004 and S. Russell & Sons were dissolved the following year. By 2016 demand for the products produced at the foundry had dwindled, and management announced it would be closing by the end of that year.

Furnaces

Starting where the raw materials and scrap metal arrive, the furnaces would melt it all down ready to be poured into moulds

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - The three electric furnaces
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – The three electric furnaces

Chamberlin & Hill - Furnaces
Chamberlin & Hill – Furnaces
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Tiny control room
Chamberlin & Hill – Tiny control room

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Control panel to one side
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Control panel to one side
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Inductotherm control panel
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Inductotherm control panel

Casting and moulding

This is where the molten metal is cast in moulds

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Floor mould for larger castings
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Floor mould for larger castings

Chamberlin & Hill - Hand mould shop
Chamberlin & Hill – Hand mould shop
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Hand mould shop
Chamberlin & Hill – Hand mould shop

Handling and Blast Cleaning

The next stage of the process is to cool and open up the moulds and then clean up the castings

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Moving through to the handling area
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Moving through to the handling area

Chamberlin & Hill - Sand and dust processing
Chamberlin & Hill – Sand and dust processing
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Hunter HV Turntable
Chamberlin & Hill – Hunter HV Turntable

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Hunter HV mould handling machine
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Hunter HV mould handling machine
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Hunter HV mould handling machine
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Hunter HV mould handling machine
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Continuous Tumblast cleaning machine
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Continuous Tumblast cleaning machine
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Beside the CT3
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Beside the CT3

Chamberlin & Hill - View towards offices
Chamberlin & Hill – View towards offices
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Roller conveyors
Chamberlin & Hill – Roller conveyors

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Roller conveyors with boxes for moving castings
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Roller conveyors with boxes for moving castings
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Roller conveyors with boxes for moving castings
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Roller conveyors with boxes for moving castings
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - A large area was dedicated to shotblasting
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – A large area was dedicated to shotblasting
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Shotblasting machine
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Shotblasting machine

Core Shop

The core shop is where cores are machined in the process of creating the moulds for casting

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Eurocor machines in the core shop
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Eurocor machines in the core shop
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Eurocor Corjob-H16
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Eurocor Corjob-H16

Chamberlin & Hill - Inside the core machine
Chamberlin & Hill – Inside the core machine
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Machining area
Chamberlin & Hill – Machining area

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Area for manual machining of cores
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Area for manual machining of cores

Chamberlin & Hill - Racking
Chamberlin & Hill – Racking
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Shelves of cores
Chamberlin & Hill – Shelves of cores

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Core store room
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Core store room

Finishing and Dispatch

The building housing the heat treatment, finishing and dispatch facilities was a later addition, one of the last buildings to be built on the site.

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Heat treatment area
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Heat treatment area

Chamberlin & Hill - HT Kiln
Chamberlin & Hill – HT Kiln
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Finishing workstation
Chamberlin & Hill – Finishing workstation

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - The finished product, although these castings were rejects
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – The finished product, although these castings were rejects

Workshops

As well as the production areas, there were a number of workshops to support the main functions of the factory

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - The main workshop was crammed full with machines
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – The main workshop was crammed full with machines
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Main workshop
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Main workshop
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Main workshop
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Main workshop

Chamberlin & Hill - 1922-45 regulations
Chamberlin & Hill – 1922-45 regulations
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Items in office
Chamberlin & Hill – Items in office

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Old office with various items
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Old office with various items

Bathhouse and Office Block

The bathhouse was quite an old building, with a few features remaining. Unfortunately nice skylights and features in the offices had been covered by suspended ceilings.

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Bathhouse showers
Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester – Bathhouse showers

Chamberlin & Hill - Locker room
Chamberlin & Hill – Locker room
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Small lab
Chamberlin & Hill – Small lab

Externals

Chamberlin & Hill - Main buildings
Chamberlin & Hill – Main buildings
 
Chamberlin & Hill - Repton Street elevation
Chamberlin & Hill – Repton Street elevation

Chamberlin & Hill Castings, Leicester - Ghost sign revealing the buildings origins as S. Russell & Sons Ltd, Ironfounders
Chamberlin & Hill – Ghost sign revealing the buildings origins as S. Russell & Sons Ltd, Ironfounders
Author: Andy Kay | Facebook | Flickr | Instagram

4 thoughts on Chamberlin & Hill Castings (S. Russell & Sons), Leicester

  1. S. Russell & Sons Ltd, Ironfounders were as well known as their successors, perhaps more so because the name is found to this day on man-hole covers throughout the region.

  2. This takes me back, was a furnace technician on the birwelco induction furnace at bonchurch street untill made redundant in 1980.

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