Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co.’s tank at Rounton Grange

Rounton Grange, the ancestral home of the Bells, is now a bit of a no-show, given that the house was demolished back in 1965¹‘East Rounton Grange | Yorkshire Gardens Trust’. 2018. Yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk <https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/index.php/research/sites/east-rounton-grange#:~:text=By%201965%20the%20house%20and%20most%20of%20the%20glasshouse%20range%20had%20gone> [accessed 5 March 2024]. The site’s now reverted to woodland. But a few buildings in the grounds are still hanging on. Like this one with an unmistakable cast iron tank proudly sporting the name of Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co., which immediately cuaght my attention. And next door, there’s that strange ventilation arrangement. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice once said.

So, here’s what we know. Sir Hugh Bell took the reins of the estate when his father died in 1904²‘East Rounton Grange | Yorkshire Gardens Trust’. 2018. Yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk <https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/index.php/research/sites/east-rounton-grange#:~:text=Bell%20died%20in%20December%201904%20and%20the%20estate%20passed%20to%20his%20son%20Sir%20Hugh%20Bell%20who%20took%20up%20residence%20there.> [accessed 5 March 2024]. The man wasted no time leaving his mark with fancy upgrades – private electricity and a spanking new water tank³‘East Rounton Grange | Yorkshire Gardens Trust’. 2018. Yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk <https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/index.php/research/sites/east-rounton-grange#:~:text=There%20is%20reference%20to%20electricians%20in%20the%20house%20and%20a%20new%20water%20tank%20being%20installed> [accessed 5 March 2024]. Could this be the said water tank, with the adjoining building housing the electricity gear? Oddly, Heritage Gateway, my trusty oracle for all things heritage, draws a blank.

In the photo, the low wall in the foreground surrounds some open tanks, hinting at some water treatment apparatus.

Now, let’s zoom in on that water tank on the nearby rooftop. The Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co. tag triggers a memory for me, for I was once seconded at Davy-Ashmore, a descendent of that very company.

Four engineers and an ironmaster founded Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Company in Stockton-on-Tees in 1885, dealing in ironwork, gas engineering, and contracting⁴‘Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co – Graces Guide’. 2023. Gracesguide.co.uk <https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Ashmore,_Benson,_Pease_and_Co> [accessed 5 March 2024]. In 1887, they won a major contract to build a new bridge, and the following year their catalog showcases gas-related products and infrastructure.

Fast forward to 1894, they’re on the up, scoring a contract for the Middlesbrough gas-holder, backed by none other than Alderman Hugh Bell⁵‘THE NEW GAS HOLDER. | York Herald | Saturday 16 June 1894 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2024. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000500/18940616/121/0014> [accessed 5 March 2024]. Two years later, the thing starts subsiding, but Bell insists it’s the foundation’s fault, not Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co⁶‘The Middlesbrough Gasholder. | Northern Echo | Wednesday 13 May 1896 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2024. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000087/18960513/011/0003> [accessed 5 March 2024].

In 1901, the Power-Gas Corporation acquires them for their gas plant expertise, and by the start of the World War I, they’re well into manufacturing equipment for gas production, blast furnaces, and coke ovens.

So, in 1906, when this relatively modest tank was hoisted onto an outbuilding at Rounton Grange, Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co. was the go-to company for gas engineering.

But to continue the brief history of the company, in 1960, it undergoes a merger, becoming part of the Davy-Ashmore group, and in ’68, the metal fabrication section of the business is acquired by Whessoe.

Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Company — an enterprise that’s endured for more than eight decades, began as an independent firm  and eventually became absorbed by larger corporations, but left behind a legacy in the steel and energy sectors.

Now, the big question – is that a water tank or a gas tank?

• 1
  ‘East Rounton Grange | Yorkshire Gardens Trust’. 2018. Yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk <https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/index.php/research/sites/east-rounton-grange#:~:text=By%201965%20the%20house%20and%20most%20of%20the%20glasshouse%20range%20had%20gone> [accessed 5 March 2024]
• 2
  ‘East Rounton Grange | Yorkshire Gardens Trust’. 2018. Yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk <https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/index.php/research/sites/east-rounton-grange#:~:text=Bell%20died%20in%20December%201904%20and%20the%20estate%20passed%20to%20his%20son%20Sir%20Hugh%20Bell%20who%20took%20up%20residence%20there.> [accessed 5 March 2024]
• 3
  ‘East Rounton Grange | Yorkshire Gardens Trust’. 2018. Yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk <https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/index.php/research/sites/east-rounton-grange#:~:text=There%20is%20reference%20to%20electricians%20in%20the%20house%20and%20a%20new%20water%20tank%20being%20installed> [accessed 5 March 2024]
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  ‘Ashmore, Benson, Pease and Co – Graces Guide’. 2023. Gracesguide.co.uk <https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Ashmore,_Benson,_Pease_and_Co> [accessed 5 March 2024]
• 5
  ‘THE NEW GAS HOLDER. | York Herald | Saturday 16 June 1894 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2024. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000500/18940616/121/0014> [accessed 5 March 2024]
• 6
  ‘The Middlesbrough Gasholder. | Northern Echo | Wednesday 13 May 1896 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2024. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000087/18960513/011/0003> [accessed 5 March 2024]