The St Helens foundry dominated part of town for 135 years

The £1m investment in St Helens town centre will result in the installation of 51 shipping container-style units and outdoor cinema screens.

The venue is to be known as The Foundry and readers might wonder about the origin of the name – and the adjacent Foundry Street.

The planned new development is a large-scale project intended to help revitalise the town centre economy. However, I doubt it will be able to match the enormous size of the engineering works from which it derives its name.

St Helens Foundry advert from 1903 (Image: Stephen Wainwright)

For 135 years the St Helens Foundry dominated the area and, at its peak, extended across five acres. The huge ironworks made winding engines for mines, pumping engines for waterworks, road and railway bridges, locomotives and boilers, as well as numerous other iron products.

Many were employed locally in Lancashire industries and on many railway lines but others were despatched far and wide. Still in use in Dublin is the Rory O'More Bridge over the River Liffey. Formerly known as Barrack Bridge, the distinctive iron structure was opened by Queen Victoria in 1861 after being founded in St Helens.

In fact the St Helens Foundry shipped bridges in sections to places as far off as Calcutta, with its close proximity to the Sankey Canal being a huge boon. The waterway facilitated both the importation of materials for the works and the export of their finished goods.

The foundry's most famous former employee was Richard Seddon who became Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1893 to 1906. Every Christmas he sent William Melling, his old foreman at the the foundry, a consignment of New Zealand mutton.

The ironworks had been established as far back as 1798 but it was during the 19th century under the ownership of the Daglish family that it was considerably expanded. During the early years of the 20th century the outspoken Harry Daglish was in charge – with many stories told of his erratic behaviour.

During the First World War private travel was banned to save fuel – but Daglish refused to comply. That led to a prosecution and in court in 1918 the police related the ironworks boss's response to being told to travel by tram: "Do you expect me to ride in a dirty, draughty, inconvenient tramcar with dirty, verminous people, some of whom sit on your knee?"

On another occasion Daglish is supposed to have told an employee tending a horse: "I say, lad, you’d better look after that horse, it costs money. I can get men for nothing."

The hard times during the 1920s and 1930s and the loss of the local chemical industry badly damaged demand for its products and in 1933 the St Helens Foundry went into liquidation.

Seven years later the complex was demolished but at least the works' name is being remembered through the new scheme.

Perhaps the council will install a heritage plaque to explain the site's remarkable past?

Stephen Wainwright’s new book 'The Hidden History Of St Helens Vol 2' is now available from the St Helens Book Stop in Bridge Street and online from eBay and Amazon. Price £12. Volume 1 of 'Hidden History' is also still available.