EARLESTOWN -
Sankey Sugar Works

Begun in 1855 and situated on the edge of Newton-in-Makerfield, Lancs, at the junction of water, rail, and road connections with Liverpool, the Sankey Sugar Works was isolated from other refineries, so we can be sure that the sugar workers included in the local censuses were working there, rather than at any one of a number of refineries as in other towns and cities.
I have tried to show on the map where each identifiable worker lived, unfortunately, in 1861 most of the workers living with their families on site were listed only as being at the 'Sugar Works', and in 1871 the enumerator simply used the word "labourer", and failed to distinguish between the different workplaces and trades in his area. Most lived close to the Works in Sankey Cottages or Vitriol Square, however I think the 1901 census indicates a move towards the better amenities of the nearby town.

* For closer detail of the refinery site and nearby housing, CLICK in the box, or SCROLL down.
** For the names of many of the workers at the sugar works, CLICK here or SCROLL down.

[The width of this map represents 0.7ml / 1.13km.]

The Sankey Sugar Works site ... (based on maps of 1891 & 1906).

[The width of this map represents 0.33ml / 0.54km.]

The censuses show Sankey Hill House as the main residence. In 1861 & 1871 it was John Thomson, a Scot, who ran the Works. He was still listed in 1881, although William Thompson, unrelated, was manager, assisted by his own son William - they lived at Larkfield. By 1891 William was living at Sankey Hill House, and 1901 shows young William living there and in charge of the Works, assisted by his brother Walter.
John Thomson was there from the start, however the first partners were Messrs Turner, Birley, Cadogan and Mounsey, though by 1865 the partners were Turner, Birley and Thomson. ("History of Newton-in-Makerfield" by Cornelius Cole, 1916) John Thomson died a wealthy man in 1889, having left the Works for a new home at Plymyard Park in Eastham, Cheshire. (EW) His obituary in the Earlestown Guardian 25 May 1889 tells us he was 77 years old and had been ill for only two days. He had visited the Works a fortnight earlier and made enquiries about the old hands of the firm. In his early years he had worked in the West Indies a good deal and then in India, where for some years he ran the Cossipore Refinery in Calcutta with Mr A Turner. In the spring 1854 he and Turner began work on the Earlestown project with the first boiling made on 18 October 1855.

Initially, Claus Heinrich Schuhmacher, from Hanover, was foreman boiler. He had worked at Grant, Baldwin & Co in London until 1852 (testimonial), followed by 3 years in the West Indies. He worked at Earlestown until he retired on a company pension in 1889 aged 65. By 1871 he had three assistants - Thomas Tunstall who was still there as boiler in 1901 aged 64, William Goodwin also there in 1901 aged 53, and Thomas Pill, from Oxfordshire, there in 1891 aged 54. They all lived as close as possible to the Works in Sankey Cottages ... for much of the time Tunstall at No.1, Goodwin at No.4 then No.7, Pill at No.7 then No.4, and Schuhmacher at No.11. Cottages 1-10 were a terrace, whilst 11-16 were 3 pairs of larger semi-detached cottages, 11/12 built before 1881, 13/14 between 1881 and 1891, and 15/16 between 1891 and 1906.
Thomas Haselden is shown as clerk to the Works from 1881 to 1901. He initially lived in the town, but is later seen at both Larkfield and Higher Astley, accomodation rewarding his position in the Company.
Further terraces of cottages, where many of the labourers lived, were at Vitriol Square, by 1901 renamed, I think, as Shop Row, London Row and Engineers Row.

St Helens Council, on their "Newton-le-Willows: Children into History" website, have some excellent old photographs of the Works, cottages, and the transport, including the cottages 1903, the cottages & Larkfield 1931, and an aerial shot 1929 which shows the whole site. For the full selection, CLICK here, and then enter Sankey Sugar Works in the little search box on the left.

[I am most grateful for the assistance given me by the staff of St Helens Local History & Archives Library.]

... and in its final years ...

The Sankey Sugar Co Ltd was eventually taken over by Van Rossum of Amsterdam, and then in 1935 by the Manbré & Garton Group who soon had a new refined sugars building (above) in full production, however by 2002 the "old site" had become very dilapidated as the coloured photographs show.

Many of the Workers, 1855-1901.