The Cleveland Flour Mill.
Description
The Cleveland Flour Mill known as the 'Clevo' was a well known landmark. The 'Clevo' closed in the 1960's and was demolished in June 1970. It took 4 days and 256lbs of gelignite to destroy it. Photographs courtesy of Cliff Thornton.
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Posted comments/stories
Cliff Thornton
These photos were taken by my father Mr E.W.Thornton, but I don`t know when. I suspect there is a story attached to the demolition, as the photo suggests that the building was too sturdy to be demolished by explosives and had to be taken to bits "manually".
Posted on: 24/03/2006 09:57:12
Bob Irwin
I was an observer when the Mill was demolished. It was a concrete structure that was reinforced with steel. The inside of the building was honeycombed with the concrete structure that when it was demolished caused all the problems. Also there was a penalty clause on the demolition and that none of the building went into the River and it had to fall where it stood. It took probably 4 to 5 times to raze it to the ground and I don't think that it was finally taken down manually.
Posted on: 24/03/2006 10:38:36
Anthony Bonner
I remember the fire at the Clevo and being taken out of bed by my Mam, going across the common at the bottom of Britannia Street and down the end of Edwards Street to see it. My brother in law, Bob Fairlie was a driver at the BRS depot at the time, and he and my father Tommy Bonner moved some of the trucks to safety. If I remember rightly they got some sort of award for it. I can't find any reference to the fire on the net, was it in the early or mid fifties?
Posted on: 15/05/2006 08:20:41
Alice Gardner
I remember when they were knocking down the old Clevo flour mill. We also went to the bottom of our street to view it. Nothing happened, there was some noise, some dust but the good old Clevo was still standing. They sent for the expert, if I am not mistaken, a gentleman by the name of Blaster Bates and even he could not demolish it. In the end it just sort of disappeared off the skyline.
Posted on: 17/05/2006 08:12:03
Andrew Moore
I was very interested to see the photos of the destruction of the Cleveland Mill. I believe my great great grandfather Richard Appleton was responsible for building the Clevo mill. He was a successful businessman in the area in the late C19th and former mayor of Stockton. He also built Woodside at Eaglescliffe which was an extraodinary French chateau style mansion. Sadly this was knocked down some years ago. But I expect there are many people in the area that remember that building when it became a school.
Posted on: 22/09/2006 07:29:15
paul adams
My mother worked at the flour mill, her name was Dorothy Petty, anybody remember her. In the castlegate marine club there is a painting of the Victoria Bridge, flour mill and the boat yard at Thornaby.
Posted on: 02/01/2007 08:20:41
Kevin McGowan
After the initial attempt failed, the demolition crew tried again the following weekend and this time were successful. So for a whole week we had the "Leaning Tower of Thornaby"!
Posted on: 27/02/2007 08:41:13
joyce teasdale
they could not destroy it in www2 neither.my dad was a gunner there the night the planes came over he was injured with shrapnel in his legs.i would add a photo of him in uniform but i dont know how.just new to the sight this week.my dads name was samuel hobson.
Posted on: 30/04/2007 13:13:05
Len Nicholson
The initial attempt to blow the mill failed due to the one inch diameter steel reinforcement bars in the concrete,the demolition workers burnt through these bars & Blaster Bates was successful the next time,we watched them work from Head Wrightson's garage.
Posted on: 21/06/2008 12:24:07
Dr F Starr
This was the first big reinforced concrete building built in the UK. However it was so massive it just looked like it was made of concrete, without reinforcement. Hence, when the concrete cracked after dynamiting, the reinforcing bars just took the load and bent. These bars should have been cut with a thermal lance before demolition began...but people did not kmow how to do it in those days These days it would have been turend ina car park or hotel
Posted on: 04/07/2008 19:30:18
Library Reference
Dewey Decimal: 999 Reference: t6289-6290 - link available