F. H. Lloyd's James Bridge foundry was the largest steel foundry in Europe, if not in the world. It produced a vast range of steel castings of all sizes and made such projects as the Thames Barrier possible, without having to source castings from abroad, as we do today. It was an old established Black Country firm which grew from small beginnings into a vast foundry with an output of 25,000 to 30,000 tons per year.

The firm acquired other businesses, and by 1971 had a foundry group with six foundries and a total capacity of over 60,000 tons per year. There were foundries in Burton on Trent, Cardiff, Darlington, Derby, Pontypridd, and in India, as well as several large factories around the Black Country. It was an important local employer with a staff of over 7,000.


James Bridge Steel Works.

Sadly it closed in the  1980s recession, and all traces of the once great foundry have disappeared beneath Junction 9 Retail Park.

The F. H. Lloyd story is told in the following parts:
1.   The first sixty years
2.   The early 1930s
3.   The 1940s and early 1950s                                    
4.   The late 1950s
5.   The 1960s
6.   The Later Years
7.   Personalities
8.   Sporting activities
9.   Social activities
10.   Works photos
     
I would like to thank Wendy Marston, Margaret Roberts and John Harrison for their invaluable help in producing this section.
   
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industries		   Return to Wednesbury
industries		   Proceed to the
first 60 years