Caswell, Northamptonshire
Encyclopedia
Caswell is a lost settlement in Northamptonshire appx 2 miles (3.2 km) from Towcester
, 8 miles (12.9 km) from Northampton
and 12 miles (19 km) from Milton Keynes
. It is close to Greens Norton
village and now consists almost entirely of Caswell House, a former family farmhouse built for the 4th Duke of Grafton
in 1839. Another similar house is at Field Burcote, a hamlet 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) north of Green's Norton. Both have three widely spaced bays with low-pitched hipped slate roofs and lower wings and are formally arranged The building and stables are Grade II listed.
company's interests in materials germinated in 1934 when its founders Allen George Clark and William Heyne were in charge. Another leading member of staff at this time was
Geoffrey Charles Gaut who joined the Plessey company from Oxford University where he was awarded a degree in chemistry. He joined as Chief Chemist at Ilford where he began a lifelong involvement with electronic materials and devices. At the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 he volunteered for the RAF having qualified as a pilot with the University Air Squadron at Oxford. However, to his chagrin, his commission was cancelled through the influence of Allen Clark who believed that Gaut would have a special role to play in the war effort to develop electronics and radar.
Post-war the distance between Ilford and Caswell forced the introduction of local pre-production units. Over the next 20 years or so this led to the establishment of at least a further eight independent businesses locally in the Towcester area especially around Wood Burcote
, just south of the town.
on 20 March 1964 where the Duke unveiled a plaque by Scottish sculptor David McFall
. Research was carried out there for a number of areas in which Plessey was involved including semiconductors, LED
's, other solid-state devices and integrated circuits (ICs) for their company Plessey Semiconductors (also known for a time as Plessey Microelectronics) based at Cheney Manor, Swindon
. The site also had a scanning electron microscope
useful for checking the surface topology of ICs under static and charged conditions. At peak, the centre employed several hundred people. After the GEC/Siemens takeover of Plessey, the Caswell site was taken over by GEC and subsequently GEC Marconi. Marconi problems later led to the sale of the site to Bookham Technology in 2002.
in Dallas.
Caswell technologists also developed the first multilayer ceramic capacitor
and a host of other inventions that enabled many of the electronic products we rely on today – including mobile phones, satellite TV and WiFi
.
Towcester
Towcester , the Roman town of Lactodorum, is a small town in south Northamptonshire, England.-Etymology:Towcester comes from the Old English Tófe-ceaster. Tófe refers to the River Tove; Bosworth and Toller compare it to the "Scandinavian proper names" Tófi and Tófa...
, 8 miles (12.9 km) from Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
and 12 miles (19 km) from Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
. It is close to Greens Norton
Greens Norton
Greens Norton is a village in South Northamptonshire, England, just over from Towcester. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 1,587 people.-Facilities:It has a pub called the Butchers Arms, a post office, and a...
village and now consists almost entirely of Caswell House, a former family farmhouse built for the 4th Duke of Grafton
Duke of Grafton
Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for his 2nd illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland, Henry FitzRoy...
in 1839. Another similar house is at Field Burcote, a hamlet 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) north of Green's Norton. Both have three widely spaced bays with low-pitched hipped slate roofs and lower wings and are formally arranged The building and stables are Grade II listed.
Foundation
The concept of a research lab covering the PlesseyPlessey
The Plessey Company plc was a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after the second world war by acquisition of companies and formed overseas companies...
company's interests in materials germinated in 1934 when its founders Allen George Clark and William Heyne were in charge. Another leading member of staff at this time was
Geoffrey Charles Gaut who joined the Plessey company from Oxford University where he was awarded a degree in chemistry. He joined as Chief Chemist at Ilford where he began a lifelong involvement with electronic materials and devices. At the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 he volunteered for the RAF having qualified as a pilot with the University Air Squadron at Oxford. However, to his chagrin, his commission was cancelled through the influence of Allen Clark who believed that Gaut would have a special role to play in the war effort to develop electronics and radar.
1940s and 50s
With bombing in the Ilford area in 1940, Gaut was told to relocate his laboratory in a quieter country environment where research could proceed undisturbed. Thus was founded Plessey's laboratory at Caswell, in Northamptonshire, which, as Gaut said, also kept his young scientific team concentrating and well away from any interference by senior management.Post-war the distance between Ilford and Caswell forced the introduction of local pre-production units. Over the next 20 years or so this led to the establishment of at least a further eight independent businesses locally in the Towcester area especially around Wood Burcote
Wood Burcote
Wood Burcote is a small village located less than one mile south of Towcester in the district of South Northamptonshire in the English county of Northamptonshire....
, just south of the town.
1960s to 1990s
For the next 50 or so years the farmhouse became the home of the Allen Clark Research Centre for the now defunct company which later became part of the British GEC in 1989. The centre was officially opened under Clark's name (Clark had died in 1962) by the Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
on 20 March 1964 where the Duke unveiled a plaque by Scottish sculptor David McFall
David McFall
David Bernard McFall was a Scottish sculptor.Born in Glasgow, McFall studied at the Junior School of Arts and Crafts in Birmingham from 1931 to 1934, and at the Birmingham School of Art from 1934 to 1939...
. Research was carried out there for a number of areas in which Plessey was involved including semiconductors, LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
's, other solid-state devices and integrated circuits (ICs) for their company Plessey Semiconductors (also known for a time as Plessey Microelectronics) based at Cheney Manor, Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
. The site also had a scanning electron microscope
Scanning electron microscope
A scanning electron microscope is a type of electron microscope that images a sample by scanning it with a high-energy beam of electrons in a raster scan pattern...
useful for checking the surface topology of ICs under static and charged conditions. At peak, the centre employed several hundred people. After the GEC/Siemens takeover of Plessey, the Caswell site was taken over by GEC and subsequently GEC Marconi. Marconi problems later led to the sale of the site to Bookham Technology in 2002.
Caswell's devices
The GaAs Field effect transistor and the GaAs monolithic ic were invented and developed at Caswell, but what is probably less well known is that scientists on the site were working on silicon integrated circuit(ic) technology almost 18 months before Jack Kilby demonstrated the first working ic at Texas InstrumentsTexas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
in Dallas.
Caswell technologists also developed the first multilayer ceramic capacitor
Ceramic capacitor
In electronics, a ceramic capacitor is a capacitor constructed of alternating layers of metal and ceramic, with the ceramic material acting as the dielectric. The temperature coefficient depends on whether the dielectric is Class 1 or Class 2...
and a host of other inventions that enabled many of the electronic products we rely on today – including mobile phones, satellite TV and WiFi
WIFI
WIFI is a radio station broadcasting a brokered format. Licensed to Florence, New Jersey, USA, the station is currently operated by Florence Broadcasting Partners, LLC.This station was previously owned by Real Life Broadcasting...
.