James Frost (cement maker)
Encyclopedia
James Frost was a British
cement
manufacturer who invented processes that led to the eventual development of Portland cement
.
, Middlesex
, England
. He set up a plant making Roman cement
at Harwich
in 1807, supplying it for government work. He began experimenting with formulations for "artificial" cements that would provide a cheaper alternative to Roman cement. He appears to have produced a prototype cement at Harwich in 1810. However, it was not until 1822 that he was granted a patent for what he called "British Cement". In October 1825, he leased land at Swanscombe
, Kent
, and set up a plant to manufacture both Roman cement and the new product.
The key innovation in his work was the "wet" grinding of raw materials, which became fundamental to the early development of Portland cement. He ground the soft local chalk
together with alluvial clay
from the Medway
estuary and added water in a washmill to produce a thin slurry from which coarse particles could be removed by settling. The fine, homogenous mixture of chalk and clay particles was dried to a stiff plastic consistency before being burned in a kiln
. He thus emulated the natural process of sedimentary formation of a marl
. Charles Pasley
communicated frequently with Frost, and gave a detailed description of his techniques based on a visit to Swanscombe in December 1828. In 1832, he sold the Swanscombe plant to John Bazely White's, and migrated to New York
, where he set up as a civil engineer
. He contributed several papers on calcareous cements to the Journal of the Franklin Institute
.
His Swanscombe plant became in the 1840s, under the management of I C Johnson
, the second plant to make true Portland cement, and subsequently the "mother" plant of Blue Circle Industries
. It closed in 1990, after 165 years of continuous operation.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
manufacturer who invented processes that led to the eventual development of Portland cement
Portland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout...
.
Biography
Frost was born in FinchleyFinchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He set up a plant making Roman cement
Roman cement
For the architectural material actually used by the ancient Romans, see Roman concrete."Roman cement" is a substance developed by James Parker in the 1780s, and finally patented in 1796...
at Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
in 1807, supplying it for government work. He began experimenting with formulations for "artificial" cements that would provide a cheaper alternative to Roman cement. He appears to have produced a prototype cement at Harwich in 1810. However, it was not until 1822 that he was granted a patent for what he called "British Cement". In October 1825, he leased land at Swanscombe
Swanscombe
Swanscombe is a small town, part of the Borough of Dartford on the north Kent coast in England. It is part of the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe.-Prehistory:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, and set up a plant to manufacture both Roman cement and the new product.
The key innovation in his work was the "wet" grinding of raw materials, which became fundamental to the early development of Portland cement. He ground the soft local chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
together with alluvial clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
from the Medway
River Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
estuary and added water in a washmill to produce a thin slurry from which coarse particles could be removed by settling. The fine, homogenous mixture of chalk and clay particles was dried to a stiff plastic consistency before being burned in a kiln
Cement kiln
Cement kilns are used for the pyroprocessing stage of manufacture of Portland and other types of hydraulic cement, in which calcium carbonate reacts with silica-bearing minerals to form a mixture of calcium silicates...
. He thus emulated the natural process of sedimentary formation of a marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
. Charles Pasley
Charles Pasley
General Sir Charles William Pasley KCB was a British soldier and military engineer who wrote the defining text on the role of the post-American revolution British Empire: An Essay on the Military Policy and Institutions of the British Empire, published in 1810. This text changed how Britons...
communicated frequently with Frost, and gave a detailed description of his techniques based on a visit to Swanscombe in December 1828. In 1832, he sold the Swanscombe plant to John Bazely White's, and migrated to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he set up as a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. He contributed several papers on calcareous cements to the Journal of the Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
.
His Swanscombe plant became in the 1840s, under the management of I C Johnson
Isaac Charles Johnson
Isaac Charles Johnson was a British cement manufacturer, and a pioneer of the Portland cement industry.He was born in London. His father was a charge-hand at Francis & White's "Roman Cement" plant in Nine Elms. He himself worked there as a labourer from age 16 while studying chemistry...
, the second plant to make true Portland cement, and subsequently the "mother" plant of Blue Circle Industries
Blue Circle Industries
Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900, and was bought out by the French company Lafarge in 2001.-History:...
. It closed in 1990, after 165 years of continuous operation.