William Gossage
Encyclopedia
William Gossage was a chemical
manufacturer who established a soap making business in Widnes
, Lancashire
, England.
, Lincolnshire
to Thomas and Eleanor Gossage, the youngest of 13 children. At the age of 12 he went to work as an apprentice
to his uncle, a chemist and druggist in Chesterfield
, Derbyshire
. During his time there he studied chemistry and French.
which was a portable alarm to attach to clocks and watches. The purpose of this was to wake his French tutor to begin his lessons early. After working for a time as manager at Ardwick Bridge in a factory owned by the Tennant
Company, he set up his own business in Leamington
trading in medicinal salts. In about 1830 he went into partnership with a Mr. Farndon making alkali
at The British Alkali Works, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire
. During this time Gossage experimented with a method of absorbing the hydrochloric acid
gas released as a result of the Leblanc process
of manufacturing alkali. He filled a derelict windmill with gorse and brushwood, introduced the gas at the bottom, and water at the top, and found that little or no fumes remained at the top. He developed this technique into the Gossage tower, using a deep bed of coke
in a high tower to absorb the gas. The Gossage condensing towers were eventually used almost universally by the Leblanc factories.
From 1841 to 1844 Gossage was in Birmingham
manufacturing white lead
and from 1844 to 1848 he was in Neath
, Wales
, experimenting with copper
smelting
. In 1843 and 1845 he took out patents in the field of metallurgy. He returned to Stoke Prior in 1848 and in 1850 he moved to Widnes. Here he established an alkali works on the opposite side of the Sankey Canal
from Hutchinson's
No 1 factory near to Widnes Dock
. Gossage's alkali production was on a small scale and he spent time in various experiments, including extracting sulphur from copper ores
, extracting copper from iron pyrites, concentrating sulphuric acid and manufacturing caustic soda from the black ash liquor resulting from the Leblanc process.
Following another experiment, consisting of adding sodium silicate
to soda ash
, he discovered he could produce soap at a much lower cost than by the methods existing at the time and in 1855 he gave up making alkali to set up his soap works. Two years later he started to add pigment
s to his soap, producing mottled soap. This became extremely successful commercially under the brand
name of Gossage
. The soap was exhibited at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London where it won a prize medal for "excellence in quality". Gossage continued to experiment throughout the rest of his career and his patents totalled over 50. One of his patents was an attempt to make alkali by the ammonia-soda process
and another to recover sulphur from alkali waste.
church at West Bank. He died in 1877 at his home in Dunham Massey
, which was then in the county of Cheshire
. He is buried in Smithdown Lane cemetery
, Liverpool
. His estate
amounted to under £160,000.
Chemical substance
In chemistry, a chemical substance is a form of matter that has constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. It cannot be separated into components by physical separation methods, i.e. without breaking chemical bonds. They can be solids, liquids or gases.Chemical substances are...
manufacturer who established a soap making business in Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England.
Early life
William Gossage was born in the village of Burgh-le-MarshBurgh Le Marsh
Burgh-le-Marsh is a town to the west of Skegness in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The A158 used to run through from west to east but this was rerouted when a new bypass opened in late 2007. The village has a population of 2,016....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
to Thomas and Eleanor Gossage, the youngest of 13 children. At the age of 12 he went to work as an apprentice
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
to his uncle, a chemist and druggist in Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. During his time there he studied chemistry and French.
Business career
At the age of 24 he took out his first patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
which was a portable alarm to attach to clocks and watches. The purpose of this was to wake his French tutor to begin his lessons early. After working for a time as manager at Ardwick Bridge in a factory owned by the Tennant
Charles Tennant
Charles Tennant was a Scottish chemist and industrialist. He discovered bleaching powder and founded an industrial dynasty.- Biography:...
Company, he set up his own business in Leamington
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
trading in medicinal salts. In about 1830 he went into partnership with a Mr. Farndon making alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...
at The British Alkali Works, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. During this time Gossage experimented with a method of absorbing the hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
gas released as a result of the Leblanc process
Leblanc process
The Leblanc process was the industrial process for the production of soda ash used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc. It involved two stages: Production of sodium sulfate from sodium chloride, followed by reaction of the sodium sulfate with coal and calcium...
of manufacturing alkali. He filled a derelict windmill with gorse and brushwood, introduced the gas at the bottom, and water at the top, and found that little or no fumes remained at the top. He developed this technique into the Gossage tower, using a deep bed of coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
in a high tower to absorb the gas. The Gossage condensing towers were eventually used almost universally by the Leblanc factories.
From 1841 to 1844 Gossage was in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
manufacturing white lead
White lead
White lead is the chemical compound 2·Pb2. It was formerly used as an ingredient for lead paint and a cosmetic called Venetian Ceruse, because its opaque quality made it a good pigment. However, it tended to cause lead poisoning, and its use has been banned in most countries.White lead has been...
and from 1844 to 1848 he was in Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, experimenting with copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
smelting
Smelting
Smelting is a form of extractive metallurgy; its main use is to produce a metal from its ore. This includes iron extraction from iron ore, and copper extraction and other base metals from their ores...
. In 1843 and 1845 he took out patents in the field of metallurgy. He returned to Stoke Prior in 1848 and in 1850 he moved to Widnes. Here he established an alkali works on the opposite side of the Sankey Canal
Sankey Canal
The Sankey Canal, which is also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and the St Helens Canal, is a canal in Cheshire, extending into Merseyside, in the northwest of England, connecting St Helens with the River Mersey...
from Hutchinson's
John Hutchinson (industrialist)
John Hutchinson was a chemist and industrialist who established the first chemical factory in Widnes, Lancashire, England. He moved from working in a chemical factory in St Helens and built his own chemical factory in 1847 in the Woodend area of Widnes near to Widnes Dock by the junction of the...
No 1 factory near to Widnes Dock
Widnes Dock
Widnes Dock was situated on the River Mersey at Widnes.It was built in 1833 between the end of the Sankey Canal and the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway. It was the first rail-to-ship facility in the world. The remains of the dock are to be found on Spike Island.-External links:*...
. Gossage's alkali production was on a small scale and he spent time in various experiments, including extracting sulphur from copper ores
Copper ores
Following is a list of minerals which serve as copper ores in the copper mining process:...
, extracting copper from iron pyrites, concentrating sulphuric acid and manufacturing caustic soda from the black ash liquor resulting from the Leblanc process.
Following another experiment, consisting of adding sodium silicate
Sodium silicate
Sodium silicate is the common name for a compound sodium metasilicate, Na2SiO3, also known as water glass or liquid glass. It is available in aqueous solution and in solid form and is used in cements, passive fire protection, refractories, textile and lumber processing, and automobiles...
to soda ash
Sodium carbonate
Sodium carbonate , Na2CO3 is a sodium salt of carbonic acid. It most commonly occurs as a crystalline heptahydrate, which readily effloresces to form a white powder, the monohydrate. Sodium carbonate is domestically well-known for its everyday use as a water softener. It can be extracted from the...
, he discovered he could produce soap at a much lower cost than by the methods existing at the time and in 1855 he gave up making alkali to set up his soap works. Two years later he started to add pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
s to his soap, producing mottled soap. This became extremely successful commercially under the brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
name of Gossage
Gossage
Gossage is a family name of soapmakers and alkali manufacturers. Their company eventually became part of the Unilever group. During World War II, all soap brands were abolished by British government decree in 1942, in favour of a generic soap...
. The soap was exhibited at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London where it won a prize medal for "excellence in quality". Gossage continued to experiment throughout the rest of his career and his patents totalled over 50. One of his patents was an attempt to make alkali by the ammonia-soda process
Solvay process
The Solvay process, also referred to as the ammonia-soda process, is the major industrial process for the production of soda ash . The ammonia-soda process was developed into its modern form by Ernest Solvay during the 1860s...
and another to recover sulphur from alkali waste.
Personal and political
William Gossage married Mary Herbert of Leamington in 1824 with whom he had seven children. Two of their sons, Alfred and Frederick continued in the family business after Wiliam's death. Gossage's Widnes home was Marsh Hall, near to his works. He was the first chairman of the Widnes Local Board set up in 1865. He was a signatory to an appeal for donations to build an AnglicanAnglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church at West Bank. He died in 1877 at his home in Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouse and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust...
, which was then in the county of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. He is buried in Smithdown Lane cemetery
Toxteth Park Cemetery
Toxteth Park Cemetery is a graveyard on Smithdown Road, Liverpool, United Kingdom. It was opened on Monday 9 June 1856. It was the responsibility of the Toxteth Park Burial Board, which had been established by at least 1855....
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. His estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
amounted to under £160,000.