A sugar factory was first built at Wissington in 1925. Work began on the construction of a new refinery, five silos, and an extension to the existing factory in March 1968 for the British Sugar Corporation. The project also involved the realignment of railway sidings and was spread over three and a half years. Work was programmed to align with the sugar beet campaign: between September and February each year the focus of construction work shifted from the factory to the silos and other outer works, allowing the factory to open for the unloading and processing of sugar beet. The 'slide' during the construction of the third sugar silo set a record of 14 and a half inches per hour, with 1,000 cubic yards of concrete. The silo was completed in five and half days at the end of September. A monorail system was assembled on the platform encircling the silo, and a hoist and discharge skips were used to raise and unload the concrete into the formwork.
This image was catalogued as part of the Breaking New Ground Project in partnership with the John Laing Charitable Trust in 2019-20.
This is part of the Series: JLP01/08 John Laing Photographic Collection Black and White Negatives; within the Collection: JLP01 John Laing Photographic Collection
© Historic England Archive. John Laing Photographic Collection
Late 20th Century Sugar Silo, Construction, People At Work
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