Blaydon owes its industrial identity to coal. Less than two centuries ago, the area was largely rural; by the late 18th century, the discovery and exploitation of coal seams had transformed it into a busy industrial centre. That same coal heritage would eventually lead to one of the more unusual claims in British engineering history: the production of what was reportedly the world’s first petrol manufactured from coal, known locally as Blaydon Benzole.
From Colliery to Chemical Works
Coal mining in Blaydon and the adjoining Blaydon Burn began in earnest in the early 18th century. The trade stimulated a web of supporting industries: brickworks, ironworks, smithies, and chemical works. The 18th-century Blaydon Main Colliery was reopened in the mid-19th century and continued production until 1921, by which time the town was firmly established as a Tyneside industrial hub.
Among the industries drawn to the area was coke manufacture. Blaydon Burn Coke Ovens, originating in the 19th century, were replaced in the 1930s by a more modern facility: the Priestman Ottovale Coke and Tar Works.
Priestman Ottovale and the Benzole Claim
The Priestman Ottovale Coke and Tar Works has been described as the first plant in the world to produce petrol from coal. The resulting fuel was marketed under the name Blaydon Benzole. If accurate, this would place Blaydon at the forefront of an early attempt to synthesise liquid motor fuel from solid coal.
The claim should be read with some caution. The term "benzole" (also spelled benzol) historically referred to a motor fuel produced as a by-product of town-gas manufacture or drawn from the gas exhausted by metallurgical coke ovens. It was not always identical to modern petrol, but it served a similar purpose as an engine fuel and was often blended with petroleum-derived spirits. By 1918, British gas producers were extracting roughly 11 million gallons of benzole per year, with metallurgical coke ovens contributing an additional 21 million gallons annually.
The National Benzole Co was formed in 1919 as a co-operative selling organisation by Britain’s benzole producers, indicating that benzole was already an established industrial product by the time the Priestman Ottovale plant was modernised in the 1930s. What may have distinguished the Blaydon operation was the specific process or scale of converting coal directly into a petrol substitute at a single Tyneside works.
A Local Legacy
Regardless of whether the global "first" claim can be fully substantiated, Blaydon Benzole is a compelling thread in the town’s industrial tapestry. It illustrates how Tyneside’s coal economy did not merely supply fuel for fireplaces and steam engines, but also fed into emerging chemical and automotive industries. For a town built on coal, the idea that Blaydon once turned that coal into petrol for motor cars is a fitting testament to its engineering ingenuity.