Templeborough Times (A Brief History of the Site)

From the Romans to the present day, the area known as Ickles and Templeborough has an interesting history. Use the links below to find out more.

• Roman Templeborough
• The Reresby Family
• Hampton and Radcliffe
• Mr Steel, Mr Peech and Mr Tozer
• Steelos 1883 to 1918
• The United Steel Companies Ltd
• Steelos after WW2
• Decline and Future

Templeborough itself was named after the Romans had left, locals mistakenly believing that the old Roman fort was in fact a temple. Whilst Ickles derives from Icknield Street, the old Roman road that once ended at the fort. The later language of the steelworks developed its own rich terms, reflecting the waves of people that had swept through the area in over 2,000 years of history.

For ‘Billet’ (a square steel bar) we can thank the Normans and it was originally used to describe chunks of precious metal, first getting a written mention in a 1353 Act of Parliament. ‘Casting’ arrived with the Vikings, and ‘Cobble’ (Old English) came to mean hot steel skipping the rollers and then jumping off in all directions – take cover!

The Steelos Gallery at Magna tells more of our history, and the project was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.