Rugby Cement, Southam Works, January 2012

The village of Southam has been associated with quarrying since the early 1800s when the quality of its blue lias limestone was recognised, first for making agricultural lime and then for cement. It was in the 1840s that a cement works was built, becoming an important part of the local community for 150 years and providing jobs for several generations of local people.

The cement plant eventually closed in 1999 and plans are now being considered for the demolition of the structures and long term use of the site. The quarrying operation resumed in 2003 as a means of supplying raw materials by road to our Rugby plant. It was two years later that the site was taken over by CEMEX when it first came to the UK and acquired RMC.

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