Priestman Brothers was an engineering company based in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south- ...

, England that manufactured diggers, dredgers, cranes and other industrial machinery. In the later 1800s the company also produced the Priestman Oil Engine, an early design of oil fuelled internal combustion engine.

History

Priestman family ownership (1870–1895)

The company was founded in 1870;

William Dent Priestman William Dent Priestman (23 August 1847 7 September 1936), born near Kingston upon Hull was a Quaker and engineering pioneer, inventor of the Priestman Oil Engine, and co-founder with his brother Samuel of the Priestman Brothers engineering com ...

bought the Holderness Foundry with money from his father, a Leeds corn-miller. William's brother Samuel also joined the company. It is said the company's entry into the construction of dredging equipment began in 1876 when they were asked to construct machinery to recover lost gold from the sea west of the coast of Spain. No gold was found but the company's equipment proved useful for dredging of harbours and docks; the company pioneered the manufacture of steam powered cranes with grab (clamshell) buckets. From 1888 to 1904 the company produced various versions of the Priestman Oil Engine, an early example of an internal combustion engine. Models were produced with engine power from up to for a double cylindered version. The company opened a factory in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

(USA) in 1892, also producing engines. In 1894 the company produced one of the earliest recorded examples of an internal combustion engine for railway, based on an 1888 prototype – the 20 h.p. two axle machine was tested on the

Hull Docks The Port of Hull is a port at the confluence of the River Hull and the Humber Estuary in Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Seaborne trade at the port can be traced to at least the 13th century, originally con ...

. In 1895 bad debts and a decline in sales made the company insolvent, the business was reformed but William and Samuel lost their seats on the board.

Public ownership (1895–)

The company was reformed and began business again; after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

its products were used in the rebuilding of French villages, in 1921 a machine for digging field drainage drains was produced and the company received investment from the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

. The company constructed a factory in Marfleet,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

in 1950, which eventually covered . In 1928 production of excavators named after animals began; models named "Lion", "Tiger" and "Panther" were produced. The company merged with Coles Cranes of Sunderland in 1970. In 1972 the Steels Group, Priestman's parent company, was taken over by the Acrow Group. The Priestman division was sold off in 1984 and was eventually merged with Coles Cranes. The remnants of the company are owned by Gardner Denver, and it no longer supports the Priestman range of products. The Priestman Grab & VC Excavators Divisions were sold to RB International, this business continues to be supported b
Delden Cranes Ltd
through their RB Cranes Division.

References

{{commons category, Priestman Brothers Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies established in 1870 Agricultural machinery manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct companies of Kingston upon Hull Crane manufacturers 1870 establishments in England Companies with year of disestablishment missing Construction equipment manufacturers of the United Kingdom