Boulton & Watt was an early

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

engineering and manufacturing firm in the business of designing and making marine and

stationary steam engine Stationary steam engines are fixed steam engines used for pumping or driving mills and factories, and for power generation. They are distinct from locomotive engines used on railways, traction engines for heavy steam haulage on roads, steam car ...

s. Founded in the English West Midlands around

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

in 1775 as a partnership between the English manufacturer Matthew Boulton and the Scottish engineer

James Watt James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was f ...

, the firm had a major role in the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

and grew to be a major producer of steam engines in the 19th century.

The engine partnership

The partnership was formed in 1775 to exploit Watt's

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

for a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

with a separate condenser. This made much more efficient use of its fuel than the older

Newcomen engine The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is sometimes referred to as the Newcomen fire engine (see below) or Newcomen engine. The engine was operated by condensing steam being drawn into the cylinder, thereby creating ...

. Initially the business was based at the Soho Manufactory near Boulton's Soho House on the southern edge of the then-rural parish of Handsworth. However most of the components for their engines were made by others, for example the cylinders by John Wilkinson. In 1795, they began to make

s themselves at their Soho Foundry in Smethwick, near

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Between 1775 and 1800, Boulton and Watt produced 496 engines. The partnership was passed to two of their sons in 1800.

William Murdoch William Murdoch (sometimes spelled Murdock) (21 August 1754 – 15 November 1839) was a Scottish chemist, inventor, and mechanical engineer. Murdoch was employed by the firm of Boulton & Watt and worked for them in Cornwall, as a steam engin ...

was made a partner of the firm in 1810, where he remained until his retirement 20 years later at the age of 76. The firm lasted over 120 years, albeit renamed "James Watt & Co." in 1849, and was still making steam engines in 1895, when it was sold to W & T Avery Ltd. For ten years their banker in London was Charlotte Matthews after her husband died in 1792. A woman banker was unusual but she became a close confidante, holidaying with Boulton, and she lent them enormous sums to fund their endeavours. When she died aged 43 in 1802 her business was run by the Boulton and Watt families. The business trained young engineers who went on to achieve notability. Among the names which were employed there in the eighteenth century were James Law, Peter Ewart, William Brunton, Isaac Perrins,

, James Watt, Jr.,

William Playfair William Playfair (22 September 1759 – 11 February 1823) was a Scottish engineer and political economist. The founder of graphical methods of statistics, Playfair invented several types of diagrams: in 1786 he introduced the line, area and ...

, and John Southern.

Preserved operational engines

* Smethwick Engine, Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, manufactured 1779. * Whitbread Engine,

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS), is a collection of 4 museums in Sydney, owned by the Government of New South Wales. Powerhouse is a contemporary museum of applied arts and sciences, explori ...

, Sydney, manufactured 1785, bore, stroke. * Crofton Pumping Station manufactured 1812, bore, stroke. * Kew Bridge Steam Museum manufactured 1820, bore, stroke. * Papplewick Pumping Station two engines, manufactured 1884, bore, stroke. Believed to be the last engines manufactured by the company.

Notable people

* Samuel Clegg * Logan Henderson, engineer

References

External links

The Non-Rotative Beam Engine Chapter 3: The Boulton and Watt Engine
Maurice Kelly
Archives of Soho
at Birmingham Central Library.
Revolutionary Players websiteCornwall Record Office Boulton & Watt letters
{{Authority control Defunct manufacturing companies of England Steam engine manufacturers James Watt History of the steam engine Industrial Revolution in England Marine engine manufacturers Companies based in Smethwick Manufacturing companies established in 1775 British companies established in 1775 1775 establishments in England Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom

The engine partnership

Archive

Preserved operational engines

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading

External links