Edward Bull (c.1759–1798) was an English engineer, noted for a modified type of steam engine known as the Bull engine. Working with

Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He ...

, many of these were installed in mines in Cornwall.

Life

Bull was born about 1759. From 1779 he worked for

Boulton and Watt Boulton & Watt was an early British engineering and manufacturing firm in the business of designing and making marine and stationary steam engines. Founded in the English West Midlands around Birmingham in 1775 as a partnership between the Eng ...

at Bedworth Colliery in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

;

Watt steam engine The Watt steam engine design became synonymous with steam engines, and it was many years before significantly new designs began to replace the basic Watt design. The first steam engines, introduced by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, were of the "at ...

s were used to pump water from mines. In 1781 he moved to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

to install steam engines for the company."Edward Bull"
Grace's Guide. Retrieved 11 January 2020."Richard Trevithick: Pumping the mines"
Engineering Timelines. Retrieved 11 January 2020. From 1791 he worked independently. He designed an engine in which the steam cylinder was inverted over the pump, so that there was no need for a main beam, or rocking beam, and the engine took up less space. Working with

, ten such engines were installed in mines, the first at

Dolcoath mine Dolcoath mine ( kw, Bal Dorkoth) was a copper and tin mine in Camborne, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Its name derives from the Cornish language, Cornish for 'Old Ground', and it was also affectionately known as ''The Queen of Cornish Mines ...

."Bull engine"
London Museum of Water & Steam. Retrieved 11 January 2020. Boulton and Watt claimed that the engine infringed the company's patents, and the case came to court in 1793; the verdict was in Boulton and Watt's favour. Nevertheless, Bull and Trevithick installed an engine at Wheal Treasury near

Leedstown Leedstown is a village on the B3280 road between Helston and Hayle in the civil parish of Crowan (where the 2011 census population is included.), Cornwall, England. It lies north-west of Helston and south-east of Hayle at above sea level. It i ...

, and another was installed at

Ding Dong mines The Ding Dong mines lie in an old and extensive mining area situated in the parish of Madron, in Penwith, Cornwall, England. They are about two miles north east of the St Just to Penzance road. They look out over Mount's Bay and St Michael's M ...

. Trevithick worked on improvements to Bull's engine, while litigation continued; a further verdict in favour of Boulton and Watt came in 1799."Ding Dong Mine, Cornwall"
Cornwall Calling. Retrieved 12 January 2020. Bull died in 1798, and was buried at

Kenwyn Kenwyn ( kw, Keynwynn) is a settlement and civil parish in Cornwall, England. The settlement is a suburb of the city of Truro and lies 0.5 mi (1 km) north of the city centre, within Truro parish, whereas Kenwyn parish covers an area w ...

Church in Cornwall.

Surviving example of Bull engine

A working engine, built by

Harvey & Co John Harvey was a Cornishman whose career started as a blacksmith and engineer at Carnhell Green near Hayle, in west Cornwall. In 1779 he established a foundry and engineering works at Hayle called Harvey & Co. By 1800 the company employed more ...

in 1856, is at the

London Museum of Water & Steam London Museum of Water & Steam is an independent museum founded in 1975 as the Kew Bridge Steam Museum. It was rebranded in early 2014 following a major investment project. Situated on the site of the old Kew Bridge Pumping Station in Brentfor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bull, Edward 1759 births 1798 deaths English inventors British steam engine engineers