Joshua Routledge
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Joshua Routledge (27 April 1773 – 8 February 1829) was an engineer and inventor of the early 19th century during 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 ...
.
Mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
as a profession was on the rise and the advent of the steam age opened up viable career alternatives for many young Englishmen who, like Joshua Routledge, grew up in an agriculture-based society.


Early life

Born on 27 April 1773 and baptised on the 29th in
Riccall Riccall is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, lying to the north of Selby and south of York. Riccall is noted for being the place where Harold Hardrada's force of invaders landed in 1066, just before the Battle of Stamfor ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
. Joshua Routledge was third of twelve children. Generations of Routledges were established as yeoman farmers and weavers in Riccall, a village about 9 miles (14 km) south of the city of
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
. Joshua's father was a blacksmith by trade, but he seems to have been pious, curious and adventurous by nature. The Industrial Revolution allowed the advancement of all sorts of radical new ideas in tandem with mechanical innovations. Religious, political, and social reformers took to the highways and byways spreading discontent with the
status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...
.
John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
being one reformer whose message took hold in Yorkshire. Wesley's brand of fervent evangelical
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
encouraged lay preachers, which appealed very much to the
working classes The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
, William Routledge (1744-1822) for one. It is known that William with wife Sarah Bell (1746-1819), one-year-old Joshua and his two-year-old sister Dinah (1771-1791), joined a group of Methodists sailing to
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, Canada in 1774. Records indicate that the family sailed on board the vessel ''Two Friends'', embarking from Hull, Yorkshire the "week of 28th February to 7th March" and arriving in Halifax on 9 May 1774. It is certain that the family returned to Yorkshire before 1778 when Joshua's brother Joseph was born in Elvington, a village located about 7 miles southeast of York. Later on, they joined the Methodist movement as active members of the York Circuit, and according to an account by J. D. Greenhalgh published in 1882, William Routledge was among a list of "Wesleyan Methodist ministers admitted...in the year 1800." Bolton Archives & Local Studies: B929.2 ROU


Career

Nothing is recorded of Joshua Routledge's early education, but supposedly he learned something about the smithing trades from his father. In 1798 Routledge was in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
, Yorkshire where his occupation is given as "whitesmith" (
tinsmith A tinsmith is a historical term for a skilled craftsperson who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession was also known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profe ...
) on a marriage certificate recorded at St Peter's Parish Church, Leeds. This was the occasion of his first marriage, on 5 November, to Mary King. A daughter, Ann, was born there in 1803.


The Round Foundry

Routledge may have apprenticed at the historic Round Foundry in Leeds.
Matthew Murray Matthew Murray (1765 – 20 February 1826) was an English steam engine and machine tool manufacturer, who designed and built the first commercially viable steam locomotive, the twin-cylinder ''Salamanca'' in 1812. He was an innovative design ...
(1765–1826) and David Wood (1761–1820) partnered in building the Round Foundry circa 1795 and were later joined by James Fenton (1754–1834) and silent partner William Lister. Fenton, Murray, & Wood quickly gained a reputation for innovative thinking and sound technical practices. The firm became famous as designers and builders of textile machinery and steam engines that rivalled the Soho Works in
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 ...
operated by steam-age pioneers
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 ...
and
Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton ( ; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and silversmith. He was a business partner of the Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the par ...
.


Routledge Engineer's Rule

By 1800, Routledge had become Manager at the Round Foundry. Somehow, along the way, he learned the value of
logarithm In mathematics, the logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, must be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of to base is , because is to the rd power: . More generally, if , the ...
s and thereby had the means of developing a method of measuring "all kinds of metals and other bodies" needed for engineering purposes. Using the principles of
Edmund Gunter Edmund Gunter (158110 December 1626), was an English clergyman, mathematician, geometer and astronomer of Welsh descent. He is best remembered for his mathematical contributions, which include the invention of the Gunter's chain, the #Gunter's q ...
's (1581–1626)
logarithmic scale A logarithmic scale (or log scale) is a method used to display numerical data that spans a broad range of values, especially when there are significant differences among the magnitudes of the numbers involved. Unlike a linear Scale (measurement) ...
s and
William Oughtred William Oughtred (5 March 1574 – 30 June 1660), also Owtred, Uhtred, etc., was an English mathematician and Anglican clergyman.'Oughtred (William)', in P. Bayle, translated and revised by J.P. Bernard, T. Birch and J. Lockman, ''A General ...
's (1574–1660) sliding rule, Routledge combined a 12-inch brass slide containing the logarithmic scales with an ordinary 2-foot ruler to which he added a table of commonly used references called gauge points. This rule became known as the Routledge Engineer's Rule. According to a handwritten, unsigned document on file at Bolton Archives (Lancashire) Routledge acquired a patent for his improved
slide rule A slide rule is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for conducting mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog ...
in 1813 but, to date, no record of this has been traced. It is certain that, in 1805, he published the first known ''Instructions for the Engineer's Improved Sliding Rule'' and that numerous editions followed before and after his death in 1829, the most recent being in 1983. A letter from his parents, dated 1811, records that Routledge was associated, at that time, with Thompson, Swift and Co, iron founders and steam engine makers located in
Little Bolton Little Bolton was a township of the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors in the Salford hundred of Lancashire, England, and later a separate civil parish. Besides the main part of Little Bolton, it had three detached parts which ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, and a notice published in the Manchester Mercury dated 12 November 1811 informs that his partnership with that firm had been dissolved by mutual consent.


Improved Rotary Steam Engine

In 1816 Routledge had a prosperous
ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...
(hardware) business at 26 Deansgate in
Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
. That business allowed him time to engage in other engineering pursuits as well as support his inventive activities. Thus, in February 1818, he acquired a patent for "An Improvement or Improvements Upon the Rotary Steam Engine." A newspaper account dated 8 August 1822 and quoted in ''Historical Gleanings Bolton & District'' describes him as the "spirited and ingenious inventor" of a portable, steam-powered machine that broke stones for road repair at the "astounding rate of 70 or 80 tons in ten hours," something "never before contemplated." About this time, his name appears among the original shareholders of Bolton
Gaslight Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a fuel gas such as methane, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...
and Coke Company supplying gas to the towns of
Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...
and
Little Bolton Little Bolton was a township of the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors in the Salford hundred of Lancashire, England, and later a separate civil parish. Besides the main part of Little Bolton, it had three detached parts which ...
In 1822 he entered into a short-lived partnership (dissolved 1824) with William Kay of Bury Lancashire to supply iron pillars to the specification of
William Fairbairn Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet of Ardwick (19 February 1789 – 18 August 1874) was a Scotland, Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder. In 1854 he succeeded George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson to become the third ...
for the "fireproof" Hudcar Mill, said to be state-of-the-art for
cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...
s of the day. The Hudcar Mill, built for manufacturer Thomas Haslam, was demolished in 1977. Pigot and Dean's Directory of 1821–22 styles the partnership of Kay and Routledge as
Brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...
and Ironfounders and
Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
s. Sometime before leaving England, in 1824, for
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Poland, Routledge undertook another engineering project with Joseph (1765–1842) and Thomas Ridgway (1778–1839) to extend and rearrange the pioneering Wallsuches
Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...
Works in
Horwich Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It ...
, Lancashire. Wallsuches Bleach Works is preserved as a
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
complex, described as a "rare survival of a once large scale important industry in the Bolton area". In Poland, Routledge engaged with Thomas Evans & Co of Warsaw to erect a large steam
corn mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
. This foundry was the forerunner of
Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein (, often shortened to Lilpop or LRL) was a Polish engineering company. Established in 1818 as an iron foundry, with time it rose to become a large holding company specialising in iron and steel production, as well as all ...
, another noteworthy engineering firm distinguished by its expertise in the manufacture of railroad engines and other heavy-duty industrial machinery.


Family Connections

Joshua Routledge was twice married, first in 1798 to Mary King about whom nothing more has been found, except that a daughter Ann (1803–1814) came from that union."Family History Library"
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City Utah: Film 0918376


Hick Family

A contemporary of Routledge by the name of
Benjamin Hick Benjamin Hick (1 August 1790 – 9 September 1842) was an English civil and mechanical engineer, art collector and patron whose improvements to the steam engine and invention of scientific tools were held in high esteem by the engineering ...
(1787/90–1842) also received training at the Round Foundry, and the two ambitious young men left Leeds for greener pastures sometime around 1810. Both settled in
Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
Lancashire where engineering advances in the machinery needed for large scale cotton milling would soon bring about boom times for the whole region. Joshua witnessed the marriage of his sister Elizabeth (1783–1826) to Benjamin Hick in April 1811."Family History Library"
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City Utah: Film 6904337
Hick went on to found the highly respected Bolton engineering firm Benjamin Hick & Sons, later
Hick, Hargreaves & Co B. Hick and Sons, subsequently Hick, Hargreaves & Co, was a British engineering company based at the Soho Ironworks in Bolton, England. Benjamin Hick, a partner in Rothwell, Hick and Rothwell, later Rothwell, Hick & Co., set up the company in p ...
. Elizabeth and Benjamin had five children: Mary born in 1813, John in 1815, Benjamin in 1818, William in 1820, and Eliza Rachel in 1821.
John Hick John Harwood Hick (20 January 1922 – 9 February 2012) was an English philosopher of religion and theologian, who taught in the United States for the larger part of his career. In philosophical theology, he made contributions in the areas o ...
, besides his notable engineering career while extending the family firm, distinguished himself as Bolton town councillor for 9 years before serving as a Conservative Member of Parliament from
1868 Events January * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsu ...
to
1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...
.


Abel and Bowker Families

Soon after witnessing the marriage of Elizabeth and Benjamin, Joshua followed suit, marrying Frances Abel on 14 July 1811. Frances was the widow of James Abel (1770–1801), a prominent
Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
in Bolton. She had two children from that marriage, Mary Ann who died in 1802 aged 2 years and 9 months and Samuel (1802–1842). Upon marrying Joshua she became stepmother to his daughter Ann who died on 19 August 1814 and was buried, alongside her half siblings, in the Abel family plot at St Peter's Parish Church. Frances (1777–1844) came from the politically and socially active Bowker family. Her elder brothers, William Bowker (b 1768) and Jonathan (b 1770), made significant contributions to the building and running of Great and Little Bolton during the early 1800s. Bowker's Row, a small street in the heart of Bolton, is named for them. Both Jonathan and William are found on a list of "Bolton Politicians in 1806," and William was elected Boroughreeve in 1812. During 1819, in reference to the infamous
Peterloo Massacre The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Eighteen people died and 400–700 were injured when the cavalry of the Yeomen charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who ...
, William Bowker, as Boroughreeve, wrote a letter advising the local
Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
that the leading men of the town intended to protest by "meeting publicly to address the
Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...
on the late proceedings at
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
on the 16th of August last." Joshua Routledge was among the signers of the letter. Bolton Archives & Local Studies: ZHE11/15/82


Last Days

Tragically, Routledge contracted a
cancerous tumor Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal ...
while in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
where he died on 8 February 1829 in a state of near
penury Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...
, having received little or no payment or support from his employers during his illness. An 1888 newspaper article quoted one of the last entries in his diary: "F anny, his wifebeen up to Evans for money, but he did not give any; did nothing but abuse me as usual; and she abused him as ill, but he is callous to everything." After Joshua's death, Frances returned to Bolton with their three children: William (1812–1872), Frances (1814–1872), and Henry (1817–1884). William and Henry went into engineering along with their half-brother Samuel Abel. William and Henry both inherited the inventive spirit of their father, having, between the two, qualified for numerous mechanical patents in their day. Their sister Frances remained unmarried and nothing more of her career is known.


Legacy

The Routledge Engineer's Rule proved to be the model for further slide rule improvements during the 19th and even into the 20th century, including Wilkinson's Routledge's Spinners' Rule, Armstrong's Drafting Rule, Hawthorne's Locomotive Rule, Carrett's General Engineering Rule, and Noble's Eureka Slide Rule. In 1921, James Noble, an engineer at Sheffield, published the 7th edition of his ''Instructions for the Use of the Eureka Slide Rule'' in which he acknowledges the "Routledge Rule," stating that "ere long it will have to be taught in all towns throughout the Kingdom, as anyone who has the Rule well in hand will work out questions while another is committing them to paper."


References


External links


Science Museum
Working model of a Rotary Steam Engine patented by J. Routledge, 1818
''Instructions for the use of the Practical Engineer's & Mechanic's Improved Slide Rule''
as arranged by J. Routledge, engineer.

Routledge Engineer's Rule by Rabone and Sons
Classic Slide Rules
Routledge Engineer's Rule by Bradburn and Sons * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Routledge, Joshua Engineers from Yorkshire English inventors 1773 births 1829 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century British engineers People of the Industrial Revolution British steam engine engineers People from Selby District