INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY
Series One: The Boulton & Watt Archive and the Matthew Boulton Papers from Birmingham Central Library

Part 14: Boulton & Watt Correspondence and Papers (MS 3147/3/405-484)

From the activities of the Drawing Office at Soho Manufactory to the trials of engine erectors and correspondence with customers through to new developments such as gas lighting, the engines provided for steam boats, the new London banking concern set up after the death of Mrs Charlotte Matthews in 1802, and the interesting history of Albion Mill – the biggest and most important mill of the period – situated close to Blackfriars Bridge in London, these documents provide a wealth of evidence on the development of the Boulton and Watt businesses. There is also a substantial section of material on the all important Cornish Mines. The later correspondence for the years after 1800 allows scholars to examine the way business was developed by the sons of Boulton and Watt. Did they miss an opportunity in failing to take out a patent for gas lighting to capitalise on Murdock’s work? How important was the mint and marine engine business in these later years?

Part 14 of this microfilm project continues our coverage of the full run of correspondence and papers in the Boulton and Watt Archive. These materials have recently been recatalogued by the Archives of Soho Project, a major initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Birmingham City Council and the Birmingham Assay Office Charitable Trust, to achieve a proper arrangement and listing of all the letters and papers. This work was carried out by senior project archivists Adam C Green and Tim Proctor, and project archivist Fiona Tait. It has made these important documents much more accessible to researchers. All the relevant listings compiled by the Archives of Soho Project are included in this microfilm project.

Part 14 starts with four further sequences of General Correspondence arranged alphabetically by correspondent. There are the folders of General Correspondence for 1795-1798 and the folders of General Correspondence dealt with by John Southern, c1788-1798, mainly in his capacity as assistant to James Watt, chief draughtsman, and later, as head of the Drawing Office at Soho Manufactory. There are letters from engine customers, queries on plans, reports on particular problems with certain engines, communications with the carriers who were transporting goods and parts for Boulton, Watt & Sons, firms used by Boulton, Watt & Sons for sub-contracted work, engine erectors, and people making general enquiries about engines. The letters are often accompanied by some memoranda and accounts. This is followed by the General Correspondence received in the Drawing Office for the period 1829-1843. This gives a good idea of the way business was developing and the different types of work being carried out under the direction of James Watt Junior (1769-1848) and Matthew Robinson Boulton (1770-1842).

There is also one folder of miscellaneous General Correspondence for 1846-1862.

The next section of the archive comprises letters and papers on the following subjects:

Cornish Mines and Engines, 1775-1807

There is much correspondence from Thomas Wilson concerning the Engine business in Cornwall, a folder of correspondence from the Fox family, as well as significant material on the difficulties with the Hornblowers, the handling of proprietors of various copper mines, the legal patent disputes, the Cornish Metal Company, and notes on engines built and premiums due. There are specific calculations for the engines at Wheal Chance, Poldice and Dolcoath, Books and Tables on Engine performance, a volume of plans for Consolidated Mines, Tables on boilers for various Cornish engines, and a Memorandum on Cornish Engines with Tables dated 23 October 1780. (This material should be seen in conjunction with the Matthew Boulton Correspondence on this subject - see Part 4 of this microfilm project, especially Reels 49 and 50).

Albion Mill, 1782-1802

This corn mill was erected by Boulton and his partners close to Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1786. (For more information, please see the 97 original drawings dating from March 1784 reproduced in Part 3 of this project, Portfolio  152 on Reel 34). It was the biggest and most important mill of the period. Building and construction work for the mill and engine was supervised by John Rennie. The first trial of the machinery was made before a great crowd of spectators, including Sir Joseph Banks. Initially there were problems with the sun-and-planet gear, which had been made by Wilkinson, and other parts of the working gear had a number of defects. Matthew Boulton, who spent a good amount of time in London, was frequently troubled by these difficulties and spent a lot of time on matters relating to Albion Mill. There were also problems with the piston rod of the engine.  By April 1786 repairs had been made. A second engine was laid down in 1789 and by 1790 the output of the mill was very considerable for the period. The sales of flour in a week in June 1790 amounted to £6,800. As can be seen from the correspondence, despite this apparent success, Matthew Boulton was still very exercised by the financial and organisational state of affairs at Albion Mill.  

However, a greater disaster struck on 2 March 1791 when the mill was completely destroyed by fire. There were strong suspicions of foul play and Boulton called for a thorough investigation by the Government as a matter of national importance. On the other hand, Rennie and Wyatt, the manager of the Mill, thought that the fire was caused by accident due to a lack of grease on the large corn machine in front of the kiln. Was this negligence? In many quarters there was great rejoicing, especially amongst the mob, rival millers and mealmen discontented by the virtual monopoly of the London flour trade by the Albion Mill Company.

The Mill was not rebuilt, but it was sometime before the affairs of the Company were wound up. As late as 1800 the erection of a new engine and mill was still under discussion. The material on the Albion Mill made available here enables the researcher to look in detail at this enterprise and controversy which captivated the attention of so many people at the time.

As well as the correspondence, there are lots of drawing, plans, memoranda, notes and calculations. (Again, this material should be seen in conjunction with the Matthew Boulton Correspondence on the same subject dealing with the chequered history of Albion Mill - see Part 4 of this microfilm project, especially Reel 37).

Establishment of a London Banking Concern, 1801-1802

The business of Boulton, Watt & Co. involved frequent meetings in London. As an entrepreneur, Matthew Boulton was very interested in coinage, minting matters and banking. In the early years of their partnership, Boulton and Watt used a number of agents and other banking contacts to look after their financial business in London. It was natural that the company would seek to establish a London Banking Concern to take control of these matters.

Gas Lighting, 1805-1816

William Murdoch (l754-l839), who is generally recognised as the pioneer of the gas lighting industry, established a business for Boulton & Watt to supply individuals and private firms with gas lighting.

While working for Boulton and Watt supervising the erection of steam engines in Cornwall, Murdoch experimented in gas making, and in l792 he used gas distilled from coal to light his office in Redruth. After his return to Birmingham Murdoch organised a display of gas lighting, and lit the exterior of Boulton and Watt's Soho works to celebrate the Peace of Amiens in l802. A year later the interior of the Soho Foundry was lit by gas, and shortly afterwards, in 1804, gas lighting was arranged for the cotton mills and house of Phillips and Lee in Manchester. This was the first large scale application of gas for lighting.

It was unfortunate that Murdoch was dissuaded from patenting his gas manufacturing process; nonetheless his achievement was eventually recognised when he was awarded the Rumford Gold Medal by the Royal Society in l808. A rival claimant was Frederick Winsor (l763-l830), an entrepreneur and opportunist. He is important in the history of gas lighting as it was through his efforts that the first public gas supply company was formed.

Winsor envisaged supply from a central gasworks, rather than individual installations, to provide both lighting and heating. Winsor's first demonstration of public lighting was in l807 when, for the birthday celebrations of George III, he lit the garden wall of the Prince Regent's London home, Carlton House. Later in the same year he erected gas street lights in Pall Mall, where he had set up business premises.

One of the employees at the Soho works, Samuel Clegg, also saw the potential of this new form of lighting. Clegg left his job at Boulton & Watt to set up his own gas lighting business, the Gas Lighting and Coke Company. Gradually his business expanded as gas lighting was installed in many mills, factories and houses.

In 1808, a bill to authorize the incorporation of the National Light & Heat Company to provide centrally generated gas was presented to Parliament. This bill was opposed by William Murdoch on behalf of Boulton & Watt. He lodged a petition against the bill and an enquiry before a House of Commons committee heard evidence from both sides. The whig barrister, Henry Brougham, later Lord Chancellor, was Murdoch’s counsel. He had supporting testimony from George Lee of the Lancashire firm of Phillips and Lee. Other witnesses included G B Bridges who worked for Winsor, delivering coke made in his patent stove to a number of japanners and ironmakers, some of whom were also examined, as were Humphrey Davy and James Watt junior. Murdoch succeeded in holding up the bill, but Winsor’s far-sighted plan prevailed in the end. Boulton & Watt did not enjoy any significant further benefits from Murdoch’s invention as the process was exploited by other companies. Two folders of correspondence and papers (3/480 and 3/481) cover the Gas Light & Coke Bill. Winsor succeeded in raising the necessary capital and in 1812 the National Light & Heat Company was finally incorporated as the Chartered Gas Light & Coke Co.

In the same year, Winsor was granted a Royal Charter to light the Cities of London and Westminster and the Borough of Southwark. Within a very few years private gas companies were set up in London and large towns and cities, although investment by town councils in gasworks was generally more cautious. It was not until the l840s that towns with populations of less than 2,500 could reasonably expect a gas supply, and it continued to be uneconomic to lay mains to very small rural communities and isolated properties. For wealthy householders determined to have gas lighting but whose estates were in secluded positions, their only option was to build a gasworks or, later in the century, invest in considerably cheaper acetylene or air-gas plants.

In his first gas-making experiments Murdoch had devised a burner based on the principle of the Argand oil lamp, and in 1809 Samuel Clegg constructed gas Argand burners that had a ring of small holes, to be used with glass chimneys. The burner produced a column of bright light but it was not popular for use in the home, as the flame smoked if the burner was not frequently adjusted when gas pressure fluctuated. Although not equal in brightness to the Argand gas burner, two other improved burners were introduced: the batswing burner in l816, with a slit opening which produced a broad flat flame; and, dating from l820, the fishtail or Union Jet. This burner had two small holes that allowed the gas jets to impinge on each other with the effect of producing a brighter flame. However, if the burners were not properly adjusted they made a variety of hissing, roaring, singing or whistling noises that caused great irritation to users.

By 1823, over fifty towns and cities were lit by gas. It proved to be a very economical method of lighting, costing up to 75% less than lighting produced by oil lamps or candles. In 1859, gas lighting was to be found all over Britain. Over 1000 gas works had sprung up to meet the demand for the new fuel. Between 1865 and 1885, there was a boom in investment in gas, which reduced its cost even further.

The economic effect of gas lighting was to allow factories to work much longer hours. This was particularly important during the winter months when nights were longer. Factories could even work continuously over 24 hours, so increasing production. The brighter lighting which gas provided allowed people to read more easily and for longer. This stimulated literacy and learning, so speeding up the Industrial Revolution. A further benefit was a reduction in crime rates as towns became much safer places to travel around when gas lamps were installed in the streets.

Steam Boats, 1810-1843

This was one of the principal areas where the sons of Boulton and Watt developed the firm’s activities after 1810. James Watt junior became passionately interested in a new application of his father's motive force, the steamboat. He gave much assistance to
Robert Fulton, including the steam engine by which Fulton's Clermont was able to make the first successful steam-powered ascent and descent of the Hudson River in 1807.

In 1817, James Watt junior purchased Bell’s steamship Caledonia and refitted her with two 14 hp Boulton & Watt engines. He took her across to the Dutch coast and travelled up the Rhine as far as Koblenz. This was probably the first steam crossing of the English Channel. On the way home the ship visited Antwerp and Rotterdam, returning to the Thames in the spring of 1818. This successful trip brought the firm good publicity and the manufacture of marine engines went from strength to strength.

James Watt junior remained deeply involved in the problems and prospects of steam navigation through the 1820s and 1830s, and when his partnership with Matthew Robinson Boulton was dissolved in 1840, James Watt junior assumed sole responsibility for Soho Foundry until his death in 1848.

Part 11 of this microfilm project includes many portfolios of Engineering Drawings relevant to this side of the business. Portfolios 1123 to 1279 cover Boat Engines with drawings for a total of 286 engines relating to 151 different vessels. There are drawings for Robert Fulton's Clermont, for Watt's Caledonia, for HMS Congo, Princess Charlotte for Clyde Steam Boat Company, 44 Gun Frigates for the Royal Navy, as well as for vessels for the Hudson Bay Company, the Sicilian Government, Ceylon, J B Humphreys for use on rivers in Germany, the Imperial & Royal Danube Steam Navigation Company, Austrian Lloyd's Steam Navigation Company, the Bombay Steam Navigation Company, Tyne Steam Packet Company, John Molson in Montreal, Dublin & London Steam Marine Company, Vander Hoop in Amsterdam, the London & Margate Steam Packet Company, the Carlisle & Liverpool Steam Packet Company, and a series of vessels for the British Post Office. The bulk of these drawings span the period 1804-1847. The correspondence covered here in Part 14 is a useful adjunct to these drawings.

The culmination of these activities concerning steam boats could be said to be epitomised by the fitting out of HMS James Watt in 1853 with Soho engines. After this the fortunes of the firm slowly declined in the face of increasing competition.

Taken together these letters and papers provide a vast array of material for the researcher working on the Industrial Revolution. They give a detailed insight into Boulton & Watt’s range of business activities (and subsequently Boulton, Watt & Co. after 1800), the network of agents, engine erectors and engineers, banking and legal contacts. This enables the social historian to understand how the business was run, how its activities changed after 1800, and the nature and scope of its impact throughout the country and overseas.