The Soho Manufactory, Mint and Foundry, West Midlands, 1761-1895

The Soho Manufactory, Mint and Foundry, West Midlands, 1761-1895

Author: George Demidowicz

Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited

Published: 2020-12-15

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9781789255225

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Comprehensive analysis of a ground-breaking 18th century historic industrial complex associated with Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and William Murdoch: combining historical, excavation and survey data


The Soho Manufactory, Mint and Foundry, West Midlands

The Soho Manufactory, Mint and Foundry, West Midlands

Author: George Demidowicz

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2022-01-15

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 1802070931

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This volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the ground-breaking historic industrial complex created to the west of Birmingham in the eighteenth century and associated with Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and William Murdoch. The Soho Manufactory (1761-1863) and Soho Mint (1788-1850s) were both situated in the historic parish of Handsworth, now in the city of Birmingham, and the Soho Foundry (1795-1895) lay in the historic township of Smethwick, now within Sandwell Metropolitan Borough. Together they played a key role in the Industrial Revolution , achieving many world 'firsts': the first working Watt steam engine, the first steam-engine powered mint and the first purpose-built steam engine manufactory (the Soho Foundry), to name but a few. Existing literature focuses largely on the biography of the people, primarily Boulton and Watt, or the products they manufactured. The place - the Soho complex - has attracted very little attention. This volume is the first to concentrate on the buildings themselves analysing not only their physical origins, development and eventual decline but also the water and steam power systems adopted. An interdisciplinary approach has been employed combining archival research in the magnificent Soho collection at the Library of Birmingham with the results of archaeological excavations. The volume is profusely illustrated with archival material, most published for the first time, and contains a large number of reconstruction plans and drawings by the author.


Industrial Enlightenment

Industrial Enlightenment

Author: Peter M. Jones

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2017-10-03

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1526130319

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Industrial Enlightenment explores the transition through which England passed between 1760 and 1820 on the way to becoming the world’s first industrialised nation. In drawing attention to the important role played by scientific knowledge, it focuses on a dimension of this transition which is often overlooked by historians. The book argues that in certain favoured regions, England underwent a process whereby useful knowledge was fused with technological ‘know how’ to produce the condition described here as Industrial Enlightenment. At the forefront of the process were the natural philosophers who entered into a close and productive relationship with technologists and entrepreneurs. Much of the evidence for this study is drawn from the extraordinary archival record of the activities of Matthew Boulton (1728–1809) and his Soho Manufactory. The book will appeal to those keen to explore the dynamics of change in eighteenth-century England, and to those with a broad interest in the cultural history of science and technology.


A Guide to the Buildings of Coventry

A Guide to the Buildings of Coventry

Author: George Demidowicz

Publisher: Buildings of England (Tempus)

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13:

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This is a collection of archive photographs and ephemera featuring the buildings of Coventry, accompanied by informative text.


Pandaemonium 1660–1886

Pandaemonium 1660–1886

Author: Humphrey Jennings

Publisher: Icon Books Ltd

Published: 2012-10-04

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 1848315864

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Collecting texts taken from letters, diaries, literature, scientific journals and reports, Pandæmonium gathers a beguiling narrative as it traces the development of the machine age in Britain. Covering the years between 1660 and 1886, it offers a rich tapestry of human experience, from eyewitness reports of the Luddite Riots and the Peterloo Massacre to more intimate accounts of child labour, Utopian communities, the desecration of the natural world, ground-breaking scientific experiments, and the coming of the railways. Humphrey Jennings, co-founder of the Mass Observation movement of the 1930s and acclaimed documentary film-maker, assembled an enthralling narrative of this key period in Britain's national consciousness. The result is a highly original artistic achievement in its own right. Thanks to the efforts of his daughter, Marie-Louise Jennings, Pandæmonium was originally published in 1985, and in 2012 it was the inspiration behind Danny Boyle's electrifying Opening Ceremony for the London Olympic Games. Frank Cottrell Boyce, who wrote the scenario for the ceremony, contributes a revealing new foreword for this edition.


The History of the Telescope

The History of the Telescope

Author: Henry C. King

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2003-01-01

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 9780486432656

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This remarkable history encompasses not only the achievements of the early inventors and astronomers but also the less frequently recounted stories of the instrument makers and of the actual instruments. A model of unsurpassed, comprehensive scholarship, this volume covers many fields, including professional and amateur astronomy. 196 black-and-white illustrations.


Engineering Empires

Engineering Empires

Author: B. Marsden

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2004-12-07

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 0230504124

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Engineers are empire-builders. Watt, Brunel, and others worked to build and expand personal and business empires of material technology and in so doing these engineers also became active agents of political and economic empire. This book provides a fascinating exploration of the cultural construction of the large-scale technologies of empire.