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127-454: Soho Mint was created by Matthew Boulton in 1788 in his Soho Manufactory ( grid reference SP051890 ) in Handsworth, West Midlands , England. A mint was erected at the manufactory containing eight machines, to his own patent design, driven by steam engine , each capable of striking 70 to 85 coins per minute. In addition to copper domestic coins, silver coins were made for some of

254-453: A steam engine either to pump water back up to the millpond or to drive equipment directly would help to provide the necessary power. He began to correspond with Watt in 1766, and first met him two years later. In 1769 Watt patented an engine with the innovation of a separate condenser , making it far more efficient than earlier engines. Boulton realised not only that this engine could power his manufactory, but also that its production might be

381-546: A Society which I hope will be lasting", as members died or moved away they were not replaced. In 1813, four years after his death, the Society was dissolved and a lottery was held to dispose of its assets. Since there were no minutes of meetings, few details of the gatherings remain. Historian Jenny Uglow wrote of the lasting impact of the Society: The Lunar Society['s] ... members have been called

508-585: A broad raised rim with the inscription pressed below the surface and became known as the cartwheel pennies. Over 45 million were struck in two years. The new copper coins were issued at the Soho Mint and by Charlotte Matthews in London who was the banker and business advisor to Watt and Boulton. Matthew Boulton Matthew Boulton FRS ( / ˈ b oʊ l t ən / BOHL -tən ; 3 September 1728 – 17 August 1809)

635-787: A common informer against particular persons, to stop the malpractices of the Birmingham coiners." In 1788 he established the Soho Mint as part of his industrial plant. The mint included eight steam-driven presses, each striking between 70 and 84 coins per minute. The firm had little immediate success getting a licence to strike British coins, but was soon engaged in striking coins for the British East India Company for use in India. The coin crisis in Britain continued. In

762-606: A contract to strike British coins, but in June 1790 the Pitt Government postponed a decision on recoinage indefinitely. Meanwhile, the Soho Mint struck coins for the East India Company, Sierra Leone and Russia, while producing high-quality planchets , or blank coins, to be struck by national mints elsewhere. The firm sent over 20 million blanks to Philadelphia, to be struck into cents and half-cents by

889-619: A deceased wife's sister was forbidden by ecclesiastical law, though permitted by common law. Nonetheless, they married on 25 June 1760 at St Mary's Church, Rotherhithe . Eric Delieb, who wrote a book on Boulton's silver, with a biographical sketch, suggests that the marriage celebrant, Rev. James Penfold, an impoverished curate , was probably bribed. Boulton later advised another man who was seeking to wed his late wife's sister: "I advise you to say nothing of your intentions but to go quickly and snugly to Scotland or some obscure corner of London, suppose Wapping, and there take lodgings to make yourself

1016-409: A fluid (a refrigerant) which evaporates at temperatures below 100 °C. Such systems are however fairly complex. They work with pressures of 6 to 20 bars, so that the whole system has to be completely sealed. The Expansion Engine can offer significant advantages here, in particular for lower power ratings of 2 to 100 kW: with expansion ratios of 1:5, the theoretical efficiency reaches 15%, which

1143-690: A formal member of the Lunar Society, Sir Joseph Banks was active in it. In 1768 Banks sailed with Captain James Cook to the South Pacific, and took with him green glass earrings made at Soho to give to the natives. In 1776 Captain Cook ordered an instrument from Boulton, most likely for use in navigation. Boulton generally preferred not to take on lengthy projects, and he warned Cook that its completion might take years. In June 1776 Cook left on

1270-419: A four bar linkage coupled with a pantograph to produce the required straight line motion much more cheaply than if he had used a slider type of linkage. He was very proud of his solution. Having the beam connected to the piston shaft by a means that applied force alternately in both directions also meant that it was possible to use the motion of the beam to turn a wheel. The simplest solution to transforming

1397-578: A great silversmith, yet I am determined not to take up that branch in the large way I intended, unless powers can be obtained to have a marking hall [assay office] at Birmingham." Boulton petitioned Parliament for the establishment of an assay office in Birmingham. Though the petition was bitterly opposed by London goldsmiths, he was successful in getting Parliament to pass an act establishing assay offices in Birmingham and Sheffield , whose silversmiths had faced similar difficulties in transporting their wares. The silver business proved not to be profitable due to

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1524-454: A half across; 16 pennies lined up would reach two feet. The exact measurements and weights made it easy to detect lightweight counterfeits. Küchler also designed proportionate halfpennies and farthings; these were not authorised by the proclamation, and though pattern pieces were struck, they never officially entered circulation. The halfpenny measured ten to a foot, the farthing 12 to a foot. The coins were nicknamed "cartwheels", both because of

1651-525: A jewel-like gleam. Boulton and Wedgwood were friends, alternately co-operating and competing, and Wedgwood wrote of Boulton, "It doubles my courage to have the first Manufacturer in England to encounter with—The match likes me well—I like the Man, I like his spirit." In the 1770s Boulton introduced an insurance system for his workers that served as the model for later schemes, allowing his workers compensation in

1778-538: A letter to the Master of the Mint, Lord Hawkesbury ( whose son would become Prime Minister as Earl of Liverpool) on 14 April 1789, Boulton wrote: In the course of my journeys, I observe that I receive upon an average two-thirds counterfeit halfpence for change at toll-gates, etc. and I believe the evil is daily increasing, as the spurious money is carried into circulation by the lowest class of manufacturers, who pay with it

1905-404: A man of science, gained some fame posthumously for his invention of the important aeronautical flight control, the aileron . As his father before him, he also had two wives and six children. After the death of his father in 1759, Boulton took full control of the family toymaking business. He spent much of his time in London and elsewhere, promoting his wares. He arranged for a friend to present

2032-406: A marketable engine could be perfected. It was only after entering into partnership with Matthew Boulton that such became reality. Watt told Boulton about his ideas on improving the engine, and Boulton, an avid entrepreneur, agreed to fund development of a test engine at Soho , near Birmingham . At last Watt had access to facilities and the practical experience of craftsmen who were soon able to get

2159-410: A mechanical lift pump from its opposite end. At the bottom of each stroke, steam was allowed to enter the cylinder below the piston. As the piston rose within the cylinder, drawn upward by a counterbalance, it drew in steam at atmospheric pressure. At the top of the stroke the steam valve was closed, and cold water was briefly injected into the cylinder as a means of cooling the steam. This water condensed

2286-402: A member of the Lunar Society, wrote to him in 1763, "As you are now become a sober plodding Man of Business, I scarcely dare trouble you to do me a favour in the ... philosophical way." The Birmingham enthusiasts, including Boulton, Whitehurst, Keir, Darwin, Watt (after his move to Birmingham), potter Josiah Wedgwood and clergyman and chemist Joseph Priestley began to meet informally in

2413-527: A mine in Tipton in the Black Country. Both engines were successfully installed, leading to favourable publicity for the partnership. Boulton and Watt began to install engines elsewhere. The firm rarely produced the engine itself: it had the purchaser buy parts from a number of suppliers and then assembled the engine on-site under the supervision of a Soho engineer. The company made its profit by comparing

2540-470: A more reliable design which used half as much coal to produce the same amount of power. The new design was introduced commercially in 1776, with the first example sold to the Carron Company ironworks. Watt continued working to improve the engine, and in 1781 introduced a system using a sun and planet gear to turn the linear motion of the engines into rotary motion. This made it useful not only in

2667-491: A nearby canal would damage his water supply, but this did not prove to be the case, and in 1779 he wrote, "Our navigation goes on prosperously; the junction with the Wolverhampton Canal is complete, and we already sail to Bristol and to Hull." Boulton's Soho site proved to have insufficient hydropower for his needs, especially in the summer when the millstream's flow was greatly reduced. He realised that using

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2794-559: A new building in Temple Row was opened in 1808, shortly before Boulton's death. Watt steam engine The Watt steam engine design was an invention of James Watt that became synonymous with steam engines during the Industrial Revolution , 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

2921-703: A parishioner. When the month is expired and the Law fulfilled, live and be happy ... I recommend silence, secrecy, and Scotland." The union was opposed by Anne's brother Luke, who feared Boulton would control (and possibly dissipate) much of the Robinson family fortune. In 1764 Luke Robinson died, and his estate passed to his sister Anne and thus into Matthew Boulton's control. The Boultons had two children, Matthew Robinson Boulton and Anne Boulton. Matthew Robinson in turn had six children with two wives. His eldest son Matthew Piers Watt Boulton , broadly educated and also

3048-464: A partnership with him. Keir was a long-time supplier and associate of Boulton, though Keir never became his partner as he hoped. In 1785 both Boulton and Watt were elected as Fellows of the Royal Society . According to Whitehurst, who wrote to congratulate Boulton, not a single vote was cast against him. Though Boulton hoped his activities for the Lunar Society would "prevent the decline of

3175-495: A process for the mechanical reproduction of paintings for middle-class homes, but eventually abandoned the procedure. Boulton and James Keir produced an alloy called "Eldorado metal" that they claimed would not corrode in water and could be used for sheathing wooden ships. After sea trials the Admiralty rejected their claims, and the metal was used for fanlights and sash windows at Soho House. Boulton feared that construction of

3302-450: A profitable business venture. After receiving the patent, Watt did little to develop the engine into a marketable invention, turning to other work. In 1772, Watt's partner, Dr. John Roebuck , ran into financial difficulties, and Boulton, to whom he owed £1,200, accepted his two-thirds share in Watt's patent as satisfaction of the debt. Boulton's partner Fothergill refused to have any part in

3429-521: A renaissance of the technology. Today, there is an enormous amount of waste steam and waste heat with temperatures between 100 and 150 °C generated by industry. In addition, solarthermal collectors, geothermal energy sources and biomass reactors produce heat in this temperature range. There are technologies to utilise this energy, in particular the Organic Rankine Cycle . In principle, these are steam turbines which do not use water but

3556-458: A rolling mill. Soho House was at first occupied by Boulton relatives, and then by his first partner, John Fothergill . In 1766 Boulton required Fothergill to vacate Soho House, and lived there himself with his family. Both husband and wife died there, Anne Boulton of an apparent stroke in 1783 and her husband after a long illness in 1809. The 13 acres (5 ha) at Soho included common land that Boulton enclosed , later decrying what he saw as

3683-421: A rotary motion, making it suitable for use in mills and factories. On a 1781 visit to Wales Boulton had seen a powerful copper-rolling mill driven by water, and when told it was often inoperable in the summer due to drought suggested that a steam engine would remedy that defect. Boulton wrote to Watt urging the modification of the engine, warning that they were reaching the limits of the pumping engine market: "There

3810-542: A sword to Prince Edward , and the gift so interested the Prince's older brother, George, Prince of Wales , the future King George III, that he ordered one for himself. With capital accumulated from his two marriages and his inheritance from his father, Boulton sought a larger site to expand his business. In 1761 he leased 13 acres (5.3 ha) at Soho, then just in Staffordshire , with a residence, Soho House , and

3937-468: A year in Cornwall overseeing installations and resolving problems with the mineowners. In 1779 the firm hired engineer William Murdoch , who was able to take over the management of most of the on-site installation problems, allowing Watt and Boulton to remain in Birmingham. The pumping engine for use in mines was a great success. In 1782 the firm sought to modify Watt's invention so that the engine had

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4064-599: Is Old Bess of 1777, now in the Science Museum, London . The oldest working engine in the world is the Smethwick Engine , brought into service in May 1779 and now at Thinktank in Birmingham (formerly at the now defunct Museum of Science and Industry, Birmingham ). The oldest still in its original engine house and still capable of doing the job for which it was installed is the 1812 Boulton and Watt engine at

4191-533: Is in the range of ORC systems. The Expansion Engine uses water as working fluid which is simple, cheap, non-toxic, non-flammable and non-corrosive. It works at pressure near and below atmospheric, so that sealing is not a problem. And it is a simple machine, implying cost effectiveness. Researchers from the University of Southampton / UK are currently developing a modern version of Watt's engine in order to generate energy from waste steam and waste heat. They improved

4318-438: Is no other Cornwall to be found, and the most likely line for increasing the consumption of our engines is the application of them to mills, which is certainly an extensive field." Watt spent much of 1782 on the modification project, and though he was concerned that few orders would result, completed it at the end of the year. One order was received in 1782, and several others from mills and breweries soon after. George III toured

4445-527: Is proof of how much scientific knowledge may be acquired without much regular study, by means of a quick & just apprehension, much practical application, and nice mechanical feelings. He had very correct notions of the several branches of natural philosophy, was master of every metallic art & possessed all the chemistry that had any relations to the object of his various manufactures. Electricity and astronomy were at one time among his favourite amusements. From an early age, Boulton had interested himself in

4572-836: The Crofton Pumping Station in Wiltshire . This was used to pump water for the Kennet and Avon Canal ; on certain weekends throughout the year the modern pumps are switched off and the two steam engines at Crofton still perform this function. The oldest extant rotative steam engine, the Whitbread Engine (from 1785, the third rotative engine ever built), is located in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia. A Boulton-Watt engine of 1788 may be found in

4699-522: The Royal Mint responded by shutting itself down, worsening the situation. Few of the silver coins being passed were genuine. Even the copper coins were melted down and replaced with lightweight fakes. The Royal Mint struck no copper coins for 48 years, from 1773 until 1821. The resultant gap was filled with copper tokens that approximated the size of the halfpenny, struck on behalf of merchants. Boulton struck millions of these merchant pieces. On

4826-601: The Science Museum, London , while an 1817 blowing engine , formerly used at the Netherton ironworks of M W Grazebrook now decorates Dartmouth Circus , a traffic island at the start of the A38(M) motorway in Birmingham. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan houses a replica of a 1788 Watt rotative engine. It is a full-scale working model of a Boulton-Watt engine. The American industrialist Henry Ford commissioned

4953-639: The United States Mint —Mint Director Elias Boudinot found them to be "perfect and beautifully polished". The high-technology Soho Mint gained increasing and somewhat unwelcome attention: rivals attempted industrial espionage, while lobbying for Boulton's mint to be shut down. The national financial crisis reached its nadir in February 1797, when the Bank of England stopped redeeming its bills for gold. In an effort to get more money into circulation,

5080-468: The Whitbread brewery in London, and was impressed by the engine there (now preserved at the Powerhouse Museum , Sydney, Australia ). As a demonstration, Boulton used two engines to grind wheat at the rate of 150 bushels per hour in his new Albion Mill in London. While the mill was not financially successful, according to historian Jenny Uglow it served as a "publicity stunt par excellence " for

5207-456: The double acting engine were increased efficiency, higher speed (greater power) and more regular motion. Before the development of the double acting piston, the linkage to the beam and the piston rod had been by means of a chain, which meant that power could only be applied in one direction, by pulling. This was effective in engines that were used for pumping water, but the double action of the piston meant that it could push as well as pull. This

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5334-421: The opportunity cost of keeping a large amount of capital tied up in the inventory of silver. The firm continued to make large quantities of Sheffield plate, but Boulton delegated responsibility for this enterprise to trusted subordinates, involving himself little in it. As part of Boulton's efforts to market to the wealthy, he started to sell vases decorated with ormolu , previously a French speciality. Ormolu

5461-471: The "atmospheric" design. At the end of the power stroke , the weight of the object being moved by the engine pulled the piston to the top of the cylinder as steam was introduced. Then the cylinder was cooled by a spray of water, which caused the steam to condense, forming a partial vacuum in the cylinder. Atmospheric pressure on the top of the piston pushed it down, lifting the work object. James Watt noticed that it required significant amounts of heat to warm

5588-482: The "idle beggarly" condition of the people who had used it. By 1765 his Soho Manufactory had been erected. The warehouse, or "principal building", had a Palladian front and 19 bays for loading and unloading, and had quarters for clerks and managers on the upper storeys. The structure was designed by local architect William Wyatt at a time when industrial buildings were commonly designed by engineers. Other buildings contained workshops. Boulton and Fothergill invested in

5715-444: The 14 years of Watt's original patent had elapsed, but thanks to Boulton's lobbying Parliament passed an act extending Watt's patent until 1800. Boulton and Watt began work improving the engine. With the assistance of iron master John Wilkinson (brother-in-law of Lunar Society member Joseph Priestley ), they succeeded in making the engine commercially viable. In 1776 the partnership erected two engines, one for Wilkinson and one at

5842-487: The 1880s, Hathorn Davey and Co / Leeds produced a 1 hp / 125 rpm atmospheric engine with external condenser but without steam expansion. It has been argued that this was probably the last commercial atmospheric engine to be manufactured. As an atmospheric engine, it did not have a pressurized boiler. It was intended for small businesses. Watt's Expansion Engine is generally considered as of historic interest only. There are however some recent developments which may lead to

5969-631: The Government adopted a plan to issue large quantities of copper coins, and Lord Hawkesbury summoned Boulton to London on 3 March 1797, informing him of the Government's plan. Four days later, Boulton attended a meeting of the Privy Council , and was awarded a contract at the end of the month. According to a proclamation dated 26 July 1797, King George III was "graciously pleased to give directions that measures might be taken for an immediate supply of such copper coinage as might be best adapted to

6096-537: The London competition, the firm made many items out of thin, die -stamped sections, which were shaped and joined together. Towards the end of the 18th century, Boulton and his followers expanded production at the Soho Manufactory to include shoe buckles and seals, marking Birmingham's rise as a centre for both silver plate and mass-produced metal goods. One impediment to Boulton's work was the lack of an assay office in Birmingham. The silver toys long made by

6223-529: The Newcomen engine but with the condensation taking place separate from the cylinder. Driving the engines using both low pressure steam and a partial vacuum raised the possibility of reciprocating engine development. An arrangement of valves could alternately admit low pressure steam to the cylinder and then connect with the condenser. Consequently, the direction of the power stroke might be reversed, making it easier to obtain rotary motion. Additional benefits of

6350-456: The action of the beam into a rotating motion was to connect the beam to a wheel by a crank , but because another party had patent rights on the use of the crank, Watt was obliged to come up with another solution. He adopted the epicyclic sun and planet gear system suggested by an employee William Murdoch , only later reverting, once the patent rights had expired, to the more familiar crank seen on most engines today. The main wheel attached to

6477-453: The advantages of his coinage presses: It will coin much faster, with greater ease, with fewer persons, for less expense, and more beautiful than any other machinery ever used for coining ... Can lay the pieces or blanks upon the die quite true and without care or practice and as fast as wanted. Can work night and day without fatigue by two setts of boys. The machine keeps an account of the number of pieces struck which cannot be altered from

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6604-403: The age of 15 he left school, and by 17 he had invented a technique for inlaying enamels in buckles that proved so popular that the buckles were exported to France, then reimported to Britain and billed as the latest French developments. On 3 March 1749 Boulton married Mary Robinson, a distant cousin and the daughter of a successful mercer , and wealthy in her own right. They lived briefly with

6731-422: The amount of coal used by the machine with that used by an earlier, less efficient Newcomen engine, and required payments of one-third of the savings annually for the next 25 years. This pricing scheme led to disputes, as many mines fuelled the engines using coal of unmarketable quality that cost the mine owners only the expense of extraction. Mine owners were also reluctant to make the annual payments, viewing

6858-493: The beam via ropes and chains was driven. The pump pushed, rather than pulled the column of water upward, hence it could lift water any distance. Once the piston was at the bottom, the cycle repeated. The Newcomen engine was more powerful than the Savery engine. For the first time water could be raised from a depth of over 300 feet. The first example from 1712 was able to replace a team of 500 horses that had been used to pump out

6985-644: The bride's mother in Lichfield, and then moved to Birmingham, where the elder Matthew Boulton made his son a partner at the age of 21. Though the son signed business letters "from father and self", by the mid-1750s he was effectively running the business. The elder Boulton retired in 1757 and died in 1759. The Boultons had three daughters in the early 1750s, but all died in infancy. Mary Boulton's health deteriorated, and she died in August 1759. Not long after her death Boulton began to woo her sister Anne. Marriage with

7112-588: The colonies, and various trade tokens and medals were struck. Among the medals produced were the Seringapatam medal , made for the East India Company in 1801–2 to reward participants of the Battle of Seringapatam , and a medal for the Battle of Trafalgar , which Matthew Boulton produced at his own expense and gave to all those present at the 1805 battle. After the demise of the Soho Mint some of

7239-470: The crank was large and heavy, serving as a flywheel which, once set in motion, by its momentum maintained a constant power and smoothed the action of the alternating strokes. To its rotating central shaft, belts and gears could be attached to drive a great variety of machinery. Because factory machinery needed to operate at a constant speed, Watt linked a steam regulator valve to a centrifugal governor which he adapted from those used to automatically control

7366-536: The cutting tool was supported on both ends and extended through the cylinder, unlike the cantilevered borers then in use. Boulton wrote in 1776 that "Mr. Wilkinson has bored us several cylinders almost without error; that of 50 inches diameter, which we have put up at Tipton, does not err on the thickness of an old shilling in any part". Boulton and Watt 's practice was to help mine-owners and other customers to build engines, supplying men to erect them and some specialised parts. However, their main profit from their patent

7493-425: The cylinder back up to the point where steam could enter the cylinder without immediately condensing. When the cylinder was warm enough that it became filled with steam the next power stroke could commence. Watt realised that the heat needed to warm the cylinder could be saved by adding a separate condensing cylinder. After the power cylinder was filled with steam, a valve was opened to the secondary cylinder, allowing

7620-402: The cylinder under the piston . When the piston reached the top of the cylinder, the steam inlet valve closed and the valve controlling the passage to the condenser opened. The condenser being at a lower pressure, drew the steam from the cylinder into the condenser where it cooled and condensed from water vapour to liquid water, maintaining a partial vacuum in the condenser that was communicated to

7747-401: The engines as theirs once erected, and threatened to petition Parliament to repeal Watt's patent. The county of Cornwall was a major market for the firm's engines. It was mineral-rich and had many mines. However, the special problems for mining there, including local rivalries and high prices for coal, which had to be imported from Wales, forced Watt and later Boulton to spend several months

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7874-580: The event of injury or illness. The first of its kind in any large establishment, employees paid one-sixtieth of their wages into the Soho Friendly Society, membership in which was mandatory. The firm's apprentices were poor or orphaned boys, trainable into skilled workmen; he declined to hire the sons of gentlemen as apprentices, stating that they would be "out of place" among the poorer boys. Not all of Boulton's innovations proved successful. Together with painter Francis Eginton , he created

8001-402: The expansion of his business, Boulton continued his "philosophical" work (as scientific experimentation was then called). He wrote in his notebooks observations on the freezing and boiling point of mercury, on people's pulse rates at different ages, on the movements of the planets, and on how to make sealing wax and disappearing ink. However, Erasmus Darwin , another fellow enthusiast who became

8128-408: The family firm were generally too light to require assaying, but heavier items had to be sent over 70 miles (110 km) to the nearest assay office, at Chester , to be assayed and hallmarked , with the attendant risks of damage and loss. Alternatively they could be sent to London, but this exposed them to the risk of being copied by competitors. Boulton wrote in 1771, "I am very desirous of becoming

8255-507: The fathers of the Industrial Revolution ;... [T]he importance of this particular Society stems from its pioneering work in experimental chemistry, physics, engineering, and medicine, combined with leadership in manufacturing and commerce, and with political and social ideals. Its members were brilliant representatives of the informal scientific web which cut across class, blending the inherited skills of craftsmen with

8382-631: The firm's latest innovation. Before its 1791 destruction by fire, the mill's fame, according to early historian Samuel Smiles, "spread far and wide", and orders for rotative engines poured in not only from Britain but from the United States and the West Indies. Between 1775 and 1800 the firm produced approximately 450 engines. It did not let other manufacturers produce engines with separate condensers, and approximately 1,000 Newcomen engines, less efficient but cheaper and not subject to

8509-710: The first engine working. As fully developed, it used about 75% less fuel than a similar Newcomen one. In 1775, Watt designed two large engines: one for the Bloomfield Colliery at Tipton , completed in March 1776, and one for John Wilkinson 's ironworks at Broseley in Shropshire , which was at work the following month. A third engine, at Stratford-le-Bow in east London, was also working that summer. Watt had tried unsuccessfully for several years to obtain an accurately bored cylinder for his steam engines, and

8636-490: The first modern industrialized factory, the Soho Foundry , which in turn produced new steam engine designs. Watt's early engines were like the original Newcomen designs in that they used low-pressure steam, and all of the power was produced by atmospheric pressure. When, in the early 1800s, other companies introduced high-pressure steam engines, Watt was reluctant to follow suit due to safety concerns. Wanting to improve on

8763-553: The first of a series that lasted until 1912 . The hospital, Birmingham General , opened in 1779. Boulton also helped build the General Dispensary, where outpatient treatment could be obtained. A firm supporter of the Dispensary, he served as treasurer, and wrote, "If the funds of the institution are not sufficient for its support, I will make up the deficiency." The Dispensary soon outgrew its original quarters, and

8890-413: The groundwork for the Industrial Revolution . Boulton founded the Soho Mint , to which he soon adapted steam power. He sought to improve the poor state of Britain's coinage, and after several years of effort obtained a contract in 1797 to produce the first British copper coinage in a quarter century. His "cartwheel" pieces were well designed and difficult to counterfeit, and included the first striking of

9017-401: The idea of equipping the engine with a separate condensation chamber, which he called a "condenser" . Because the condenser and the working cylinder were separate, condensation occurred without significant loss of heat from the cylinder. The condenser remained cold and below atmospheric pressure at all times, while the cylinder remained hot at all times. Steam was drawn from the boiler to

9144-402: The injected water was then removed by the air pump, and the surrounding cold water served to absorb the remaining thermal energy to retain a condenser temperature of 30 °C to 45 °C and the equivalent pressure of 0.04 to 0.1 bar At each stroke the warm condensate was drawn off from the condenser and sent to a hot well by a vacuum pump, which also helped to evacuate the steam from under

9271-443: The intrinsic value of the material that counterfeiting would be uneconomic. The diameter was made strictly defined by striking within a collar so that diameter, thickness and weight could be used to prove the quality of the metal. In 1797 the first, and only, copper twopence and the first penny coins were produced under contract although the smaller denominations did not follow until later. These coins were comparatively large, having

9398-495: The large copper British penny , which continued to be coined until decimalisation in 1971. He retired in 1800, though continuing to run his mint, and died in 1809. His image appeared alongside his partner James Watt on the Bank of England's Series F £50 note . Birmingham had long been a centre of the ironworking industry. In the early 18th century the town entered a period of expansion as iron working became easier and cheaper with

9525-531: The late 1750s. This evolved into a monthly meeting near the full moon, providing light to journey home afterwards, a pattern common for clubs in Britain at the time. The group eventually dubbed itself the "Lunar Society", and following the death of member Dr William Small in 1775, who had informally co-ordinated communication between the members, Boulton took steps to put the Society on a formal footing. They met on Sundays, beginning with dinner at 2 pm, and continuing with discussions until at least 8. While not

9652-568: The latest techniques, branching into silver plate, ormolu ("gilt bronze") and other decorative arts. He became associated with James Watt when Watt's business partner, John Roebuck , was unable to pay a debt to Boulton, who accepted Roebuck's share of Watt's patent as settlement. He then successfully lobbied Parliament to extend Watt's patent for an additional 17 years, enabling the firm to market Watt's steam engine . The firm installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines in Britain and abroad, initially in mines and then in factories. Boulton

9779-426: The leading experimenter in electricity, journeyed to Birmingham during one of his lengthy stays in Britain; Boulton met him, and introduced him to his friends. Boulton worked with Franklin in efforts to contain electricity within a Leyden jar , and when the printer needed new glass for his "glassychord" (a mechanised version of musical glasses ) he obtained it from Boulton. Despite time constraints imposed on him by

9906-476: The machinery was bought at auction, in 1850, by the new Birmingham Mint of Ralph Heaton II. The common coinage, copper halfpennies, was subject to severe counterfeiting . No copper coinage had been issued by the Royal Mint since 1754 apart from inadequate issues of halfpence and farthings from 1770 to 1775. In order to differentiate his proposed copper coins from counterfeits Boulton specified them as follows: Their weight in pure copper should be so close to

10033-415: The mine floor being drained. As mines became deeper, this was often impractical. It also consumed a large amount of fuel compared with later engines. The solution to draining deep mines was found by Thomas Newcomen who developed an "atmospheric" engine that also worked on the vacuum principle. It employed a cylinder containing a movable piston connected by a chain to one end of a rocking beam that worked

10160-415: The mine. Seventy-five Newcomen pumping engines were installed at mines in Britain, France, Holland, Sweden and Russia. In the next fifty years only a few small changes were made to the engine design. While Newcomen engines brought practical benefits, they were inefficient in terms of the use of energy to power them. The system of alternately sending jets of steam, then cold water into the cylinder meant that

10287-589: The minting of coins, striking millions of pieces for Britain and other countries, and supplying the Royal Mint with up-to-date equipment. Born in Birmingham , he was the son of a Birmingham manufacturer of small metal products who died when Boulton was 31. By then Boulton had managed the business for several years, and thereafter expanded it considerably, consolidating operations at the Soho Manufactory , built by him near Birmingham. At Soho, he adopted

10414-468: The most advanced metalworking equipment, and the complex was admired as a modern industrial marvel. Although the cost of the principal building alone had been estimated at £2,000 (about £276,000 today); the final cost was five times that amount. The partnership spent over £20,000 in building and equipping the premises. The partners' means were not equal to the total costs, which were met only by heavy borrowing and by artful management of creditors. Among

10541-423: The original pumping role, but also as a direct replacement in roles where a water wheel would have been used previously. This was a key moment in the industrial revolution, since power sources could now be located anywhere instead of, as previously, needing a suitable water source and topography . Watt's partner Matthew Boulton began developing a multitude of machines that made use of this rotary power, developing

10668-528: The payment of the laborious poor in the present exigency ... which should go and pass for one penny and two pennies". The proclamation required that the coins weigh one and two ounces respectively, bringing the intrinsic value of the coins close to their face value. Boulton made efforts to frustrate counterfeiters. Designed by Heinrich Küchler , the coins featured a raised rim with incuse or sunken letters and numbers, features difficult for counterfeiters to match. The twopenny coins measured exactly an inch and

10795-413: The performance of his engines, Watt began considering the use of higher-pressure steam, as well as designs using multiple cylinders in both the double-acting concept and the multiple-expansion concept. These double-acting engines required the invention of the parallel motion , which allowed the piston rods of the individual cylinders to move in straight lines, keeping the piston true in the cylinder, while

10922-431: The power cylinder. The still-warm condensate was recycled as feedwater for the boiler. Watt's next improvement to the Newcomen design was to seal the top of the cylinder and surround the cylinder with a jacket. Steam was passed through the jacket before being admitted below the piston, keeping the piston and cylinder warm to prevent condensation within it. The second improvement was the utilisation of steam expansion against

11049-483: The price of copper, and featured more conventional designs. Boulton greatly reduced the counterfeiting problem by adding lines to the coin edges, and striking slightly concave planchets. Counterfeiters turned their sights to easier targets, the pre-Soho pieces, which were not withdrawn, due to the expense, until a gradual withdrawal took place between 1814 and 1817. Watt, in his eulogy after Boulton's death in 1809, stated: In short, had Mr. Boulton done nothing more in

11176-442: The principal part of the wages of the poor people they employ. They purchase from the subterraneous coiners 36 shillings'-worth of copper (in nominal value) for 20 shillings, so that the profit derived from the cheating is very large. Boulton offered to strike new coins at a cost "not exceeding half the expense which the common copper coin hath always cost at his Majesty's Mint". He wrote to his friend, Sir Joseph Banks , describing

11303-414: The products Boulton sought to make in his new facility were sterling silver plate for those able to afford it, and Sheffield plate , silver-plated copper, for those less well off. Boulton and his father had long made small silver items, but there is no record of large items in either silver or Sheffield plate being made in Birmingham before Boulton did so. To make items such as candlesticks more cheaply than

11430-590: The rare occasions when the Royal Mint did strike coins, they were relatively crude, with quality control nonexistent. Boulton had turned his attention to coinage in the mid-1780s; they were just another small metal product like those he manufactured. He also had shares in several Cornish copper mines, and had a large personal stock of copper, purchased when the mines were unable to dispose of it elsewhere. However, when orders for counterfeit money were sent to him, he refused them: "I will do anything, short of being

11557-525: The replica engine from the English manufacturer Charles Summerfield in 1932. The museum also holds an original Boulton and Watt atmospheric pump engine, originally used for canal pumping in Birmingham, illustrated below, and in use in situ at the Bowyer Street pumping station, from 1796 until 1854, and afterwards removed to Dearborn in 1929. An other one is preserved at Fumel factory, France. In

11684-446: The restrictions of Watt's patent, were produced in Britain during that time. Boulton boasted to James Boswell when the diarist toured Soho, "I sell here, sir, what all the world desires to have—POWER." The development of an efficient steam engine allowed large-scale industry to be developed, and the industrial city, such as Manchester became, to exist. By 1786, two-thirds of the coins in circulation in Britain were counterfeit, and

11811-531: The sales were not financially successful with many works left unsold or sold below cost. When the craze for vases ended in the early 1770s, the partnership was left with a large stock on its hands, and disposed of much of it in a single massive sale to Catherine the Great of Russia —the Empress described the vases as superior to French ormolu, and cheaper as well. Boulton continued to solicit orders, though "ormolu"

11938-429: The same amount of work as a Newcomen engine. In Watt's design, the cold water was injected only into the condensation chamber. This type of condenser is known as a jet condenser . The condenser is located in a cold water bath below the cylinder. The volume of water entering the condenser as spray absorbed the latent heat of the steam, and was determined as seven times the volume of the condensed steam. The condensate and

12065-556: The scientific advances of his times. He discarded theories that electricity was a manifestation of the human soul, writing "we know tis matter & tis wrong to call it Spirit". He called such theories "Cymeras [chimeras] of each others Brain". His interest brought him into contact with other enthusiasts such as John Whitehurst , who also became a member of the Lunar Society. In 1758 the Pennsylvania printer Benjamin Franklin ,

12192-467: The size of the twopenny coin and in reference to the broad rims of both denominations. The penny was the first of its denomination to be struck in copper. The new coins were issued at the Soho Mint and by Charlotte Matthews who was the banker and business advisor to Watt and Boulton. The cartwheel twopenny coin was not struck again; much of the mintage was melted down in 1800 when the price of copper increased and it had proved too heavy for commerce and

12319-404: The space of the cylinder by the connecting passage. External atmospheric pressure then pushed the piston down the cylinder. The separation of the cylinder and condenser eliminated the loss of heat that occurred when steam was condensed in the working cylinder of a Newcomen engine. This gave the Watt engine greater efficiency than the Newcomen engine, reducing the amount of coal consumed while doing

12446-456: The speculation, and accepted cash for his share. Boulton's share was worth little without Watt's efforts to improve his invention. At the time, the principal use of steam engines was to pump water out of mines. The engine commonly in use was the Newcomen steam engine , which consumed large amounts of coal and, as mines became deeper, proved incapable of keeping them clear of water. Watt's work

12573-409: The speed of windmills. The centrifugal was not a true speed controller because it could not hold a set speed in response to a change in load. These improvements allowed the steam engine to replace the water wheel and horses as the main sources of power for British industry, thereby freeing it from geographical constraints and becoming one of the main drivers in the Industrial Revolution . Watt

12700-421: The steam and created a partial vacuum below the piston. The atmospheric pressure outside the engine was then greater than the pressure within the cylinder, thereby pushing the piston into the cylinder. The piston, attached to a chain and in turn attached to one end of the "rocking beam", pulled down the end of the beam, lifting the opposite end of the beam. Hence, the pump deep in the mine attached to opposite end of

12827-422: The steam to flow into it and be condensed, which drew the steam from the main cylinder causing the power stroke. The condensing cylinder was water cooled to keep the steam condensing. At the end of the power stroke, the valve was closed so the power cylinder could be filled with steam as the piston moved to the top. The result was the same cycle as Newcomen's design, but without any cooling of the power cylinder which

12954-477: The theoretical advances of scholars, a key factor in Britain's leap ahead of the rest of Europe. Boulton was widely involved in civic activities in Birmingham. His friend Dr John Ash had long sought to build a hospital in the town. A great fan of the music of Handel , Boulton conceived of the idea to hold a music festival in Birmingham to raise funds for the hospital. The festival took place in September 1768,

13081-429: The theoretical efficiency from 6.4% to 10.6%, with only a small variation in piston pressure. Watt did not use high pressure steam because of safety concerns. These improvements led to the fully developed version of 1776 that actually went into production. The separate condenser showed dramatic potential for improvements on the Newcomen engine but Watt was still discouraged by seemingly insurmountable problems before

13208-404: The theory, demonstrating that theoretical efficiencies of up to 17.4% (and actual efficiencies of 11%) are possible. In order to demonstrate the principle, a 25 watt experimental model engine was built and tested. The engine incorporates steam expansion as well as new features such as electronic control. The picture shows the model built and tested in 2016. Currently, a project to build and test

13335-517: The town far from the sea and great rivers, and with canals not yet built, metalworkers concentrated on producing small, relatively valuable pieces, especially buttons and buckles. Frenchman Alexander Missen wrote that while he had seen excellent cane heads, snuff boxes and other metal objects in Milan, "the same can be had cheaper and better in Birmingham". These small objects came to be known as "toys", and their manufacturers as " toymakers ". Boulton

13462-611: The transition (beginning in 1709) from charcoal to coke as a means of smelting iron. Scarcity of wood in increasingly deforested England and discoveries of large quantities of coal in Birmingham's county of Warwickshire and the adjacent county of Staffordshire speeded the transition. Much of the iron was forged in small foundries near Birmingham, especially in the Black Country , including nearby towns such as Smethwick and West Bromwich . The resultant thin iron sheets were transported to factories in and around Birmingham. With

13589-434: The truth by any of the persons employed. The apparatus strikes an inscription upon the edge with the same blow that strikes the two faces. It strikes the [back]ground of the pieces brighter than any other coining press can do. It strikes the pieces perfectly round, all of equal diameter, and exactly concentric with the edge, which cannot be done by any other machinery now in use. Boulton spent much time in London lobbying for

13716-427: The vacuum on the other side of the piston. The steam supply was cut during the stroke, and the steam expanded against the vacuum on the other side. This increased the efficiency of the engine, but also created a variable torque on the shaft which was undesirable for many applications, in particular pumping. Watt therefore limited the expansion to a ratio of 1:2 (i.e. the steam supply was cut at half stroke). This increased

13843-419: The voyage on which he was killed almost three years later, and Boulton's records show no further mention of the instrument. In addition to the scientific discussions and experiments conducted by the group, Boulton had a business relationship with some of the members. Watt and Boulton were partners for a quarter century. Boulton purchased vases from Wedgwood's pottery to be decorated with ormolu, and contemplated

13970-453: The walking beam end moved through an arc, somewhat analogous to a crosshead in later steam engines. In 1698, the English mechanical designer Thomas Savery invented a pumping appliance that used steam to draw water directly from a well by means of a vacuum created by condensing steam. The appliance was also proposed for draining mines , but it could only draw fluid up approximately 25 feet, meaning it had to be located within this distance of

14097-535: The walls of the cylinder were alternately heated, then cooled with each stroke. Each charge of steam introduced would continue condensing until the cylinder approached working temperature once again. So at each stroke part of the potential of the steam was lost. In 1763, James Watt was working as instrument maker at the University of Glasgow when he was assigned the job of repairing a model Newcomen engine and noted how inefficient it was. In 1765, Watt conceived

14224-649: The weight of the decorations and Boulton chose marble and other decorative stone as the material for his vases. Boulton copied vase designs from classical Greek works and borrowed works of art from collectors, merchants, and sculptors. Fothergill and others searched Europe for designs for these creations. In March 1770 Boulton visited the Royal Family and sold several vases to Queen Charlotte , George III's wife. He ran annual sales at Christie's in 1771 and 1772. The Christie's exhibition succeeded in publicising Boulton and his products, which were highly praised, but

14351-403: The whole more like a sovereign than a private manufacturer; and the love of fame has always been to him a greater stimulus than the love of gain. Yet it is to be hoped that, even in the latter point of view, the enterprise answered its purpose. Boulton never had any formal schooling in science. His associate and fellow Lunar Society member James Keir eulogised him after his death: Mr. [Boulton]

14478-416: The world than he has accomplished in improving the coinage, his name would deserve to be immortalised; and if it be considered that this was done in the midst of various other important avocations, and at enormous expense,—for which, at the time, he could have had no certainty of an adequate return,—we shall be at a loss whether most to admire his ingenuity, his perseverance, or his munificence. He has conducted

14605-415: Was a descendant of families from around Lichfield , his great-great-great-great-grandfather, Rev. Zachary Babington, having been Chancellor of Lichfield. Boulton's father, also named Matthew and born in 1700, moved to Birmingham from Lichfield to serve an apprenticeship, and in 1723 he married Christiana Piers. The elder Boulton was a toymaker with a small workshop specialising in buckles. Matthew Boulton

14732-467: Was a key member of the Lunar Society , a group of Birmingham-area men prominent in the arts, sciences, and theology. Members included Watt, Erasmus Darwin , Josiah Wedgwood and Joseph Priestley . The Society met each month near the full moon. Members of the Society have been given credit for developing concepts and techniques in science, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport that laid

14859-436: Was also concerned with fundamental research on the functioning of the steam engine. His most notable measuring device, still in use today, is the Watt indicator incorporating a manometer to measure steam pressure within the cylinder according to the position of the piston, enabling a diagram to be produced representing the pressure of the steam as a function of its volume throughout the cycle. The oldest surviving Watt engine

14986-461: 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 partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines , which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the mechanisation of factories and mills. Boulton applied modern techniques to

15113-537: Was born in 1728, their third child and the second of that name, the first Matthew having died at the age of two in 1726. The elder Boulton's business prospered after young Matthew's birth, and the family moved to the Snow Hill area of Birmingham, then a well-to-do neighbourhood of new houses. As the local grammar school was in disrepair Boulton was sent to an academy in Deritend , on the other side of Birmingham. At

15240-474: Was derived from charging a licence fee to the engine owners, based on the cost of the fuel they saved. The greater fuel efficiency of their engines meant that they were most attractive in areas where fuel was expensive, particularly Cornwall , for which three engines were ordered in 1777, for the Wheal Busy , Ting Tang , and Chacewater mines. The first Watt engines were atmospheric pressure engines, like

15367-406: Was difficult to strike. Much to Boulton's chagrin, the new coins were being counterfeited in copper-covered lead within a month of issuance. Boulton was awarded additional contracts in 1799 and 1806, each for the lower three copper denominations. Though the cartwheel design was used again for the 1799 penny (struck with the date 1797), all other strikings used lighter planchets to reflect the rise in

15494-607: Was dropped from the firm's business description from 1779, and when the Boulton-Fothergill partnership was dissolved by the latter's 1782 death there were only 14 items of ormolu in the "toy room". Among Boulton's most successful products were mounts for small Wedgwood products such as plaques, cameo brooches and buttons in the distinctive ceramics, notably jasper ware , for which Wedgwood's firm remains well known. The mounts of these articles, many of which have survived, were made of ormolu or cut steel , which had

15621-418: Was forced to use hammered iron, which was out of round and caused leakage past the piston. Joseph Wickham Roe stated in 1916: "When [John] Smeaton saw the first engine he reported to the Society of Engineers that 'Neither the tools nor the workmen existed who could manufacture such a complex machine with sufficient precision ' ". In 1774, John Wilkinson invented a boring machine in which the shaft that held

15748-406: Was immediately ready for another stroke. Watt worked on the design over a period of several years, introducing the condenser, and introducing improvements to practically every part of the design. Notably, Watt performed a lengthy series of trials on ways to seal the piston in the cylinder, which considerably reduced leakage during the power stroke, preventing power loss. All of these changes produced

15875-495: Was milled gold (from the French or moulu ) amalgamated with mercury, and applied to the item, which was then heated to drive off the mercury, leaving the gold decoration. In the late 1760s and early 1770s there was a fashion among the wealthy for decorated vases, and he sought to cater to this craze. He initially ordered ceramic vases from his friend and fellow Lunar Society member Josiah Wedgwood , but ceramic proved unable to bear

16002-427: Was not possible as long as the beam and the rod were connected by a chain. Furthermore, it was not possible to connect the piston rod of the sealed cylinder directly to the beam, because while the rod moved vertically in a straight line, the beam was pivoted at its centre, with each side inscribing an arc. To bridge the conflicting actions of the beam and the piston, Watt developed his parallel motion . This device used

16129-474: Was well known, and a number of mines that needed engines put off purchasing them in the hope that Watt would soon market his invention. Boulton boasted about Watt's talents, leading to an employment offer from the Russian government, which Boulton had to persuade Watt to turn down. In 1774 he was able to convince Watt to move to Birmingham, and they entered into a partnership the following year. By 1775 six of

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