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What are The Archives of Soho?
Matthew Boulton (1728 -1809) and James Watt (1736 -1819) are two of
the greatest figures in Birmingham's history. Boulton was world-famous
for a dazzling array of goods, from bejewelled swords to buttons, and
his minting machinery revolutionised money production. Watt's
improvements to the steam engine gave the industrial revolution its
power source. Their partnership changed manufacturing forever.
The Archives of Soho, named after Boulton's Manufactory at Soho,
Handsworth, are the papers of these remarkable men. The three
collections (the Matthew Boulton Papers, the James Watt Papers, the
Boulton & Watt Archive) record their businesses and much more besides;
their families, estates and households, scientific interests, and the
people they had contact with. |
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The
collections are among the most important in Birmingham City Archives.
They have been catalogued by the Archives of Soho Project, funded by
the City Council, the Assay Office Charitable Trust and the Heritage
Lottery Fund. They are revealing on nearly every aspect of their
times, from farming to businesswomen, from attitudes to slavery to
factory management. Exploring Boulton and Watt's world opens a window
on every aspect of 18th and 19th century life and they are open to all
to study |
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Matthew
Boulton Papers
Matthew Boulton is arguably the most important man in the history of
Birmingham. His magnificent Manufactory at Soho, Handsworth, built in
the 1760s, was Europe's largest, producing articles for sale in
Britain and on the Continent, including buttons, buckles, silverware,
and ormolu.
In 1773, through Boulton's efforts, Birmingham was granted its own
Assay Office, which meant that silverware no longer had to be sent
away to be stamped. Soon afterwards he brought James Watt here to
begin the famous steam-engine partnership. The two men became
important members of the intellectual group known as the Lunar
Society, whose members included Joseph Priestley, Erasmus Darwin, and
Josiah Wedgwood. Boulton's greatest achievement, however, was
considered to be his invention of steam-powered coining machinery,
designed to prevent the counterfeiting of coins.
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On permanent loan from the
Birmingham Assay Office, the Matthew Boulton Papers are the private
and business records of Boulton and his successors. Besides the
records of various Soho firms, they contain the correspondence of
Boulton family members with people of every description, and minutely
detailed household and estate records from Soho.
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The James
Watt Papers
The James Watt Papers cover the life, career and interests of James
Watt, one of the greatest inventors of his age, best known for his
improvements to the steam engine. However they also document three
generations of Watts: James' father James Watt of Greenock, and his
sons James and Gregory. The papers came to Birmingham in two parts:
the part from the Muirhead family was given to the Reference Library
in the 1930s, while the part known as the James Watt Papers was
purchased by Birmingham City Council in 1993.
The collection contains extensive correspondence between Watt and many
of the greatest scientists and engineers of the time. Other papers
record his early career as a canal surveyor in Scotland, his struggle
to protect the patents on his steam engines, and his later life as
landowner managing estates in Wales. |
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There is
much more to discover. From Cornish mines to the craters of Vesuvius,
kaleidoscopes to central heating, apple trees in Handsworth to
experiments in medicine, and the first mechanical means of copying
letters. Find them here. |
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The Boulton & Watt Archives
James Watt and Matthew Boulton were partners from 1775 to 1800. During
that time Watt's steam engine revolutionised industry and
manufacturing, but the firm they established lasted over 120 years,
making engines at Soho Foundry in Handsworth until 1895.The firm has
left a remarkable archive, which was given to Birmingham by the
engineer George Tangye in 1911. It records everything, from James
Watt's first engines for pumping water out of mines to huge steam ship
engines, and many surprising things besides. Did you know that Boulton
& Watt made fire extinguishing systems for cotton mills? Thousands of
drawings, many beautifully coloured, show their engines. Hundreds of
letters tell the story of these engines and relations between Boulton
& Watt and their customers. Order books and production records record
minute details of their operations.
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The Boulton & Watt archive
holds a wealth of information, about engineering, its impact on
society, and about the people who worked with it. It is a legacy of
industrial history from one of Birmingham's most celebrated firms.
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Ever since the 1700s, when Savery and Newcomen first designed
steam engines to pump water form flooded mines - and James Watt
built the first engine that could turn wheels. From then on, steam
changed the face of Britain. It was the Golden Age of Steam -
culminating in the magnificent achievements of The Flying
Scotsman!
Mamod Working Steam Models recapture the excitement of that era
giving immediate enjoyment and fun. Fire from safe solid fuel
tablets, the boilers of Mamod models soon reach working pressure
and you quickly experience the joys of steam in action. |
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