Jarrit Smith's 1751 Newcomen Engine

Steve Grudgings

South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group, 2nd edition, 2016

Softcover, 56pp, illustrated throughout, 275 x215mm

Price: £10.00 + £2.90 p&p

ISBN 978-0-957233-11-9

A fascinating insight into an early ‘atmospheric’ pumping engine thatshould appeal to anyone interested in stationary steam engines, their costs and early operations.

Notes from a review by D. Crossley, Historical Metallurgy 46(2)

In 1751 a Newcomen atmospheric pumping engine with a 42-inch diameter cylinder was erected at Coalpit Heath, Gloucestershire, to drain mine workings in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire coalfield. These were operated by a syndicate in which Jarrit Smith was a one-third partner. There was nothing unusual about the principle of operation of this engine, as the author shows by comparison with other 18th-century examples. What is unusual and instructive is the survival of accounts for construction, in the Ashton Court MSS in Bristol Record Office and the Middleton papers in Nottingham University Library. Also, there is a map dating from 1772 in the Bristol records which not only locates but illustrates the engine house, one of four in the district. This shows a circular-plan engine house, whereas most recorded and existing examples were built on rectangular plans.

Previously unreported, a full set of the suppliers’ bills has been researched to provide the basis for this book. The detailed work is over 60 pages long and includes photographs and diagrams. These bills are tabulated in outline in the first chapter, following brief outlines of the history of the coalfield, of the development of the Newcomen atmospheric engine and of the engine houses in which these engines were built.

The second chapter sets out a narrative of the stages of construction, deduced from the bills submitted by craftsmen and suppliers. These stages comprise the selection of the site for the shaft and its sinking in 1749, planning the layout of the engine and pump, building the engine house in 1750, building the balance beam, installing the cylinder and piston, building the boiler and grate early in 1751, and testing in April of that year. By May of 1751 the engine was in an operable state. There is a brief note on the need for repair and modification in the years 1752-1754.

The third chapter provides analysis of the part played by those individuals whose bills survive. Charles Palmer, engineer, is shown to be the central figure in the construction of the engine. He was one of a family of ‘engine wrights’ and a summary of his work and that of his relations is provided in Appendix 2. Each engine which Palmer produced would be individually fitted up, without interchangeability of parts between examples. Others involved in construction were Nathaniel Arthers, blacksmith, who made wrought-iron parts for the engine and the pit-work and fettled the castings supplied from Coalbrookdale, John Willetts and George Wilding, iron merchants, the latter supplying plates for the haystack boiler from Willetts forge at Wednesbury, James Malcott, brass merchant, Thomas Hills, lead merchant, William Ponsford, supplier of leather for clack-valves, William Tily, timber merchant supplying elm planks, Robert Taylor, haulier and, of particular significance, Thomas Goldney of Coalbrookdale, who was the agent for Coalbrookdale Company castings over the south west of England. It was he who supplied the engine cylinder and other specialised castings. Hillhouse Getley & Co are also of particular interest, for the author argues that they supplied parts after the initial completion of the engine, suggesting the need for modification. The final section analyses each of the suppliers’ bills in detail. Most are re-produced as tables, although the size of Charles Palmer’s bill has restricted treatment to a summary. Palmer’s bills are significant for the inclusion of different steels: blister steel and German steel, presumably for making wearing parts. There is useful evidence for the boring of the cylinder and the pipes having been done by the Coalbrookdale Company before delivery, in the manner described by Angerstein after his visit to Coalbrookdale in 1754.

The text is informative and the photographs of numerous extant and now-demolished examples are well chosen and well reproduced. Even though brief, this is a worthwhile addition to the literature, and valuable for both engineering and materials studies.