Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

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Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 164,410 pages of information and 246,085 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Robert Matthews

From Graces Guide

Robert Matthews (1854-1923)

1883 About the middle of the year, he made arrangements with Mr Goodfellow (presumably G. B. Goodfellow) to take over the business and trade as partners under the style of Goodfellow and Matthews[1]

1884 Three-cylinder radial steam engine and dynamo designed by Robert Matthews of Hyde, described and illustrated. The engine was a compound, each cylinder containing a high pressure and a low pressure cylinder. [2]

1890 of Parrs House, Heaton Mersey, near Manchester.[3]



1923 Obituary [4]

ROBERT MATTHEWS Was born at Wigton, Cumberland, in 1854, and began his engineering career with Messrs. R. and W. Hawthorn, of Newcastle-on-Tyne.

He next went to Messrs. J. Wigham, Richardson and Co., afterwards joining the firm of Messrs. Bells, Lightfoot and Co., as chief draughtsman.

On the dissolution of partnership of the last-mentioned firm, Mr. Matthews went to Messrs. J. and E. Hall, of Dartford, as managing draughtsman.

In 1880 he joined Mr. Goodfellow, of Hyde, first as manager and afterwards in partnership, under the title of Goodfellow and Matthews.

Finally, in 1891, he became a director of the firm of Sir Joseph Whitworth and Co., and remained so until the amalgamation with Messrs. Sir W. G. Armstrong and Co., in which combination he held the position of head of the engineering branch at Manchester.

Mr. Matthews was President of the Engineering Employers' Federation for two years, and represented his firm on three of the Engineering Standards Committees.

He became a Member of this Institution and served on the Council for ten years, resigning in 1919.

He was also a Member of the Institutions of Civil and Electrical Engineers and of the Naval Architects, and was President of the Manchester Association of Engineers in its Jubilee year.

His death took place at his residence at Heaton Mersey, Manchester, on 13th June 1923, at the age of sixty-nine.


See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. 1886 proposal to join I Mech E
  2. Engineering, 22 Feb 1884
  3. I Mech E
  4. 1923 Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Obituaries