Taylor and Sons
of Briton Ferry, South Wales
Engineers, iron and brass founders.
Formerly Taylor, Struve, Eaton and Price.
1862 Briton Ferry Foundry established, presumably by Henry Taylor (1845-1909)
1875 Established Briton Ferry Engineering Works
1877 Plate Pickling Machines featured in The Engineer 1877/04/20.
1882 Acquired the former Briton Ferry Foundry site. The Engineering Works specialised in engineering, manufacturing items such as pickling machines of the steel industry, and also had an iron and brass foundry.
1900 Incorporated as a Limited Company.
WWI On the outbreak of war, the firm became interested in the manufacture of artillery shells and sought advice of representatives from Messrs Armstrong, Whitworth and Company, a well-known munitions manufacturer based in the north east of England. As a result of these contacts, Taylor and Sons became the first private firm in South Wales to commence production of artillery shells, possibly in late 1914 or early 1915. The firm made 18 pount shells as well as 4.5 inch howitzer shells.
1922 Mechanical Engineers and Founders. Directors Frederick John Taylor (Managing), Glen Arthur Taylor and Frank E. Taylor. Specialities: Tinplate and sheet rolling mills, patent tinning and pickling machinery.
2015 Substantial portions of the Taylor and Son’s machine shop, where munitions manufacture was carried out, survive in a virtually unchanged condition, making this structure a unique survivor of South Wales munitions production from the First World War.
See Also
Sources of Information
- GGAT 130: The Sinews of War: South East Wales Industry and The First World War, 2015, by Johnny Crawford