Thomas Piggott and Co
of Spring Hill, Birmingham
1822 Company established.
1844 Reference to "Mr. Thomas Piggott, Taylor's Dock"[1]
1845 Reference to "The Representatives of Joshua Horton, deceased, late of Handsworth, Boiler Maker and Coal Master."[2]
1846 Reference to Trustees of the late Joshua Horton[3]
1849 Joshua Horton, (trustees of), Taylor's dock, Spring Hill; Thomas Piggott, manager. Maker of steam engine boilers and gas-holders.
1855 Patent application by Thomas Piggott, of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, Manufacturer, in respect of the invention of "an improvement or improvements in telescopic gas holders."[4]
1864 Dissolution of the Partnership between Thomas Piggott, George Piggott, and Joseph Piggott, in the business of Boiler Manufacturers, at Spring Hill, Birmingham, under the firm of Thomas Piggott and Sons, so far as concerns the said Joseph Piggott. Thomas Piggott and George Piggott carried on the firm under the same name[5]
1869 Thomas Piggott died; presumably the business was carried on by his son, George, but he and his brother, Joseph, both died within a few years.
1879 Took into partnership Mr Hubert Bewlay[6][7]
1881 Acquired the business of the Atlas Engine Company, Oozells Street[8]
1880s Advertisement dated 1882 or 1888[9] shows a horizontal compound steam engine and states that they make machines for mechanical refrigeration. It also identifies three separate works:-
- Spring Hill Works (Gas engineers, ironfounders, boiler, bridge, girder and gasholder makers).
- Atlas Works, Oozells Street (Engine builders, hydraulic and general engineers, coppersmiths and ironfounders. Note: see also Atlas Engine Co and Duvallon and Lloyd).
- Hooper Street Works (waterworks engineers, boiler makers).
1885 Linde British Refrigeration Co acquired the goodwill of the refrigeration business of Thomas Piggott and Co of Birmingham. [10]
1886 Description of Spring Hill Works. Particular attention was paid to the manufacture of hemispherical iron pans. Instead of fabricating them as riveted structures, they had adopted a method of welding the segments together,
for which they had erected a gas welding plant, whereby areas to be fire welded under a steam hammer were heated by large gas jets.
At the time of the visit the last section of an important order for the New South Wales Government was being completed - a wrought-iron tube to form an
aqueduct for the Sydney Water Works. Also in hand was a large gasholder for Brisbane, and they
had just completed a still larger one for Sydney.[11]
1892 Incorporated as a limited company.
1896/7 Directory: Advertiser. More detail [12]
1903 Supplied riveted steel water main, of 39 inch diameter, with Kimberley flanged joints, for the Pelton Wheel at Cwm Avon Works.
Maker of Humphreys and Glasgow carburetted water gas plant (see advert)
1910 Thomas Perronet Barker was appointed MD
1914 General engineers. Specialities: gasholders, gas plants, large welded and riveted steel pipes, patent steel-pressed, steel and other tanks. [13]
Directors: Hubert Bewlay, Nevill H. Everitt. Managing Director: Thos. P. Barker. Chairman: Arthur Ll. Lloyd.
1925 Joint company, Guest, Keen and Piggotts Ltd, was formed with Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds making and selling steel water pipe at GKN's Cardiff plant[14]
By 1930 was a subsidiary of Horseley Bridge and Engineering Co[15]
1933 The company was completely absorbed by Horseley Bridge and Engineering Co[16]; name changed to Horseley Bridge and Thomas Piggott.
1934 The Spring Hill works were closed[17]
1935 Guest, Keen and Piggotts closed.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Aris's Birmingham Gazette 12 February 1844
- ↑ Worcester Journal 13 February 1845
- ↑ Wolverhampton Chronicle and Staffordshire Advertiser 07 January 1846
- ↑ London Gazette 11 September 1855
- ↑ London Gazette 15 July 1864
- ↑ Birmingham Daily Post 13 January 1879
- ↑ Who's Who in Business
- ↑ Birmingham Daily Post 03 May 1881
- ↑ Stationary Steam Engine Makers Vol 2 Compiled by George Watkins, Landmark Publishing Ltd, 2006
- ↑ The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908
- ↑ Engineering 1886/12/17
- ↑ Peck's Trades Directory of Birmingham, 1896-97: Advertisers
- ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
- ↑ The Times, Jun 27, 1925
- ↑ The Times, Jun 18, 1930
- ↑ The Times, Jul 19, 1933
- ↑ The Times, Jun 22, 1934