(William) Windle Pilkington: Difference between revisions
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(William) Windle Pilkington (1839–1914), glassmaker | (William) Windle Pilkington (1839–1914), glassmaker | ||
1839 Born, son of Richard Pilkington | 1839 Born, son of [[Richard Pilkington (1795-1869)|Richard Pilkington]] | ||
1857 Became a partner in the family business. | 1857 Became a partner in the family business. | ||
Latest revision as of 12:27, 19 March 2022
(William) Windle Pilkington (1839–1914), glassmaker
1839 Born, son of Richard Pilkington
1857 Became a partner in the family business.
During the later 1860s he kept watch on the development of tank furnaces for glass production. These produced molten glass continuously so that the glass-blowers could be kept at work round the clock, instead of intermittently as was inevitably the case with pots which had to be slowly recharged and reheated every time before blowing could begin.
1872 He spent several months abroad, monitoring the Siemens Brothers' work on tanks at a Dresden glassworks. He immediately took a licence to continue development at St Helens, and refused to be deterred when the other partners pleaded with him to stop experimenting on grounds of the continuing costs. When ultimately successful, he rapidly replaced pots with tank furnaces, secured a preferential rate of royalty from Siemens, and gained great advantage over the business's two British rivals.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Biography of Pilkington family, ODNB