James Watt and Co

1884 Beam engine at Papplewick Pumping Station

James Watt & Co 1884 beam engine cylinder cover at Papplewick Pumping Station

James Watt and Co of Soho Foundry, Birmingham

• 1849 After the death of James Watt (Junior), the company changed its name from Boulton and Watt.

• 1849 Directory: Listed as Engineers

• 1851 Award at the 1851 Great Exhibition. See details at 1851 Great Exhibition: Reports of the Juries: Class V.

• 1873 Four beam engines for London Main Drainage (Western Station, Chelsea). James Watt and Co

• 1877 Two Cornish engines for The South Staffordshire Waterworks Co (Moors Gorse Pumping Station). James Watt and Co

• 1876 Visit to their works in 'The Engineer'. James Watt and Co

• 1883 Three engines for Hull Corporation (Main Drainage Station). James Watt and Co

• 1883 Engine for sewage pumping for Kingston-upon-Hull Corporation. (Exhibit at Birmingham Thinktank museum). James Watt and Co

• 1884 Beam pumping engines for Papplewick Pumping Station (see photo)

• 1895 The firm lasted over 120 years, and was still making steam engines but this was its last year of business

• 1906 An Inverted Vertical Triple Expansion Pumping Engine was supplied to the Brayton Works of the Selby and Pontefract Water Company. Although the engine was clearly marked "James Watt & Co, Soho, Birmingham", it may actually have been built by the new owners of the Soho Foundry (WT Avery & Co ??), still using the Watt name.

• 1911 The firm left an extremely detailed archive of its activities, which was given to the city of Birmingham

• The oldest working engine in the world is Boulton and Watt's Smethwick Engine.

See Also

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Sources of Information

• The Engineer of 28th July 1876 p60
• The Engineer of 11th June 1920 p597
• The Steam Engine in Industry by George Watkins in two volumes. Moorland Publishing. 1978. ISBN 0-903485-65-6
• History and Directory of Birmingham, 1849: Engineers