Aydon and Elwell
Aydon & Elwell of Shelf Iron Works, near Bradford, Yorkshire
Iron founders, whose specialities included iron bridges with movable spans.
1796 Said to have pioneered the use of cast iron for the main beams of beam engines[1]
Samuel Aydon (Ayton) and William Elwell were partners in the company. They made steam engines for textile mills, including Ossett Mill (1803). The firm was apparently bankrupt in 1824 and was taken over by the Low Moor Company.[2]. The entry for Elwell in the above reference includes a listing of major contracts, starting with Rails for Lake Lock Railroad (Wakefield,1798), Wapping Docks entrance swing bridge (1804), and sixteen other bridges built up to 1820.
1819 Iron bridge extant over River Aire at Buttershaw, Yorkshire.[3]
1906 photographs of the remains of the iron works can be viewed online[4]
See Also