Belliss and Morcom
From Graces Guide
of Ledsam Street, Birmingham
of Birmingham, produced stationary steam engines.
of Ledsam Street Works, Birmingham
- Manufacturers and suppliers in Great Britain.
- George Edward Belliss had been apprenticed to R. Bache.
- 1849 The company took over the engineering business of R. Bache and Co.
- 1852 Company established.
- 1866 Belliss went in to partnership with Joseph Seeking and took over Bache's works in Broad Street.
- 1866 Built a locomotive for Pike Brothers of Fayle in Dorset.
- 1872 The company moved to premises in Ledsam Street.
- 1874 They built a second locomotive for Pike Brothers and this is now in the Birmingham City Museum.
- 1880 Steam launch engine (Exhibit at Birmingham Thinktank museum). States they were a world-leader in the production of marine engine form 1860s to 1890s. Listed as Bellis and Co.
- 1884 Marine engineer, Alfred Morcom, became a partner in the business.
- 1888 Orders for gunboat and torpedo boat machinery. Listed as G. E. Bellis. [1]
- 1891 High-speed engine with forced lubrication is in the London Science Museum.
- 1892 Independant Condenser with Air and Circulating Pumps. (listed as 'G. E. Bellis and Co') [2]
- 1892 Advert. [3]
- 1893 Incorporated as a Limited Company
- 1895 Advert. [4]
- 1894 Electricity generating engine (Exhibit at Birmingham Thinktank museum). Listed as G. E. Bellis.
- 1899 New factory opened in Icknield Square. The company was registered on 3 May, to take over the business of engineers of G. E. Bellis. [5]
- 1900 Supplied engines to the Gloucester electricity supply works. [6]
- 1900 Manufactured engines for the Port Dundas electricity works in Glasgow. [7]
- c1902 Built a factory at Rotten Park Street.
- 1907-8 They built one double-decker bus for the London General Omnibus Co. It had twin chain final drive.
- 1909 Built an engine for Park Gate Iron Works. This was a three-cylinder compound producing 1,080 hp at 300 rpm.
- 1914 Manufacturers of Patent Forced Lubrication, Quick-Revolution Engines for Electric Lighting, Power, Traction and Mill Driving in standard sizes from 10 to 3000 B.H.P.; also of Condensing Plants, Air Compressors, Fan Engines, Pumping Engines, Paraffin Engines, Steam Turbines etc. [8]
- 1937 Manufacturers of oil engines, condensing plants and compressors. [9]
- 1949 New steel shop opened on the former site of James Archdale and Co.
- Became part of Amalgamated Power Engineering and later NEI.
- 1960 Heavy duty compressors and other equipment.
- 1992 Rotten Park Street works closed.
Sources of Information
- Ian Allan - British Buses Since 1900 - Aldridge and Morris
- Mining Year Book 1960. Published by Walter E. Skinner. Advert p171
- The Steam Engine in Industry by George Watkins in two volumes. Moorland Publishing. 1978/9. ISBN 0-903485-65-6
- British Steam Locomotive Builders by James W. Lowe. Published in 1975. ISBN 0-905100-816
- ↑ The Engineer of 3rd February 1888 p101
- ↑ 1892 The Practical Engineer
- ↑ Kelly's Directory of Worcestershire, 1892
- ↑ Post Office London Directory, 1895
- ↑ The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908
- ↑ The Engineer of 27th July 1900 p93
- ↑ The Engineer of 14th September 1900 p260
- ↑ 1914 Whitakers Red Book
- ↑ 1937 The Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries