Boulton and Watt

A Boulton & Watt blowing engine re-erected on the Dartmouth Circus roundabout on the A38(M) in Birmingham, UK. It was built in 1817 and used in Netherton at the ironworks of M W Grazebrook
(Location: 52°29′33″N 1°53′17″W / 52.492537°N 1.888189°W)

The firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt.

1 The Engine Partnership
2 Archive
3 See also
4 Further reading
5 External links

The Engine Partnership

Main article: Watt steam engine

The partnership was formed in 1775 to exploit Watt's patent for a steam engine with a separate condenser. This made much more efficient use of its fuel than the older Newcomen engine. Initially the business was based at the Soho Manufactory near Boulton's Soho House on the southern edge of the then-rural parish of Handsworth. However most of the components for their engines were made by others, for example the cylinders by John Wilkinson.

In 1795, they began to make steam engines themselves at their Soho Foundry in Smethwick, near Birmingham, England. The partnership was passed to two of their sons in 1800. The firm lasted over 120 years, and was still making steam engines, a few of which are preserved, in 1895.