Browse Times
1792-1802
1794
Josiah Spode began manufacturing bone china. Introduction of Mason’s fly press into the lock making industry enabling the domestic worker to cut parts more easily.
1795
Death of Josiah Wedgwood.
1796
Opening of a foundry in Smethwick by Matthew Boulton and James Watt to manufacture steam engines.
1797
William and John Parkes and John Brookhouse opened a wool spinning mill at Saltisford, Warwick in 1797. They used a Boulton and Watt engine and eventually sold yarn to the Leicestershire hosiery trade and Kidderminster carpet manufacturers.
1798
Richard Lovell and Maria Edgeworth published Practical Education.
1799
William Withering died.
1802
The Soho Works in Handsworth became the first factory to be lit by gas lighting to celebrate the Peace of Amiens. Thomas Wedgwood, the third son of Josiah Wedgwood I, published “An Account of a Method of copying Paintings upon Glass, and of making Profiles by the agency of Light upon Nitrate of Silver” in the Journal of the Royal Institution. He showed how the chemical action of light could be used to produce images. Wedgwood is seen as the first photographer. Death of Erasmus Darwin in Derbyshire. The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act became law, the first example of factory legislation.
Articles in this time period
The A.V. Suvorov Medal
Image: Count Alexander Suvarow, Liberator of Italy. 1799. Designed by Conrad Heinrich Kuchler. Image from: Birmingham Assay Office (25)… read more »
The Crown Hotel, Worcester
The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
The Cyclops: Addressed to the Birmingham Artisans, Anonymous
Image: Ironfounder, The Book of Trades or Library of Useful Arts, Part II, third edition (London Tabart and Co,… read more »
The Earthstopper on the Banks of the Derwent
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), Oil on Canvas Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery
The First Manufacturing Town: Industry in Birmingham in the mid-19th Century, The New Illustrated Directory, 1858
Image: The frontispiece presents an image of an imaginary industrial and commercial city. Huge factories dominate the landscape… read more »
The French Revolution Dinner 14 July 1791
Image: French Revolution Dinner. This Ticket entitles the bearer to a Bottle of Wine at the Dinner at… read more »
The George Commercial and Family Hotel, Hull
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
The Greyhound Pond, Cromford, Derbyshire
The pond was a man-made dam created in about 1785 to provide the main source of water… read more »
The Leasowes, South, Seat of M. Attwood, Esq.
Image from: Picturesque Views and Descriptions of Cities, Towns, Castles, Mansions and other Objects of Interesting Features in… read more »
The Location of Ditherington Mill
Image: View of Ditherington Mill showing the Shropshire Canal and canal bridge in the foreground from an early… read more »
The Loom Shop, Cromford, Derbyshire
This three-storey building was probably Sir Richard Arkwright’s loom shop and was built between 1776 and 1786.… read more »
The Manufactures of Birmingham and Sheffield
Image: Dain, Watts and Manton, Patentees and Button Manufacturers, Birmingham Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and… read more »
The occurrences of common life: Samuel Johnson, Practical Science and Industry in the Midlands
Image: 18th Century Birmingham trade token (n.d.). H Biggs halfpenny with a bust of Dr Samuel Johnson and… read more »
The other side of the Coin: Women and the Lunar Men
Image: Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump(Exhibited 1768). Oil on Canvas.… read more »
The Philosophical Context: From Optimism to Realism
The Widow of an Indian Chief watching the Weapons of her deceased Husband (1785). Joseph Wright of Derby 1734-1797),… read more »
The Staffordshire Potteries Directory: An Account of the Pottery Manufacture
Published in 1802, this Directory is one of the first written accounts of the pottery towns, Tunstall,… read more »
The Wood Children
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), Oil on Canvas Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery
The Wrekin, from Leighton
Image from: Picturesque Views and Descriptions of Cities, Towns, Castles, Mansions and other Objects of Interesting Features… read more »
The Wyatts, Architects of the Age of Enlightenment
Image: An engraving of Samuel Wyatt’s classical façade for the Theatre Royal, New Street, Birmingham, from William Hutton’s History… read more »
Thomas Felton, Glassware Manufacturer, Birmingham
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
Thomas Foreman, Swan Commercial & Family Hotel, Birmingham
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
Thomas Lombe (1685 – 1739)
Image: Old Silk Mill, Derby. John Keys, Sketches of Old Derby and Neighbourhoods(London and Derby, 1895) Two brothers were… read more »
Thomas Wedgwood: the Godfather of Photography
Image: The Alchymist in Search of the Philosopher’s Stone, (Exhibited 1771), Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Oil on… read more »
Thorley’s Food For Cattle
The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
Thorley’s London Depot and Manufactory
The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
Time Past by Anna Seward
[from “Llangollen Vale with Other Poems”] ( 41 ) TO TIME PAST WRITTEN DEC. 1772. RETURN, blest… read more »
Tipping and Lawden, Gun & Pistol Manufacturers, Birmingham
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
Toothpick box
The hidden hinge and decorative features are typical of neo-classical designs.
Upper Mill, Cromford, Derbyshire
The photograph shows four buildings. The Upper Mill in the centre was constructed in 1771 as a… read more »
Verses written in Dr Darwin’s Botanic Garden by Anna Seward
[From “”Poetical Works of Anna Seward, Vol 2″”] [1] POEMS BY ANNA SEWARD. VERSES* WRITTEN IN DR… read more »
Village of Ashelworth, Gloucestershire on the banks of the Severn
From Picturesque Views of the Severn, 1824 by Thomas Harral
Vinaigrette
Vinaigrette, Nathaniel Mills, 1837, inside view, with a view of Kenilworth Castle on lid.
Vinaigrette
This image shows the intricate inside of a vinaigrette based on the design of a watch case.
Vinaigrette
This image shows the inside of the vinaigrette. The outside shows an image of a hare hiding… read more »
Virgil’s Tomb (1782)
Image: Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797). Oil on canvas. Image from: Derby Museum & Art Gallery Virgil was a… read more »
Wenlock Abbey, Shropshire, three miles from the Severn
From Picturesque Views of the Severn, 1824 by Thomas Harral
William Chance IV: The Start of a Commercial Dynasty
Image: South-West Prospect of Birmingham, 1829, attributed to Frederick Calvert. Watercolour on Paper. Image from: Birmingham Museums & Art… read more »
William Middlemore, Wholesale Sadler, Harness Maker, Currier, Birmingham
The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858
William Spurrier, Electro Silver Plate Manufacturer, Birmingham
Image: William Spurrier, Electro Silver Plate Manufacturer, Birmingham Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of… read more »
William Spurrier, Electro Steel Plate Manufacturer, Birmingham
Image from: The New Illustrated Directory Entitled Men and Things of Modern England, 1858 ELECTRO-PLATING The process of… read more »
