INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY
Series One: The Boulton & Watt Archive and the Matthew Boulton Papers from Birmingham Central Library

Part 13: Boulton & Watt Correspondence and Papers (MS 3147/3/286-404)

Part 13 of this microfilm project continues our coverage of the full run of correspondence and papers in the Boulton and Watt Archive. These materials have recently been recatalogued by the Archives of Soho Project, a major initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Birmingham City Council and the Birmingham Assay Office Charitable Trust, to achieve a proper arrangement and listing of all the letters and papers. This work was carried out by senior project archivists Adam C Green and Tim Proctor, and project archivist Fiona Tait. It has made these important documents much more accessible to researchers. All the relevant listings compiled by the Archives of Soho Project are included in this microfilm project.

Part 13 completes the sequence of incoming correspondence and papers from Agents, Engine Erectors and Employees at Soho. Included here are:

- Robert Muir (Engine erector)
He worked in Cornwall, then later in the North West and in Scotland. His letters cover the period 1783 to 1789 and are addressed to James Watt and John Southern. He changed his surname in 1786 from Moor to Muir.
- James Murdock (Engine erector)
Brother of William Murdock, James worked as an engine erector for Boulton & Watt. Letters cover the period 1788 to 1795. In 1793 he was sent to erect an engine in Cadiz, Spain. He was dismissed on his return in 1795 for misconduct during his time there.
- John Murdock (Employed by Boulton Watt & Co. at the Soho Foundry)
He was one of the sons of William Murdock and was closely involved in the production of gas lighting apparatus.
- William Murdock (Engineer, inventor and pioneer of gas lighting)
He was Boulton and Watts most famous employee. He entered their service in 1777 and initially worked for long periods in Cornwall, before moving to Soho Foundry. He travelled the country working on various engines and is most remembered for his pioneering work on gas lighting. Matthew Boulton was quick to recognise William Murdocks ability, skill and intelligence. In January 1779, when Murdock was engaged in repairs and alterations to the Bedworth engine, Boulton wrote: I think William Murdock a valuable man & deserves every civility and encouragement. A few months later he was sent to take charge of the erection of the Wanlockhead engine, and Boulton writes of him to one of the proprietors: He hath a good deal of experience in our engines and is capable of putting your people to rights in any matter they may not understand, & we doubt not but he will acquit himself to your & to our satisfaction, as he is  a man we have a good opinion of. Pray dont keep him longer than necessary as we want him in Cornwall. About the same time Watt informed the same customer that he is a very sober, ingenious young man, who has a good deal of experience under us in putting engines together and knows all the little niceties, the omission of which might cause a bad performance in your engine. In September 1779 he went to Cornwall with James Law, another engine erector. For the next twenty years Cornwall was Murdocks home; there he married, and there his sons were born. From the first he assimilated with the Cornish men far better than Watt ever did, and with occasional interludes of disfavour, he was well liked by the great majority of the people concerned in the copper mines during the whole of his stay in Cornwall. Very hard-working, Boulton described him as indefatigable.  His lifelong driving force was a passion for solving practical problems in original but simple ways. He invented gas lighting for factories, houses and streets in 1792. He added to Watts achievements notable contributions on the Sun and Planet gear, the oscillating engine, the D-slide valve, as well as designing and creating many new tools and new ways of using them.  To begin with he was paid only 21 shillings a week as an engine erector. Towards the end of 1782, Boulton was eager to secure his services,  not only to erect engines, but to maintain them on a regular basis and look after the needs of Boulton & Watt customers. In 1782, Murdock took charge of the seven new Boulton & Watt engines at Wheal Virgin and Poldice. He received an additional fee of £6 per month for this. Further arrangements of this nature soon followed. From the early part of 1797, James Watt Junior was calling urgently for the presence of Murdock at Soho. Yet there were many jobs still to finish in Cornwall. Even after he had left, Murdock was pressed to come back to the Cornishmens assistance at North Downs and other mines. Murdocks position at Soho was put on a definite basis in the year 1800 when he entered into an agreement  to serve for five years at a salary of £300 per annum, with an allowance of 1 per cent on all orders for Soho Foundry. This arrangement prevailed up to the year 1810, but he was then getting, in addition, a commission of 1.5 per cent on all the gas-lighting apparatus made, and his total income amounted to £684. In 1810, he was put on the footing of a partner at Soho Foundry, but in lieu of a share in the profits, he elected to take a salary of £1000 a year, and this he received for the next twenty years, up to 1830, nine years before his death. He was responsible for the design of much of the machinery in the Soho workshops. He was very much liked by all the men working under him. The incoming letters, 1779-1814, covered here, comprise Murdocks reports on his activities, news from Cornwall, as well as replies to instructions or questions from various colleagues, details of his work at Soho and throughout the country.
- William Murdock Junior (Employed by Boulton Watt & Co. at the Soho Foundry)
He was one of the sons of William Murdock. He worked mainly at the Soho Foundry, but did travel occasionally, usually to work on boat engines.
- James Pearson (Chief cashier and book keeper for the steam engine business)
His office was at the Soho Manufactory. Letters from him span 1781-1796, letters and notes to him cover 1780-1815.
- John Rennie (Engineer, millwright and agent for Boulton & Watt)
There is extensive incoming correspondence covering the period 1784 to 1820. This makes up nearly 6 reels of this part of the microfilm project. John Rennie was a famous and influential figure in his own right. During the early years, 1784 to 1786, he worked as a millwright for Boulton & Watt in London. Arrangements with Rennie were very informal as Rennie was technically in business on his own. He acted as a London agent for Boulton & Watt, advising customers about engines, doing repairs and maintenance, and passing on new inquiries to Boulton & Watt. The letters for 1787 to 1797 also reflect these activities, also his travels around the country, with correspondence from places such as Littlebury, Bottisham, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds, Rochdale, Blackburn, Lancaster, Newbury, Hungerford, Tavistock, Edinburgh and Leeds. The majority of the letters are from London. Most are addressed to James Watt. There is also significant correspondence between John Rennie and John Southern for the period 1786 to 1798. The sequence of letters from John Rennie for the years 1798 to 1820 document his extensive travels around the country, including Cornwall and Devon where he examined Jonathan Hornblowers engine at Tincroft, Grimsby, Hull, Bath, Lichfield, Newcastle, Boston, Doncaster, Chelmsford, Birmingham, Scotland and Ireland. He continued to work as an engineer and millwright, and to represent Boulton & Watt in London as their agent there. The folders include letters regarding engines at West India Dock, the Isle of Dogs, Leith Docks, a corn mill at Bristol, pumping engines for collieries, engines and millwork to be shipped to Berbice and other destinations in the Caribbean, as well as information on potential clients, his views and opinions, updates on progress, and feedback on particular problems or issues. For instance, on 8 November 1797, John Rennie writes from London to Matthew Robinson Boulton at Soho, with an urgent request for delivery of an engine and further news regarding a recent trip to Leeds: I wrote you from Leeds for information respecting the Sunderland Engine to which I refer. I now write to say that we shall be ready for the Engine at Messrs Wilkinson & Co. the end of this week, & beg you will have the goodness to forward this as expeditiously as you possibly can, as it will require me at the erections to get it ready by the time they want it. There is a Mr Murray an Engine maker at Leeds who is now erecting a 40 horse & six 10 horse Steam Engines. This man makes very free with your patents - would it not be well to look sharply after him

From 1802 onwards most of the letters are addressed to James Watt Junior or Matthew Robinson Boulton. There are also some letters from John Rennies foreman John Walker for the period 1814-1820.
- George Rennie and John Rennie Junior (engineers and millwrights)
They were John Rennies two sons and they carried on the Rennie business from 1821 to 1843 and the letters here cover this period.
- John Walker (Foreman and engineer to George and John Rennie Junior)
Letters cover the period 1821 to 1831.
- John Southern (Engineer and Head of the Drawing Office at Soho Manufactory)
He was first employed by Boulton & Watt as an assistant to James Watt, working as an draughtsman and engineer in 1782. He worked in the Drawing Office at Watts house at Harpers Hill and at Soho Manufactory. He also travelled around the country working on various engines. He was appointed as Head of the Drawing Office at Soho Manufactory and continued in this position until his death in 1815 following a trip to London. He devoted himself to the business and was clearly a senior and trusted employee. Many of the letters in this collection were written by Southern at Soho to keep the main principals and colleagues appraised of all important business news. Other letters were compiled during his travels to see customers and engines around the country, for instance in Leeds, Chester, Manchester, London, Derbyshire, Wales, Peterborough, Preston, Sheffield and Hull, and include items such as a report on the state of the Engine at the Grand Junction Canal, the prospect of orders from West Middlesex Water Works, various experiments, sugar apparatus, memoranda on sugar refining, and observations on the requirements for various engines, boilers, pumps and other equipment. In 1800 Southern was given in addition to his salary a percentage on all goods produced at the Soho Engine works, or in lieu thereof £600 per annum. Later, in 1810, he was admitted as a partner in the firm of Boulton Watt & Co. to receive one-sixth of the profits. After his death the firm settled £2,000 on Mrs Southern and the children. His father, Thomas Southern, was employed occasionally by Boulton & Watt on a number of engineering jobs - a number of letters from Thomas documenting his activities are also included.
- David Watson (Engine erector)
He started as an apprentice with Boulton & Watt in 1780. He went to Cornwall as an engine erector in 1783 and later worked in London. He left Boulton & Watt in 1793 after a disagreement with them.
- Henry Williams (Engine erector)
He worked mainly on engines in the Midlands, for instance the Wrens Nest Forge engine near West Bromwich, the engines at Coalbrookdale, Ketley and Donnington Wood in Shropshire.
- Thomas Wilson (Boulton & Watts Cornish agent)
His letters are fundamental for understanding the engine business in Cornwall, the difficulties with the Hornblowers, and the handling of the proprietors of the copper mines. This material provides a good overview of matters relating to all Boulton & Watt customers in Cornwall. There is an excellent series of detailed letters, mostly from Chacewater or Truro, and a few from other places such as Neath Abbey Ironworks. He received a commission of 2.5 per cent on all premiums derived from Cornwall.
- John Woodward (Clerk and agent)
He was a clerk, or agent, at Charlotte Matthews banking house and agency at 6 Green Lettice Lane, Cannon Street, London. He continued in the same position when she moved to 13 London Street, Fenchurch Street in July 1795. In this position Woodward did a lot of work for the engine firm, dealing with payments and accounts, hiring and directing engine erectors, investigating pirate engines and supplying information for the legal proceedings. He worked closely with the London based engine erector Richard Dayus. When Charlotte Matthews died on 9 January 1802, the business was continued at the same premises by the new firm of M R Boulton, J & G Watt and Company. Mrs Matthewss two clerks, John Woodward and John Mosley, ran this firm as agents for the partners. Woodward was the senior agent in charge.

These letters and papers augment and fit particularly well with material already covered in Parts 2, 7 & 8 of this project. They relate to many of Watts activities, Boulton & Watt customers, steam engines and other business matters mentioned in James Watts Notebooks and Papers (see Muirhead I in Part 2). Letters to Matthew Boulton from John Rennie, George Rennie, John Rennie Junior, John Southern  and Thomas Wilson feature in Part 7. Significant letters to James Watt or James Watt Junior from John Rennie, John Southern, Thomas Wilson, and John Woodward are in Part 8 (see Muirhead IV). Series Two of this microfilm project covers the Papers of John Rennie from the National Library of Scotland.

In Part 13 we also include the folders of General Correspondence for 1775-1785 and for 1785-1795. Both these sequences are organised alphabetically by correspondent. There are letters from engine customers, the carriers who were transporting goods and parts for Boulton & Watt, firms used by Boulton & Watt for sub-contracted work, engine erectors, and people making general enquiries about engines. The letters are accompanied by some memoranda and accounts.

Correspondents for 1775-1785 include John Baldwyn, Thomas Beckett, Henry Coates & Co., James Dormer, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Samuel Ewer Junior, Thomas Fenton, Joseph Fry, John Gilbert (in Worsley), Henry Goodwyn & Co. (in London), John Hope (from Holland), Charles Howard (from Hawarden), John Houghton (Birmingham Navigation Office), Hugh Jones (Chester), Alexander Keith (Edinburgh), Thomas Marshall (Northwich) asking for an estimate for an engine to pump brine, Prichard & Barlow (Bristol), Robert Priestley, William Pulteney (in London) writing to James Watt (Soho) about using the steam engine for sugar cane mills in the West Indies, Joseph Rathbone & Co. (Coalbrookdale), Cornelius Reynolds (Broseley), William and Richard Reynolds (Ketley) about engines in Shropshire, including Coalbrookdale, forge engines and other requirements, Richard Savage (Hull) and Thomas Vickers (Shadwell).

The General Correspondence for 1785-1795 is similar in nature, but the range of correspondents indicates the growth of Boulton & Watts business contacts and activities, not just in Britain, but extending to Europe and plantations in the West Indies. Correspondents include Achard Frres et Compagnie (Rouen), Thomas Allingham (London), Henry Coates & Co. (Hull), James Cooper (Poplar), Richard Dayus (engine erector in London), Richard Dearman (Coalbrookdale), Etienne Delessert (Paris), Dyen Allen & Co. (London) about proposed engines for a sawmill in Quebec, Canada, William Frazer (Shadwell Water Works), Henry Goodwyn & Co. (in London), A Guyot (Paris), James Haig (Canonmills), Timothy Harris (Nottingham), Richard Howard and Thomas Houghton about an engine for a Wilmington paper mill in Yorkshire (taken over by Thomas Lee in 1789), Thomas Hutchins (Griff Colliery), William Jessop (Newark), Johnson & Gould (Brentford), Hugh Jones (shipping and timber merchant in Chester), Thomas Janes (Manchester), John Lawrence (Shropshire mine owner and engineer), Benjamin Lees (Manchester), Samuel Davy Liptrap & Co. (malt distillers and brewers of Whitechapel Road in London), Malcolm Logan (Cadiz), Anthony Mitchell (engineman in charge of the engine at Hawkesbury Colliery in Bedworth), Stuart Moodie (Boulton & Watts legal agent in Edinburgh), William Pulteney, Joseph Rathbone & Co. (Coalbrookdale), Richard and William Reynolds (Ketley), Roe & Company (Macclesfield), Folliot Scott & Co. (Rotherhithe in London), James Spedding (Whitehaven), John Stein (Kennet Pans), James Stockdale Junior (with sketch relating to engine for cotton mill in Cark, Lancashire), Stonard & Curtis (Lambeth), John Stratford (Gregory Mine), James Tate (London), Richard Thompson (Hull), Thompson & Baxter (Hull), H Thrale & Co. (London), Samuel Walker (Chester), Samuel Walker & Co. (Rotherham), John Weston (London), Samuel Whitbread (London), and Jacob Yallowley (in London).

Taken together these letters and papers provide a vast array of material for the researcher working on the Industrial Revolution. They give a detailed insight into Boulton & Watts network of agents, engine erectors and engineers. This enables the social historian to understand how the business was run and the nature and scope of its impact throughout the country and overseas. 

A paperback guide accompanies the microfilm project to provide full contents of reels information and detailed listings for Parts 12 and 13.