The Industrial and Social Impact of John Wilkinson -

Broseley Ironmaster, Inventor and Entrepreneur Countrywide.

 Born July 14^th 1728 in Clifton, Cumbria, son of Isaac Wilkinson.

Died July 14^th 1808 in Bradley, Staffordshire.

Major achievements:

·        Many improvements in the production of iron.

·        Use of sound castings for cannon manufacture

·        Accurate boring machine for cannon

·        Method for making spiral drive grooves (rifling) to improve accuracy of cannon fire

·        Method for producing accurate, truly circular cylinders for steam engines

·        Major instigator of the use of cast iron for the Bridge at Coalbrookdale

·        Promoted use of iron for barge manufacture

·        Promoted use of railways for carrying his products down to the River Severn

·        Major investor in copper mining and refining

·        Investor in other industries including production of lead and chemicals

(Click the links to get to the references,

then click the reference link to get back to the text.)

King of the Ironmasters

New Willey

John Wilkinson - Copper King?

http://www.broseley.org.uk/wilkfiles/Wilkinson%20tokens.htm

http://www.broseley.org.uk/wilkfiles/us.htm

http://www.broseley.org.uk/bibliogr.htm#Iron%20Industry

http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/english/heritage/famous_people/john_wilkinson.htm

http://www.bahs.org.uk/05n1a4.pdf

http://www.henrycort.net/ficumbria.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/guides/halloffame/innovators/john_wilkinson.shtml

http://www.oakengates.com/history/john_wilkinson_and_the_snedshill.htm

Abstract

John Wilkinson is recognised as an ironmaster of ability, acumen and energy.  Accepting technical challenges, his production methodology was evolved to build an enviable reputation for product quality.  He could price his products accordingly.  Starting with little capital, he developed business and communication skills that enabled him to convince backers to support his ironmaking enterprises.  

He found areas where ironmaking opportunities were apparent and expanded his interests by either takeover or new building.  After establishing a sufficiently prosperous share of Britain’s growing ironmaking industry, he expanded into other industries where his expertise and capital would be useful.  The copper industry was one that benefitted from his help and also used considerable tonnage of iron in infrastructure and production.  The manufacture of lead pipes and chemicals were also of significance.  Transport of raw materials, fuels and finished goods on land and by water was vital to his businesses.  If profitability became impaired, he could choose to sell out of some businesses and move his capital elsewhere.

 In each major area of interest he established a domestic base.  His various domestic and agricultural projects made significant differences to local areas.

The paper will examine the way in which the impact of one ironmaster can be assessed.  This will include the establishment of business systems and human resources together with the chronology of acquisitions as a majority or minor shareholder and associated projects.  His interactions with colleagues will be discussed regarding their common objectives.  This will help towards a summary of perceived benefits to the British economy and society.

Introduction

The call for papers for this conference sets out an interesting challenge in calling for an assessment of the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the modern world.  Many papers and books have been written establishing the achievements of the leaders of the industrial enlightenment that stimulated the prosperity of the nation.  To assess the long term impact means that for each activity the personal and financial benefits would need to be quantified.  The individual items would then be adjusted for inflation and totalled to give an overall figure comparable with current money values.  In the absence of full records of employees, orders and sales figures, the results have to depend on best estimates. 

Many of the published articles and books that refer to John Wilkinson and have been used and acknowledged.  The use of any quotation does not imply that it has been verified.  The survey of interests cannot be comprehensive; for simplicity and brevity, it omits references to exports, overseas interests and most adversities.

Domestic & Family

John Wilkinson’s family hailed from the English/Scottish border region where life had never been easy and feelings often ran high.  Family loyalties were very strong.  This background might have influenced his business policies and his probable charming Cumbrian accent would have helped establish his apparent neutrality in negotiations in Southern England.  His surname is listed as one of the border reiver families operating during the 16^th and 17^th centuries who had their own ways of re-distributing wealth.  It is an Anglicised form of the Scots surname ‘McQuillan’. 

 Wilkinson, like Winston Churchill and many other great leaders, did not need much sleep.  Time spent asleep was time wasted.  He preferred to lie, relax and think usefully.  He rested holding in his hand a steel ball, poised over a copper bowl.  If he dropped off there was a clang of metal on metal that swiftly brought him back to himself[1].

 He was known to be careful with his hard-earned money but was prepared to give for good causes[2] and to help out friends in financial problems[3]. 

 Personal circumstances may well have helped guide the mind of John Wilkinson when he was making significant decisions.  This is a brief résumé of events.  Ironmaster activities are covered under their own sections.

 1728 – John born in Cumbria, Isaac, his father was an ironmaster.  He was the oldest child.  Later came a brother, William (b1744) and three sisters, Mary (married Joseph Priestly), Sarah and Margaret.

1740 – Moved to Backbarrow[4].  Educated at Kendal in the Lake District where the Mines Royal had been established to mine copper.

1754 - John married Ann Mawdsley and moved to Wrexham with her.

1756 – Daughter Mary was born but Ann died soon afterwards.  John moved to Broseley.

1762 – Cartel formed between John Wilkinson, Isaac Wilkinson and Abraham Darby for agreed prices for castings for materials for fire-engines, cylinders, bored items and non-bored items[5].

1763 - John married Mary Lee, major shareholder at Bersham ironworks and sister-in-law of Edward Blakeway, one of his partners at Willey,  They moved house to ‘The Lawns’ at Broseley.

1774 – Became Burgess of Much Wenlock.

1775 – First steam engine cylinder bored for James Watt.

1776 - His friend Samuel More, Secretary of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacture and Commerce joined Wilkinson in Birmingham for business meetings and was then Wilkinson’s guest in Broseley.  More continued to help promote Wilkinson’s work until his death in 1797[6].

1781 – Wilkinson built a new house at Castlehead, Cumbria, roofing it with his copper. 

1785 – He was a key negotiator in setting up and financing the Cornish Metal Company with Boulton, Vivian, Williams and others.

1785 - Helped to form The United Chamber of Manufacturers of Great Britain together with Messrs. Reynolds, Boulton, Watt, Wedgwood and others[7].

1786, aged 58 and still being refused a partnership, there is some friction with Boulton but he still regards Watt with affection[8].

1787 – Launched first iron barge at Broseley.

1787 – He Started minting copper tokens immediately after encouraging Thomas Williams to start production of his Anglesey tokens.  He accepted office as High Sheriff of Denbighshire.[9].

1795 – John’s brother William gave details of John’s ‘pirate’ steam engines to Boulton and Watt[10]. They had been built without payment of royalties with tacit agreement of the senior Boulton and Watt.  Their sons did not follow this arrangement.  This will have reduced still further his chances of being offered a partnership.

1802 - Wilkinson had a daughter, Mary Ann, by Ann Lewis, his mistress at Brymbo.  Johnina was born in 1805 and John in 1806 when Wilkinson was aged 78[11].  John Wilkinson also had three nephews, Thomas Jones, William Johnston and Richard Watson.

1806 – His wife, Mary Lee, died at Castlehead.

1808 – Wilkinson died.  Ann Lewis lived on at Castlehead with their children.

Colleagues and Friends

A small selection of names shows the very wide variety of colleagues and associated interests that occupied the brain of John Wilkinson.

Anthony Bacon, ironmaster and government contractor.

Mathew Boulton, industrialist.

James Brindley – canal builder

Henry Cort, ironmaster and inventor of the iron puddling process and improvements to rolling mills[1].

Richard Crawshay - ironmaster and promoter of canals[2] 

Abraham Darby III – ironmaster

Erasmus Darwin polymath and grandfather of Charles Darwin[3]

Samuel More – Secretary, Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, and good friend.

Thomas Farnolls Pritchard – architect and inventor.

William Reynolds - ironmaster

Thomas Telford – County Surveyor and engineer

John Vivian – mining and copper-smelting entrepreneur[4].

James Watt – inventor and mechanical engineer

Josiah Wedgwood - designer and manufacturer of pottery[5]  

William Wilkinson – younger brother

Thomas Williams – solicitor, owner of copper mines and associated industries and friend[6].

Information and Appreciation

Literature Contradictions

There are many books and papers dealing with all or aspects of the life and times of John Wilkinson that draw on what original material has survived.  At times the conclusions that the authors draw vary significantly with some interesting and confusing results.  Here are just a few:

Copper interests – Butler thought that Wilkinson made poor returns while Soldon reports them as ‘among his most successful’.  The latter now seems more likely.

Cornish Copper Company – Tann reports that Boulton deputised for Wilkinson during the formation, most others quote the praise that Boulton heaped on his forceful negotiating skills[7]. 

Tokens – Turner calculates that Wilkinson made high profits providing to the public a service of issuing low value tokens and others have repeated it[8] despite the fact that the calculation is based on a face value of 1d instead of the actual ½d for the big tonnage issued.

Innovation – Hayman and Horton describe John Wilkinson as ‘not an innovator himself…..’ yet most other references show a wealth of patents and other innovations introduced in every area in which he set up enterprises.

Ironworks

Most of the sites where Wilkinson established new ironworks were already known for their deposits of iron ore.  They are listed in the ‘Gazetteer of Charcoal-fired Blast Furnaces since 1660’[12] but his technology and capital made reworking economic.

Backbarrow, Cumbria

Wilkinson gained first training from his father, Isaac.  The original blast furnace is still standing.  It was preserved when the subsequent steelworks on the site used it to encase a cupola furnace for remelting cast iron.

Denbighshire

Bersham

Isaac Wilkinson took over Bersham ironworks in 1753 and ran it successfully for a while.  John and William joined him.  In 1761 there were financial problems and Isaac moved to Bristol to enjoy retirement in what was then still the centre of the brass industry[13].  In 1763 the  New Bersham Ironworks were set up.  For the period 1779-1789 the total profits were  £414,685, equivalent to £41,173,407 today[14].  Currently, the Bersham Heritage Centre receives about 12,000 visitors/year, with 2,500 going to the ironworks site[15].

Brymbo,

 ‘He had a will of iron and a temper as hot as his furnaces but he was the man who made things viable’[16].

1792  Wilkinson bought the Brymbo estate of c500 acres including three farms and Brymbo Hall.  ‘Old No 1’ blast furnace was built 1796 and ran until 1894, it was then used as a sand store for the adjacent foundry and still survives.  A second furnace brought output up to 4,000 tons per year.  It was blown out in 1892 and demolished but the site can still be seen.  By the time it was sold in 1829 the site had six steam engines mainly used for raising coal from the 41 coal pits.  The works became part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefold, then British Steel Corporation until closed in 1991.  It is still privately owned but a dedicated team of enthusiasts is working towards restoration when funding is available.

East Shropshire

Willey, Broseley

In 1757, Wilkinson leased the Old Willey furnaces that worked until 1774[17].  He then leased a site nearby for the New Willey furnaces and works.  By 1761 the premises, machinery, buildings and stock were valued at £35,000[18].  In 1804, the New Willey closed at expiry of the lease that also required that the site be cleared.  Three buildings have survived but the potential of the site has never been excavated[19].

Coalbrookdale

Wilkinson signed with the ground landlords to take over the lease of the Coalbrookdale Company’s site in 1757[20].  When there were legal objections, he suggested a joint venture but this was rejected.  He concentrated instead on the New Willey developments[21].

Snedshill

The works opened 1778 with two blast furnaces and producing 3,400 tons iron/year by 1796.  It was sold in 1793 to finance Brymbo[22].  The site became part of the Lilleshall Company in 1816[23].

Hollinswood

Works on Randlay Brook, about half a mile from Snedshill and on the same site, near Oakengates.

Hadley

Wilkinson bought the ground in 1791 and established the New Hadley Works near Wombridge,  Shropshire with two blast furnaces served by 27 mines[24] and a works with 7 steam engines.  One furnace would produce 30 tons iron/ week.  The works was closed in 1820’s[25].

Hampton (Loade)

This site is about four miles south of Bridgnorth.  One reference quotes Wilkinson as owning one blast furnace here c1800[26] but this has not been verified anywhere else.

South Staffordshire

Bradley, near Bilston

Wilkinson is recognised as the founder of the South Staffordshire Iron Industry.  In 1766 John set up Bradley Ironworks in Bilston, Staffordshire[27] (or c1758?)[28] over coal measures approximately 30ft thick.  In 1772 he bought the manor and estate of Bradley for an 88-acre ironmaking complex of furnaces, rolling mills, brick works, pottery and canal wharf. 

In 1783 the first Boulton & Watt ‘rotative’ engine was installed at Bradley[29] and in 1786, Boilermaking was started using rolled wrought iron.  By 1815 there were 5,000 employees at Bilston, Bradley and Priestfield, one of the largest labour forces in Britain. 

Cannon

Recognising a national need for reliable cannon that did not explode in use, Wilkinson adopted the use of solid rather than cored castings and a rigid lathe that gave reproducible circular bores.  His patent, No. 1063 of 1774, was revoked by the government so that all suppliers could use the method.  He retained a good share of the contracts placed.    

Steam Power

‘John Wilkinson was the important third man in the firm of Boulton & Watt, though he was never a properly constituted business partner’[33].  One of the first Boulton and Watt designed steam engines was installed by John Wilkinson at the New Willey Ironworks, Broseley, Shropshire.  Every effort was made to ensure success in order to impress neighbouring ironmasters.  Boulton and Watt had to outsource the castings for such large machines and were very happy with the castings that Wilkinson had supplied for their trial engines, especially the close tolerances with which he could work in making large cast cylinders.  None of the parts was made at Soho; everything was manufactured at Wilkinson’s works[34].  Watt supervised the erection in early 1776 and was well pleased with the excellence of the workmanship.  A year later, Wilkinson also made the components for the ‘inverted’ or ‘Topsy Turvy’ engine built at New Willey to drive the cannon-boring lathe.  With his experience and his well-known reputation for high quality finish-machined castings, he was the preferred supplier of main components with a 20-yr exclusive contract for cylinders for other engines[35].

Early in their development of the steam engine business in Cornwall, Boulton and Watt needed more capital than they had available.  Wilkinson offered to subscribe directly but was not accepted.  This left him as a usefully knowledgeable independent negotiator later, when relations between the engine makers and the Cornish mine owners became very strained.  He still had their good will and confidence.

Mine owners who owed Wilkinson for the cost of castings might have a choice of payment methods.  Some paid cash, others paid in kind with tons of copper and yet others with shares in their mines.  Alternatively, he took payment in block tin[36].  Since the prosperity of the mines would, and did, increase when the engines came on stream, he could see a good advantage in taking shares. 

Shares in Copper Mines

In 1761 there was a large increase in the demand for copper when the Royal Navy clad the frigate ‘Alarm’ at and below the water line to prevent attack by Teredo woodworm in tropical waters.  It was found that copper also reduced the growth of marine biofouling, giving a significant benefit to the speed of ships that were at sea for long periods.  Wilkinson was already concerned with the business of supplying cannon for the urgent needs of the Royal Navy, such as HMS Victory, launched in 1765.  He was also supplying components for steam engines for the copper mines of Cornwall.  He could therefore see more profits possible if he took an interest in the copper industry, which had many requirements that were similar to those of the iron industry.

Besides the mines in Cornwall, copper was rediscovered in 1768 at Parys Mountain in Anglesey, North Wales.  For a time the mine was the largest in the world.  By 1780, Wilkinson had met Thomas Williams, a solicitor of Llanidan who had gained control of most of the Anglesey copper mines, and arranged to visit the ‘Great Open Cast’ workings.  He concluded:

‘It’s a curious place and affords a large field for speculation.’ [37].  Unknowingly, he had coined a phrase since used by Hope as a book title.

He could see opportunities in the copper industry for the supply of steam engines, structural components and scrap iron for use in the copper precipitation tanks.  After roasting, the ore was leached in one of many brick lined tanks described as 24ft x 12ft wide and 3ft deep[38].  To precipitate the copper from solution, iron was thrown in, in large quantities.  If scrap was not available, cast slabs 3ft x 2ft x 2in were used.  This tonnage was useful to Wilkinson as a market for scrap and as an entrance to a prospering industry.  He also experimented successfully with the use of the cement copper deposited directly in his foundry for bronze cannon without further refining[39].  Heavy cast iron plates were also used on the floors of the recovery condensers for sulphur and arsenic that were attached to ore roasting furnaces.  They were rapidly corroded by the acid, giving more good business.

There was also money to be made downstream of the mines in by-product recovery and the trading of copper as a commodity.  Wilkinson and Williams became friends in several enterprises and benefited from their different backgrounds and training but similar attitudes to making money wherever possible.  They introduced vertical integration of the industry from mine to finished product and warehousing.  In 1781, they made a joint visit to Scotland for reasons not established but probably to evaluate copper mines or visit iron works[40]. 

 While ironmaking was the first love of John Wilkinson, he made more money than could be re-invested in the iron industry with advantage.  He naturally looked for better returns elsewhere.  His special technical, financial and political skills were transferable to other industries and commodities.  He built up a portfolio of shares in Cornish copper mines[41] such as:-

Some of these shares may have been taken in lieu of payments.  When these were bought and sold is not clear but the success of some of the mines is included by Symons in his review of Vivian’s evidence in 1799 to the Parliamentary Committee inquiring into the copper mines[47].  It is noted that many of the adventurers who invested were also equipment suppliers and happy to take their profits on what they supplied.  He also mentions the common saying of the time that ‘It is much easier to throw tin into a mine than get it out!’   

However, in a survey of the profits and losses made by a sample of sixteen of the many Cornish mines in the period 1792 –1798, Symons covers four of the eight mines in which Wilkinson had shares at some time.  Consolidated Mines and United Mines both made a reasonable profit.  North Downs and Tresaven ended up slightly in the red.  This would be regarded as satisfactory at the time.

He took a one sixteenth interest in the Mona copper mine at Parys and the associated ore treatment, copper production and chemical industries together capitalised at £800,000[48].  These included

By November 1785, Wilkinson was able to say to Matthew Boulton

“All my adventuring cash is now engaged”[50] – and, we assume, giving a good profit. 

Parys Mine Current Costings

Wilkinson’s Copper Tokens

‘Wilkinson’s tokens were a show of manufacturing power and independence’[55].

During the late 18^th century, the Government was not issuing small denomination coins.  There was a dire shortage of money to meet demand for wages as spending money for workers who were earning only a very few shillings per week.  At this time, Wilkinson employed over a thousand workers.[56]  Silver coins of small value were impracticably minute. Wilkinson had encouraged his friend Thomas Williams to issue his Anglesey tokens (known as ‘Druids’) for the same practical reason as well as the fact that Williams needed another tonnage market for his copper.  Wilkinson started ordering tokens for himself very shortly afterwards and continued production from 1787 to 1793.  They became commonly known as ‘Willeys’ 

In 1781, Francis and Samuel Garbett, friends of Boulton, had undertaken an officially commissioned report on shortage of coinage but government action was slow.  Boulton had to wait more than ten years for the contract so turned to other orders such as the Parys Mines token and Wilkinson tokens[57]. 

The tokens all bore the effigy of Wilkinson on the obverse.  One design shows his hair tied back and two buttons of his coat.  Some later tokens showed him with extra sets of curls to his wig and with three buttons displayed.  The reverse of each token celebrated one or more of his achievements.  Some are:

Most genuine tokens have been edge rolled with the inscription that covers the towns where the tokens could be redeemed:  ‘Willey Snedshill Bersham Bradley’. 

A Token Profit?

It is not easy to show whether Wilkinson made a profit on issuing his tokens.  To do so it would be necessary to know:

The promotional value came from the fact that Wilkinson’s image was on every token, an intentional, useful spin-off.  The number of contemporary forgeries made might have increased his redemption costs.   

Janet Butler quotes his specification as 36 tokens per pound weight.  This seems to have applied only from 1780.  All of the issues, from 1787 through to 1795, featured Wilkinson's portrait facing right.[61].  Boulton was able to supply the tokens to better reproducibility by striking between dies fitted with a collar that retained the diameter accurately.  They were edge rolled with the legend: ‘WILLEY SNEDSHILL BERSHAM BRADLEY’ where they could easily be redeemed.  Steam driven presses were used for standard tokens from 1789 and die collars could be used in steam presses from the Autumn of 1790.[62]  Many tons were ordered, initially from Boulton and later from Westwood’s mint. 

The 1790 Vulcan token was struck at 15cwt/week from Westwood to a total of 206,000 tokens.  Seeing products from the opposition, Boulton commented to Wilkinson that he should have all tokens struck in collars.  However, on December 11^th 1790, Wilkinson complained to Boulton that the halfpence were four in the pound less in number than those which Westwood used to make for him.[63]  In 1791 he was ordering tokens by the ton from both Westwood and Boulton.  The 1792 Vulcan issue numbered 103,000 tokens.  Hancock’s mint struck the tokens that have Vulcan in reverse.[64]  If the Westwood tokens were struck without the use of collars it might mean that some tokens without the edge legend ‘WILLEY SNEDSHILL BERSHAM BRADLEY’ are genuine rather than fakes.

One calculation has been around for some time: [65],[66]

It is not clear where the costings came from but it is very unlikely that anyone, even John Wilkinson, could have got away with making a profit of 40% selling tokens!  There were initial plans to issue tokens to the value of one penny but none was officially issued.  Certainly the initial specification was for 32 tokens to the pound but the value would have been ¼d[68] which would have shown a loss of 5d per pound[69], equally unlikely.   

Lead Mines and Works

Wilkinson bought lead mines at Minera, five miles from Bersham and Llyn y Pandy at Soughton and Mold, also in Flintshire, where John Wilkinson’s steam pumping engines made deep mining viable[71].  All the Flintshire lead was exported through the port of Chester which handled about 80,000 tons over the 20 years from 1758-1777[72]. 

Minera Lead Mines are in Wern Road, Wrexham.  Lead mining reached its peak at Minera in 1863-4 when 6,822 tons of lead ore and 1,179 tons of zinc ore were mined. Profits were just under £70,000 for that year. Yet by 1890s the price for lead ore had collapsed.  In 1910, the pumping machinery was sold and the mine closed in 1914[73].  There is a restored engine house at the top of the 1,220ft deep City Shaft at Minera Lead Mine.  He also owned limekilns at Minera, Ffrith and Hope Mountain, Flintshire.

Industries

These are some of the industries referred to above that are part of the vertical integration of the copper industry in which Wilkinson could obtain good returns.

Iron Bridge

With the development of the Industrial Revolution in the Severn Gorge region it became essential to build another bridge across the river, higher up than that at Bridgnorth.  This would link both sides of the Severn Gorge industrial area.  Thomas Farnolls Pritchard[77] was an architect who had worked with John Wilkinson, having designed and installed a new fireplace at ‘The Lawns’ amongst other projects.  He had also procured castings from Coalbrookdale.  In 1773, he suggested designs for the bridge across the gorge between Broseley and Madeley.  ‘Iron Mad’ John Wilkinson insisted that cast iron should be the structural material.  Ironmaster Abraham Darby was glad to join the project group and most of the remainder of the initial support came from the residents of Broseley.   

The group subscribed Darby's first estimate of the cost, £3,150:- 

The figures quoted are in pre-decimalisation pounds, shillings and pence (£/s/d) although originally quoted in guineas where one guinea is £1/1s/-.  For example, the contribution of John Wilkinson was of 600 guineas.)

Wilkinson’s persuasion and drive held together the Broseley support through a few problems and this unanimity helped the acquisition of the big names needed to push the proposal through parliament[79].  Abraham Darby agreed to build what would be the world’s first major iron bridge using his local iron foundry.  To strengthen Darby’s hand, Wilkinson then passed his shares to Darby.  The bridge opened in 1781 with the cost to Darby much higher than his original estimate. 

Wilkinson’s ‘Trial’ – the First Iron Barge

Ships

Canals[83]

Since the cost of transport of goods by canal was about one tenth of that by road, Wilkinson was a keen investor in canal building projects such as:

Railways

Inventions and Patents

Wilkinson was the first to realise and to obtain the accuracy needed in the making of modern machinery[84].  His inventions and patents included:-

675/1753                    Metallic Rollers for Grinding Grain and Sugar Canes

713/1757                    Blowing Machine for Forges, Furnaces Etc.

     Method of boring cylinders for steam engines using a boring bar supported by bearings each side of the work piece.  This technique was not patented and was copied by Coalbrookdale and by Banks and Onions among others.  He helped design the new lathe at the Soho Manufactory and provided a suitable boring bar from Bersham[85].  

1063/1774                   Method of Boring Cannon including making a coreless or solid casting and mounting it to rotate round the boring bar.  This was such a strategic advantage that the Board of Ordinance had the patent revoked in 1779[86].  All founders used the Wilkinson method for years thereafter and it was a major contributor towards the defeat of the enemies of Britain.

1694/1789                    Cutting Spiral Grooves in Bore of Cannon (Rifling) and Bolted or Winged Shot applicable thereto.

1857/1792                    Rolling Metals, the use of two steam engines, one for each direction to give a reversing mill, alternately the use of one steam engine with bands operating on the up and down strokes.

1993/1794                  Manufacture of Iron  (use of a new furnace lower than a blast furnace and the addition of Manganese).  This use of manganese was also later patented by Reynolds in 1799[87].

1799                   New idea for a Chimney Boiler, beautifully coloured drawing given to William Reynolds, drawing No 47 in the possession of John Randall, 1880[88].

First to make iron chairs, horse pattens, vats for breweries & distilleries and iron pipes of all sizes[89].

 First Iron Boat. 

Agriculture Examples[90]

Bersham – Wilkinson acquired about 1,000 acres of agricultural land which he improved with lime from his works and good husbandry.  He was the only member of the Royal Society of Arts & Manufactures to participate fully in an experimental scheme to grow good hemp.

Financial Institutions

1785 The Cornish Metal Co

Cornish miners and Thomas Williams, the Anglesey mine owner, agreed to set up a joint marketing company for copper.  This would help stop the refiners from forcing prices down by what was known as the ‘ticketing’ system by which refiners made offers on batches of ore.[91]  The subscribed capital was to be used to finance copper stocks but subject to an 8% sinking fund levy for payment of interest.  It was arranged that Thomas Williams would have control of the sales of copper, an arrangement that lasted from 1787 to 1792[92].  Wilkinson obtained shares in most of Williams’ enterprises. 

Warehouses were established to sell the copper where needed in Birmingham, London, Bristol and Liverpool.  The Company was less successful than expected for a variety of reasons but that is not to say that it was Wilkinson who lost out.  Wilkinson had sold his iron castings successfully in both Cornwall and Anglesey, had taken shares in mines in Cornwall, mines and manufactures connected with Anglesey, and also warehouses dealing in copper.  He was brokering copper refining capacity and copper stocks.  In addition, he could draw his 8% interest on the Company capital. 

By 1787, the Company was in crisis due to falling copper prices.  Boulton and Vivian visited Wilkinson at ‘The Lawns’ in Broseley before they went to see Williams and then on to London to lobby Pitt about coinage and called for Wilkinson to join them. 

When the company was wound up, the shareholders regained their money[93].  The other arrangements that John Wilkinson had had bolted on to the Company structure had probably rewarded his foresight quite usefully.

1788 Birmingham Warehouse Company

In 1788, Wilkinson joined the venture to set up the Birmingham Warehouse Company with the laudable intention of providing the Birmingham industry with steady supplies copper at reasonable prices.  The motive was to avoid the dependence of the Birmingham trade on supplies controlled from Bristol.  The others involved were Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and John Hurd, with Thomas Williams as a preferred supplier.  A subsidiary motive was to help Williams through a cash flow problem to the extent of £10,000[94].  The arrangement with Williams was that they could take delivery at advantageous Liverpool or Swansea prices, unlike other warehouses that paid significantly more for transportation costs. 

Banks

To help with his business, with payments to his employees and for local benefit, Wilkinson bought in to partnership in several banks including:-

His tokens were also redeemable at the usual rate of 480 to the Sterling pound at the works offices at Willey and Snedshill.

Trade Bodies

Wilkinson was happy to join trade bodies and help with representations and negotiations.

A cartel of Severn Valley ironmasters who agreed prices during the 1760s for the sale of cast iron products[98].

Homes

In areas where Wilkinson had strong interests he invested in a domestic base.  The value of these capital assets would have been additional to the value of plant and machinery mentioned when his will is discussed.  Later, many of them passed into other hands and served many purposes.  Some are still valuable assets.

‘The Lawns’, Broseley

Set up as Headquarters home with his second wife, Mary Lee, in 1763 and retained until 1800 when it was leased to John Rose of Coalport china.  In private ownership, it is still a landmark building on the ‘Broseley Trail’.

Bersham Hall

Used by the National Health Service from 1974 until 1993.  Demolished soon afterwards because of coal mining subsidence.

Hallfields, Bradeley

Now demolished.

Brymbo Hall

Bought with estate in 1792 for £14,000 and where he set up home for his mistress, Ann Lewis, subsequently used as company headquarters until early 20^th century but demolished in 1973 to allow open pit coal mining[100].

Wrexham – The Court

Home with his first wife, Ann Maudsley.

Castle Head (Cumbria)

Philanthropy

Wilkinson had a good reputation as an employer.  Wherever a new works was established, cottages were built to accommodate the employees and their families.  Employee pensions were given.  He was happy to help the spread of technology by inviting guests to view his works.  He also took on apprentices such as the son of James Watt.  He is reported as giving charitable support, such as to the Madeley Poor Fund, 1795, £50[101].  At Bradley he built a chapel of iron and furnished it with a pulpit also made of cast iron.   

In local schools, Wilkinson was able to overcome a shortage of slates and chalk by providing simple iron trays to hold suitable sand for writing and arithmetical practice.

Wilkinson’s Trail

In Cumbria, the Wilkinson’s blast furnace at Backbarrow has recently been included for preservation within an area of housing development.  His main house at Castlehead is now accessible as a field studies centre and his father’s cottage still in residential use.  In Cornwall there is a considerable mining and industrial heritage but the main emphasis is not surprisingly on the work of Richard Trevithick and those who developed the ‘Cornish’ steam engine. 

In Denbighshire, there is a well-established popular visitor centre and museum covering the iron industry at Bersham.  A small group of enthusiasts is working hard to preserve the Wilkinson blast furnace and a variety of other exhibits at nearby Brymbo.   

Evaluation

As David Cannadine said to a meeting of the Newcomen Society:

‘Britain has been one of the few great technological nations’, and we await the history which both describes that and explains it.  All of which is simply to say that the history of technology has for a long time been much more than the history of machinery and engineering, important though those histories undoubtedly are[105].

He implies that a combination of technical expertise with an ability to think laterally, financial acumen and a mastery of human relationships gives the recipe for success.  John Wilkinson certainly had all these abilities.  For a comparison with the entrepreneurs of this generation, I suggest that he would be the ‘Richard Branson’ of his day.

The benefits accrued from the activities of an industrialist can be assessed by many possible means.  A spreadsheet can be constructed so that each activity can be listed together with perceived benefits in each category.  To put financial benefits in perspective, each needs to be adjusted for inflation that occurred during Wilkinson’s lifetime[106] and updated to nett present values.

Inflation in the 18^th Century

Between 1750 and 1800 inflation was 66%.  Between 1771 and 1800 inflation was 41%[109].  Then, as now, to retain the value of any capital, it had to be put to work or lose its value.  Some comparisons have been made with the basic commodity prices then and now.  The variations in commodity prices that happened during Wilkinson’s lifetime mean that only approximate comparisons with today’s values can be made.  Prices and business decisions were much affected by external events affecting the demand for materials and capital equipment.  Amongst these were:

1756-1763          Anglo-French War (Seven Years War) – all major European powers involved

1775-1783          American War of Independence (Anglo French War also involving Spain and Netherlands)

1789-1799          French Revolution and

1792-1802          Wars of the French Revolution

Inflation of the Price of Bread

For simplicity, when comparing the buying power of wages, the price of bread is often used.  Confusion must first be avoided.  Bread was commonly sold in medieval and Renaissance England as the gallon loaf (also called the half-peck loaf), which weighs 8lb 11oz (or approx. 8.7lb, 3.9kg). Later, including during the Victorian period, it was nearly always sold as the quartern loaf, made with exactly ¼stone (3½lb) of flour, and whose finished weight was approximately 4.33lb[110] (1.96kg).  The modern large tin loaf weighs about 1lb 10oz (0.74kg).  The price of bread varied seasonally and with the demands of various wars on manpower.  In 1798 it was around 1.85d/lb[111] (old pence per pound).

Inflation of the price of Copper

During the period 1750-1810, the price of copper varied within the range £50-£120/ton.  Recently it has varied within the range £3,000 to £6,000/ton, though officially priced in US dollars.

Inflation of the prices of cast iron

During the period 1750-1810, the price of cast iron varied within the range £7-£18 per ton of finished goods.  Currently it sells at £150-160/ton but has been much higher within the last few years.

Present Values

There were big variations in the value of money compared with 2009 during the period 1750-1810[112], summarised in the table below that shows the multiplier to be used for individual years in each decade.   

During the lifetime:

By 1800 Wilkinson had 8 blast furnaces working[114].  To obtain a full analysis of the impact of Wilkinson, it would be necessary to start with statistics such as:-

Benefits to the Economy and Society

Some useful estimates can be made, others will use nominal figures.  In this short paper, it is taken that financial indicators will be a reasonable initial measure of benefits to employees and their families.  Wilkinson tried to make good provision for all his loved ones.  The estate was proved at a value of £130,000 (2009 = £8.7m[115]) for machinery, not including his land and house values.  He wanted Ann Lewis and their children to have the surname ‘Wilkinson’, an annuity and live at Castle Head.

To summarise his impact there is a need to consider:

Robert Burns

By way of comparison with other celebrities having currently celebrated anniversaries, a recent BBC programme carried an estimate of the current value of Robert Burns (1759-1796)[117] to Ayrshire, Scotland[118].  Commemorative merchandise, food, and celebratory drink sales and service added up to about £9 million per year but tourist income brought the total to an estimated £159,000,000.  In detail, this includes:  

Charles Darwin

John Wilkinson

The impact of each of John Wilkinson’s activities needs to be summarised, including:

Notional Values for Industrial and Social Impact of John Wilkinson’s Interests

(These estimates are based on the considerations above, being calculated on estimated turnover rather than profits.  Most of the turnover would have been paid out for services and materials, to the local benefit.)

Current Notional Annual Values of the Visitor Interests of Wilkinson-related sites

(No charges are made at present for entry to any sites.)

Conclusions

This paper has presented a very brief survey of the very wide spread of the industrial and other interests of John Wilkinson abstracted from an extensive range of literature.  It demonstrates the wide geographical scope of his work and the limitations that this places on the establishment of a ‘Wilkinson Trail’ of sites for interested enthusiasts.  Notional estimates for the value of his works are given and updated to 2009 values.  A separate calculation has been made for the notional current value of income by area from visitors interested in his legacy.  The latter figure is higher than might be expected after it is realised that, without the negotiating skills of John Wilkinson, the Iron Bridge would very probably not have been made of iron.

Acknowledgements

References

Aexander, Eric, ‘John Wilkinson’s Trade Connections’, J. Broseley Loc. Hist. Soc, 30, 2008, pp34-38. (Broseley Local History Society includes The Wilkinson Society)

Barker, Richard, ‘Iron Ships in Green Fields’, J. Broseley Local Hist. Soc, 30, 2008, pp20-33.

Barker, Richard (Ed.) ‘Wilkinson Studies’ Merton Priory Press, Vol. I 1991, 67pp, ISSN 0962-9173, Vol. II, 1992, 100pp, ISBN 0 9520009 0 3,

Bennett, John (ed.), ‘Minera Lead Mines and Quarries’, Wrexham Maelor Borough Council, 1995, 101pp, ISBN 0 952 55 29 0 6.

Bloy, Marjie, ‘The Speenhamland System’, (1795 poor law allowance standards),

[http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/speen.html]

Braid, D.H.P. ‘Gun Boring from the Solid’ Trans. Newcomen Soc. 58 (1986) pp. 45-58.

Butler, Janet, ‘John Wilkinson’, PhD thesis, unpublished draft, Coalbrookdale Library.

Callcut, Vin, ‘John Wilkinson – Copper King?’, J. Broseley Loc. Hist. Soc, 27, 2005, pp2-28  (http://www.broseley.org.uk/Docs/journal2005.PDF) and in full at: (http://www.oldcopper.org/john_wilkinson_-_copper_king.htm)

Carlisle, J A & Carlisle, J, ‘John Wilkinson, Ironmaster’ (http://www.corvedale.previewurl.com/history/john_wilkinson_and_the_snedshill.htm)

Challoner, W. H., ‘The Agricultural Activities of John Wilkinson, Ironmaster’, British Agricultural History Society, 1957 (5) Pt 1,  (http://www.bahs.org.uk/05n1a4.pdf)

Challon, W. H. ‘John Wilkinson as Note Issuer and Banker’, Seaby's coin and medal bulletin (Dec. 1948), pp. 550-553

Challon, W. H. ‘New lights on John Wilkinson's token coinage’, Seaby's coin and medal bulletin (July 1948), p. 306-308.

Challoner, W. H., ‘Dr Joseph Priestly, John Wilkinson and the French Revolution, 1789-1802’, Trans Royal Hist. Soc. 8, 1958, pp21-40.

Challoner, W. H., ‘The Skilled Artisan 1750-1850’ The Historical Association, 1969, 16pp.

Clarke, Diana, ‘The Spirit of the Age:  Ideas and Movements of the Eighteenth Century and John Wilkinson’, J Broseley Loc. Hist. Soc. 24, 2002, pp2-18.  (http://www.broseley.org.uk/Newsletters/journal2002-web.PDF)

Clarke, Neil ‘John Wilkinson’s Transport Interests’, J. Broseley Loc. Hist. Soc, 30, 2008, pp3-14.

Cossons, Neil & Trinder, Barrie, ‘The Iron Bridge’, Moonraker Press, 1979, 139pp.  SBN 239.00187.7.

Cranstone, David, ‘Isaac Wilkinson at Backbarrow’, J. Historical Metallurgy Soc, 1991, 25, 2, pp87-91.

Dalton, R. & Hamer, S. ‘The Provincial Token Coinage of the 18th Century’., Allan Davisson's 2004, 566pp.

Davies, Ron, ‘John Wilkinson – Ironmaster Extraordinary’, 2^nd Ed., Broseley Local History Society, 26pp. ISBN 0 9504999 5 1.

Davies, Stanley A. ‘Isaac Wilkinson (c. 1705-1784) of Bersham, Ironmaster and Inventor’, Trans. Newcomen Soc. 27 (1949) pp69-72.

Dawson, Frank, ‘John Wilkinson, King of the Ironmasters’ Unpublished book, Broseley Local Hist. Soc, 2009, 118pp.

Dawson, Frank, ‘The Significance of the Women in John Wilkinson’s Life’, J. Broseley Loc. Hist. Soc, 30, 2008, pp39-44.

Dickinson, H. W. ‘Matthew Boulton’, TEE Publishing 1936, reprinted 1999, 218pp. ISBN 85761 112 8.

Dickinson, H. W. and Jenkins, R., ‘James Watt and the Steam Engine’, First Edition 1927, Second edition 1981, reprinted Encore Editions 1989, 415pp. ISBN 0-903485-92-3

English Heritage, ‘The Heritage Dividend Methodology:  Measuring the Impacts of Heritage Projects’, c2005, 27pp.  http://www.helm.org.uk/upload/pdf/Heritage-Dividend-Methodology.pdf?1243266308

Forward, B A. ‘The Early History of the Cylinder Boring Machine’ Trans. Newcomen Soc. 5 (1924) pp24-38.

Grenter, Stephen, ‘The Wilkinsons at Bersham’, J Broseley Loc. Hist. Soc.  30, 2008, pp14-19.

Harris, J R, ‘The British Iron Industry, 1700-1850’, Palgrave Macmillan, 1988 96pp.

Harris J. R., ‘The Copper King, A Biography of Thomas Williams of Llanidan’,  Liverpool University and University of Toronto Press, 1964, 194pp

Hayman, Richard & Horton, Wendy, ‘Ironbridge: History and Guide’. Tempus Publishing, 199, 160pp.  ISBN 0 7524 1460 7.

Herfindal, Orris C. ‘Copper Costs and Prices: 1870-1975’, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.  1959, 260pp, Library of Congress Cat Card 59-15390.

Hope, Bryan D, ‘A Curious Place, The Industrial History of Amlwch (1550-1950)’, Watch House Books, Moelfre, 1994, 176pp.  ISBN  0 9535268 0 1.

Hughes, Stephen (Ed). ‘Copperopolis – The Landscapes of the Early Industrial Period in Swansea.’ Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales’, 2000, revised 2008, 358pp.  ISBN 1-871184-32-7.

Ionides, Julia, ‘Thomas Farnolls Pritchard of Shrewsbury…..’ The Dog Rose Press, 1999, 307pp plus extensive drawing book.  ISBN 0-9528367-1-8.

Lentin, G.L.L., ‘Letters on The Island of Anglesey Copper Mine and Associated Foundries and Factories’,  Siegfried Lebrecht Crusius, Leipzig, 1800, translated by Rothwell, Nancy, Amlych Industrial Heritage Trust, 2007.

Mantoux, Paul ‘The Industrial Revolution in the Eighteenth Century. An Outline of the beginnings of the modern factory system in England’. Methuen, 1964 528pp.  ISBN 0-416-68240-5.

Nelson, Robert L, ‘Price of Bread: Poverty, Purchasing Power and the Victorian Labourer’s Standard of Living’, [http://www.victorianweb.org/history/work/nelson1.html]

Pee, Ralph and Hawes, Maurice, ‘John Wilkinson and the Two Willey Ironworks’, J. Wilkinson Soc. (now incorporated in Broseley Local History Soc.) 16, 1988.

  (http://www.broseley.org.uk/wilkfiles/THE%20TWO%20WILLEY%20IRONWORKS.htm)

Pye, Charles, ‘Provincial Copper Coins or Tokens: Issued Between the Years 1787 and 1796’  Nicho;s & Egerton, 1797

Randall, John, ‘Broseley and its Surroundings’, Salopian and West Midland Journal, 1879, 328pp.  (available in CD-ROM format from Broseley Loc. Hist. Soc.).

Randall, John, ‘History of Madeley’, 1880, reprinted by Salop County Library, 1975, 387pp.  ISBN 0 903802 02 3

Randall, John, ‘Our Coal and Iron Industries; the Wilkinsons’, Randall, 1876, reprinted Barrow News & Mail, 1917, 57pp & 14pp appendix.

Reeve, Robin  M. ‘The Industrial Revolution 1750-1850’, University of London Press 1971, 270pp. ISBN 0 340 07349 7

Riden, Philip, ‘A Gazetteer of Charcoal-fired Blast Furnaces in Great Britain in use since 1660’, Merton Priory Press, 1987, 1993, 166pp, ISBN ) 9520009 1 1.

Rogers, Cedric, ‘A Collector’s Guide to Minerals Rocks and Gemstones in Cornwall & Devon’, D. Bradford Barton, Truro, 48pp.

Rogers, D L ‘Shropshire Canals’. Shrewsbury & Newport Canals Trust, Issue 10, May 2003,  [http://www.sncanal.org.uk/10%20-%20May%202003.pdf]

Rolands, John, ‘Copper Mountain’ , Anglesey Antiquarian Society, Llangefni, 1966, 201pp.

Rowlands, Eryl Wyn, ‘Masts and Shafts, The Story of the Town and Port of Amlwch 1793-1913’, Millenium Working Party, Amlwch, 2000, 28pp.

Soldon, Herbert C., ‘John Wilkinson (1728–1808) English Ironmaster and Inventor’ Edwin Mallen Press, New York 1998, 380pp, c170 refs. (ISBN: 0-7734-8268-7)

Schmitz, C. J., ‘World Non-Ferrous Metal Production and Prices 1700-1976’. Frank Cass 1979 425pp. ISBN 07146 3109 4.

Selgin, George,  ‘Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage, 1775-1821’. Independent Institute, 1957, 2008, 345pp.  ISBN-13: 978-0-472-11631-7. 

Symons, John, ‘The Copper Mines of Cornwall: Property and Profit’, CHN Conference 2002, Worcester, summarising the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the Copper Industry, 1799. 

Tann, Jennifer, ‘Boulton and Watt's Organisation of Steam Engine Production before the opening of Soho Foundry’ Trans. Newcomen Soc. 49 (1977)  pp.41-56

Tann, Jennifer, ‘Riches from Copper: the Adoption of the Boulton & Watt Engine by Cornish Mine Adventurers’, Trans Newcomen Soc. 67 (1995), pp.27-52.

Telford & Wrekin Economic Baseline 2007 ‘Transforming Telford’

(http://www.telford-development-agency.com/_library/download/www/Files/Telford%20Wrekin%20Economic_Profile_2007.pdf)

Telford & Wrekin Council, ‘Ironbridge Gorge Management Plan: Section 2 Description and Significance of the World Heritage Site’ (http://www.telford.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/945FB6AB-DA90-431B-A8EE-225BE18573ED/0/description.pdf)

Trinder, Barrie, ‘The Industrial Revolution in Shropshire’, Phillimore & Co. Ltd., 1981, 308pp, ISBN 0 85033 428 4.

Turner, Wayne, ‘John Wilkinson’s Trade Tokens’, J. Wilkinson Soc. 1974, 2, 10-12.

Uglow, Jenny, ‘The Lunar Men’, Faber & Faber, London 2002, 588pp. ISBN 0-571-21610-2.

Webb, Dominic ‘Inflation, the value of the Pound 1750-2005’ House of Commons Research Paper 06/09, 13/02/06.  (http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/rp2006/rp06-009.pdf)