Dewrance & Co. Ltd

Dewrance & Co. Ltd
IndustryEngineering
Founded1835; 190 years ago (1835) in London
Founder
  • John Dewrance (senior)
  • Joseph Woods
FateAcquired by Babcock & Wilcox Ltd
ProductsBoiler tubes, valves, gauges

Dewrance & Co. Ltd was a manufacturer of engine and boiler accessories, such as pumps and gauges.

History

It was established in London in 1835 as a partnership by Joseph Woods, with John Dewrance. It was involved in the building of the locomotive Lion in 1838 for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.[1][failed verification] In 1844 after Wood's death the firm became a company specialising in manufacturing engine and boiler accessories. It produced a brass pressure gauge for Lloyd's Register of shipping to pressure-test ships' boilers before insuring them.[2] Such gauges have become collectable.[3] A pair are on display at the Internal Fire – Museum of Power.[4]

Dewrance died in 1861 and left the business to his son.[5] The firm's introduction of the groove-packed plug cock in 1875 was a major innovation because it made steam safety valves easier to operate.[6] Sir John Dewrance,[7] who was married to the granddaughter of Richard Trevithick took over the business in 1879.[8] In 1937 after Dewrance's death it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox Ltd.[8]

In 1961 it had 2,000 employees.[5]

The firm was sold by Dresser Industries in 1998 to Tyco International. It was then operating from Skelmersdale.[9]

Dewrance family

John Dewrance

John Dewrance conducted experiments on the distribution of heat in steam boilers.[10] There are claims he was responsible for the construction of George Stephenson’s locomotive the Rocket and for supporting it at the Rainhill trials.[9][a] He was appointed Locomotive Superintendent of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway from 1840 to 1844 during which time his 2-2-2 designs at the Edge Hil workshops were noted for their neatness.[11]

In October 1845 he entered the employ of the Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland and was selected from three candidates as Locomotive Superintendent in March 1847 at a salary of £300 pera anuum with housing assistance.[b] He was immediately seconded to locomotive manufacturer William Fairbairn & Sons, Millwall, London to gain experience. Following a review in October 1947 his services were dispensed with due to claim his remuneration was inappropriately high for his abilities.[13] He was then appointed Locomotive Superintendent by the rival Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) of Ireland, again for £300 per annum with a house in Cabra Road, Dublin.[14] Following the decision of the MGWR director's to let the operation of the line Dewrance was released with three months salary.[14]

Dewrance died in 1861 and left the business to his son.[15][5]

Sir John Dewrance

Sir John Dewrance, who was educated at Charterhouse and then at King's College London before marrying the granddaughter of Richard Trevithick, took over the business in 1879.[7][16][8] He took out 114 patents relating to steam fittings and boiler mountings.[17] He was involved with the Primrose League. In 1899 he became chairman of Babcock & Wilcox Ltd.[18] From 1920 to 1926 he was the President of the Engineering Employers’ Federation.[19]

Dewrance died in 1937 with the firm becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox Ltd.[8][20]

The Sir John Dewrance prize is awarded to the two best mechanical engineering students each year at City University.[21]

Recognition

One of the GWR Hawthorn Class locomotives built by Slaughter, Grüning and Company was named after the company in 1865.[22] British Empire Medals were awarded to Arthur Edgar Caswallon Evans, a Brass Turner in the 1946 New Year Honours,[23][24] to Jasper Sidney Jeal, a Centre Lathe Turner in the 1953 Coronation Honours[25] and to Maud Unwin, a Fettler, in the 1956 New Year Honours.[26] James McWaters Storey, the Managing Director, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1959 New Year Honours.[27]

The firm's archives are held in the British National Archives.[28]

Notes

  1. ^ The single current source with the Rocket claim may not be independent,[9] and some may claim this was unlikely. If Dewrance could be linked with George Stephenson's firm then association with the Rocket might be entirely possible and his positioned at the L&MR to aid servicing of Stephenson's locomotives would then be very reasonable but there is no current sourcing to support this.
  2. ^ The 1974 work Murray and MacNeill claim Dewrance was Locomotive Superintendent or equivalent since 1844.[12]

References

  1. ^ "History of The Locomotive 'Lion' - Part 2". The Engineer. 14 November 1930. p. 535. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Brass Pressure Gauge by Dewrance London". Gilai Collectibles. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Antique Brass Steam Gauge Dewrance & Co. London Railroad Steam Engine Gauge". Bid or buy. 19 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Twin Gauge Board". Internal Fire Museum. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Dewrance and Co". Graces Guide to British Industrial History. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  6. ^ "Valve history". Stoneleigh Engineering Services. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  7. ^ a b Ross, HM (2004). "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32808. Retrieved 23 April 2017. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ^ a b c d "Dewrance". Chase International. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  9. ^ a b c Tyco (1999), p. 2.
  10. ^ Clark, Daniel Kinnear (1824). The Steam Engine, 4: A Treatise on Engines and Boilers. Blackie and Son. p. 76. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  11. ^ Donaghy (1972), p. 51.
  12. ^ Murray & McNeill (1976), p. 197.
  13. ^ Clements, McMahon & O'Rourke (2020), p. 33.
  14. ^ a b Shepherd (1994), p. 82.
  15. ^ "John Dewrance (d.1861)". Graces Guide to British Industrial History. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  16. ^ "John Dewrance - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Nautical Magazine". 1874. p. 94.
  18. ^ "John Dewrance: father & son". Steam Index. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  19. ^ Wigham, Eric (1973). "Appendix L". The Power to Manage: A History of the Engineering Employers' Federation. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-349-01264-0.
  20. ^ "John Dewrance". Graces Guide to British Industrial History. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  21. ^ Teague, S John (1980). The City University, a history (PDF). City University of London. p. 211. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  22. ^ Sheppard, Geof (2008). Broad Gauge Locomotives. Southampton: Noodle Books. ISBN 978-1-906419-09-7.
  23. ^ United Kingdom list (1): "No. 37407". The London Gazette. 28 December 1945.
  24. ^ United Kingdom list (2): "No. 37412". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1945.
  25. ^ "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1953.
  26. ^ "No. 40669". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1955.
  27. ^ "No. 41589". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1958.
  28. ^ "Dewrance & Co Ltd, engineers". The National Archives. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  • Clements, Jeremy; McMahon, Michael; O'Rourke, Alan (2020). Locomotives of the Great Southern and Western Railway. County Louth: Collon Publishing. ISBN 9781527270282.
  • Dewrance Sir J 1912, letter to Science Museum, Nominal file 565
  • Donaghy, Thomas J. (1972). Liverpool & Manchester Railway operations, 1831-1845. Newton Abbot, Devon: David and Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5705-0.
  • Hastings R 1843, The Chemist, Volume 4
  • Knight J & Lacey H 1844, The Mechanics Magazine, Volume 41
  • Murray, K.A.; McNeill, D.B. (1976). Great Southern & Western Railway. Dublin: Irish Railway Record Society. ISBN 0-904078-05-1.
  • Shepherd, W. Ernest (1994). The Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland: An Illustrated History. Leicester: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-008-7. OCLC 32627031.
  • Sheppard, Geof (2008). Broad Gauge Locomotives. Southampton: Noodle Books. ISBN 978-1-906419-09-7.
  • Thomas, R.H.G. 1960, The Liverpool & Manchester Railway, Batsford, London
  • Transactions 1938, Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, Volume 81
  • Tyco (1999). "Dewrance" (PDF). Tyco International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.

Further reading

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