Soho - The Engine of the World |
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Soho, the site of Matthew Boulton's Manufactory and his
elegant home, the place where Boulton and James Watt produced
the steam engines that revolutionised industry, is inseparable
from Birmingham's, and indeed Britain's, industrial past.
From the 1760s to the end of the engine firm in 1895, Soho
was the centre of a commercial and intellectual web across
the globe. |
Left: Soho
Manufactory shown
as a source of 'great blessings' |
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Boulton sold ormolu and silverware throughout Europe, as far as the
Russian court. Watt corresponded with Europe's leading scientists.
Their sons were partly educated abroad. Workers from Soho travelled,
raised families, and often died abroad.
Their steam engines and mints were sent to Europe, Asia, and the Americas.Boats
powered by Boulton & Watt engines plied the rivers and lakes of
Central Europe, and international politics directly affected Soho's
trade.
Right: Designs for ormolu clocks made by Matthew Boulton |
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The Archives of Soho Project has catalogued the records of the Boulton
and Watt families and their businesses, bringing to light dozens of
stories of Soho's contacts with the wider world.
This exhibition presents some of these stories, to illuminate the
truly international stage on which Matthew Boulton and James Watt
stood
| Left: The Danube
boat Archduke Lewis and its enguines, 1840 |
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| The Archives of Soho, held by
Birmingham City Archives, have been catalogued by the Archives of
Soho Project. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Birmingham City
Council and the Birmingham Assay Office Charitable Trust. |
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