Stothert, Slaughter and Co
Stothert, Slaughter and Co of Avon Street, Bristol.
1837 Henry Stothert, son of the founder of Stothert and Pitt, set up works as Henry Stothert and Co in St. Philips, Bristol, to get work from the GWR making locomotive engines.
1840 An early order was for two broad gauge 7 ft 0¼ in (2140 mm) 2-2-2 Firefly class express passenger engines Arrow and Dart with 7 ft driving wheels delivered for the opening of the Great Western Railway from Bristol to Bath on August 31, 1840. This was soon followed by an order for eight smaller 2-2-2 Sun class engines with 6 ft drivers.
1841 Edward Slaughter became a partner, particularly to build steam locomotives; the company was renamed Stothert, Slaughter and Company. Also see Slaughter and Co
1842 Made two stationary engines to drive machinery at the GWR's works [1]
1843 Mention as the manufacturer of the Avon steamer driven by a screw [2]
1844 The works were renamed Avonside Ironworks. A shipbuilding yard was acquired at Hotwells and many ships were produced there.
1846 Built 'Avalanche' the first of five six-coupled saddle tank banking engines for the Great Western Railway.
1849 Another large order came for ten broad gauge passenger 2-2-2's with 7 ft 6 in drivers and eight goods engines from the Bristol and Exeter Railway for the independent operation of that line from May 1, 1849.
1850 "NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership hitherto subsisting between us the undersigned, Henry Stothert, John Stothert, Edward Slaughter, George Fuller, and Robert Bruce, of the Avonside Iron Works, in the city of Bristol, Locomotive Engine Manufacturers, Ironfounders, and Makers of Machinery, carrying on business under the firm of Stothert, Slaughter, and Company, was this day dissolved by mutual consent, so far as the said Robert Bruce is concerned, who retires therefrom." — Dated this 5th day of August 1850.[3]
1851 Award at the 1851 Great Exhibition. See details at 1851 Great Exhibition: Reports of the Juries: Class V.
1851 the company acquired a ship building yard, previously occupied by Lunell and Co, of which Henry Stothert took charge as a separate undertaking. Another branch of the family also had a shipbuilding business - See G. K. Stothert and Co
1852 Listed as Ironfounders in Bristol as Stothert, Slaughter and Co, Avonside ironworks, St. Phillips [4]
1856 The company became Slaughter, Gruning and Company when Henry Gruning joined the business; Stothert concentrated on the shipbuilding. By this time they had produced around 340 railway locomotives.
1860 Partnership change '...the Partnership hitherto subsisting between us the undersigned, Edward Slaughter, Henry Stothert, John Stothert, John Stephens, Henry Gruning, and Robert Stephen Cuthbertson, of the Avonside Iron Works, in the city of Bristol, Locomotive Engine Manufacturers, Ironfounders, and Makers of Machinery, carrying on business under the firm of Slaughter, Gruning, and Company, was this day dissolved, as on and from the 31st day of December last, by mutual consent, so far as the said Robert Stephen Cuthbertson is concerned, who retires therefrom....'[5]
1861 The company was employing 680 men and 98 boys [6]
1864-6 Four engines for London Main Drainage (Deptford Station)
1864 With Edward Slaughter still in control, the company became the Avonside Engine Co. Mr. Slaughter retained the engineering and general management, taking the title of Managing Director, which post he held until 1873, when failing health induced him to abandon active work.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ 'Avonside Ironworks, Bristol' by John Cattell, BIAS Journal 30 1997 (Bristol Industrial Archeological Society)
- ↑ The Standard, Thursday, July 20, 1843
- ↑ The London Gazette Publication date:6 August 1850 Issue:21124 Page:217
- ↑ 1852-53 Slater's Directory of Berkshire, Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire etc.
- ↑ The London Gazette Publication date:2 March 1860 Issue:22362 Page:920
- ↑ 1861 Census
- British Steam Locomotive Builders by James W. Lowe. Published in 1975. ISBN 0-905100-816
- The Imperial Journal 1852 Volume II. p344
- The Steam Engine in Industry by George Watkins in two volumes. Moorland Publishing. 1978. ISBN 0-903485-65-6