Ardwick Engineering Co
The Ardwick Engineering & Machine Co of Bennett Street, Ardwick, Manchester
1895 Cold sawing machine featured in The Marine Engineer
1898 Makers of small stationary and marine steam engines and gas engines, and 'drilling machines for amateurs' (presumably hand-powered). An item in 'The Engineer' reported that they had completed two triple expansion engines with cylinder bores of 2.25", 3.5" and 5" bore, 5" stroke for colonial users[1]
1898 Producing marine engines of the 'Compact' type for Calcutta, the Falkland Islands, Russia and Finland[2]
1898 It was reported that the firm had recently supplied four compound condensing marine engines, cylinder diameters 5" (HP) and 8½" (LP), stroke 5½". The had also introduced an improved small power gas engine 'in which a tappet arrangement is adopted in place of the usual rotary mechanism' [3]
1901 Supplied three sets of 40 HP propulsion machinery for tugs in South America, comprising engine, boiler, stern tube, propellor and shafts. Also making steam car engines of 6-7 HP at 125 psi.[4]
1903 Advertising the 'Compact' oil and gas engines in ¼, ½, and 1 bhp sizes (see photo). They would also supply castings, forgings and drawings for making the engines[5]
1903 Slater's Manchester, Salford & Suburban Directory, 1903 (Part 2) identifies Atkinson & Leather as the proprietors of the Ardwick Engineering & Machine Co. Atkinson's home address: 73 South St.
1910 Partnership dissolved between Charles Atkinson and Thomas Picton Leather, Engineers, of Bennett Street Iron Works, Ardwick [6]Slater's Manchester, Salford & Suburban Directory, 1911 (Part 1) lists C Atkinson, Engineers, at 12 Bennett Street
- The remains of a small vertical gas engine are on display at the Anson Engine Museum (see photos)
- 12 Bennett Street was on the right hand side of the street heading north east from Hyde Road. It is clear from the 1915/1922 O.S. map [7] that all the visible premises in the row comprising Nos 2-12 were small terraced houses. This suggests that the works occupied one or more railway arches in the viaduct which cut through the row. This seems to be supported by photographs taken in 1964 and 1972 [8] [9] [10]
Sources of Information
Sources of Information
- ↑ ‘The Engineer’ 14th January 1898
- ↑ ‘The Engineer’ 30th September 1898
- ↑ [1] Otago Daily Times (NZ), 3 March 1898
- ↑ [2] The Engineer, 10 May 1901
- ↑ 'Model Engineer and Electrician' 10 September 1903
- ↑ The London Gazette May 6, 1910
- ↑ The Godfrey Edition Old Ordnance Survey Map 'Manchester (SE) 1915' [3]
- ↑ [4] Manchester City Council Images Collection photograph, 1964 ref m10890
- ↑ [5]Manchester City Council Images Collection photograph ref m10893, 1972
- ↑ [6] Manchester City Council Images Collection 'Search' page