Grace's Guide
British Industrial History
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Hall, Powell and Scott
From Graces Guide
Also known as John Hall, Powell & Scott, of Rouen, France
Engineers, ironfounders, makers of steam engines and textile machinery.
A French source provides the following information on the partners: John Davis Hall (b.1809); Thomas Powell (b. Glamorganshire, 1802, d. Rouen 1864); Evan Samuel Scott (b.1789 in London, d.1867 in Rouen)[1]
John Davis Hall (1809-1855), a millwright, had been baptised in Dartford; he married Rosetta Langdale (or Landale). Some or all of their children were born in Rouen.
The son of Thomas Powell (also Thomas) was a cousin of H. C. Powell, also born in Glamorganshire[2]. Was the elder Thomas Powell formerly an employee of J. and E. Hall??.
Was Scott related to the later business of Thomas Scott (Rouen)?
1817 Hall & Co installed the first steam engine (of 10 HP) in Rouen at a cotton mill, 10 HP.
c.1830 John Hall installed the first 'roue mécanique à engrenage' in France, at Sevres.
In the same era, the firm of John Hall, Powell & Scott at Rouen, existed at 13 rue de Sotteville. [3]. The 'roue mécanique à engrenage' at Sevres was a 21 ft diameter iron waterwheel with a geared rim. The buckets and spokes were wrought iron, the rim and shaft being cast iron[4]
1832 The business was founded by Mr. Hall; the name of the company came from three engineers who had previously worked for the Hall company of Dartford in England.
1836 John Hall, Powell & Scott at 17 rue de Sotteville, Rouen, advertised that they were opening a factory for the manufacture of medium and high pressure steam engines, hydraulic machinery, paper-making machinery, oil and flour mills, rolling and slitting mills, etc. Similar products to those made in Dartford by J & E Hall, in fact.[5]
',....a two-cylinder steam engine built by E. W. Windsor. The construction of these machines made the name of the company, and of Rouen engineering. The Windsor machine-building workshops had been founded in 1832 by Mr. Hall, under the company name of Hall, Powell and Scott, after three engineers who had previously worked for the Hall company of Dartford in England. They were bought up by Mr. Windsor who ran them before handing over to his son.' [6]
The firm's product range, the name John Hall, and the Dartford connection all suggest a link with J. and E. Hall of Dartford. John Hall Sr. had sent his son Edward (1799-1875) to Paris in 1817 as their overseas representative. He remained there until recalled on his father's death in 1836. However, no direct connection has so far been identified between this firm and J and E Hall.
The Hall family also constructed a steam engine factory in Lyon.
1850 Edwin Nicholas Windsor became proprietor of the works.
c1860 Edwin Wells Windsor became a partner
1883 Edwin Wells Windsor had sole control of the business. Presumably it then became E. W. Windsor et Cie
- The supply of engines and other equipment to Northern Spain by Hall, Powell and Scott and by other French and British companies (including John Hall of Dartford) was examined by Olivier Raveux.[7]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ [1] Les Anglais en France, et plus particulièrement en Normandie, dans la 'révolution industriel' (1715-1880) by Serge Chassagne: Études Normandes Année 2013 62-2 pp. 121-140
- ↑ Obituary of H C Powell
- ↑ [2] 'La Draperie d'Elbeuf, des Origines à 1870' by Alain Becchia, 2000.
- ↑ p.29, 'A History of Technology and Invention - Progress through the Ages - The Expansion of Mechanization: 1725-1860' Edited by Maurice Daumas, translated from French by Eileen B. Hennessy, Crown Publishers Inc. First published in France in 1968 as 'Histoire Générale des Techniques'
- ↑ [3] Le Journal de Rouen, 16 August 1836
- ↑ [4] Archexpo website
- ↑ [5] 'Le Marché de l'Innovation' by Olivier Raveux, in 'Sortir du labyrinthe: Études d'histoire contemporaine de l'Espagne', edited by Xavier Huetz de Lemps, Jean-Philippe Luis, Madrid, Casa de Velasquez, 2012