Smith, Beacock and Tannett
of Victoria Foundry, Water Lane, Holbeck, Leeds, manufacturer of machine tools.
1837 Formation of the firm
1838 Supplied a small steam engine to drive printing presses at the Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser.[1]
1841 Partnership changed. '...the Partnership heretofore subsisting and carried on, under the firm of Smith, Beacock, and Tannett, at the Victoria Foundry, in Leeds, in the county of York, as Machine Makers, was, on the 1st day of July instant, dissolved, by mutual consent, so far only as regards Robert Taylor, Samuel Fletcher, and Abel Archer, three of the partners therein. All debts owing to and by the said partnership concern will be received and paid by Smith, Beacock, and Tannett, as heretofore.- Dated this 16th day of July 1841. James Smith, Robert Beacock, Thomas Tannett, Robert Taylor, Samuel Fletcher and Abel Archer.'[2]
1843 Acquired the Round Foundry formerly used by Matthew Murray.
1849 Partnership Changed. '...the Partnership heretofore subsisting and carried on under the firm of Smith, Beacock and Tannett, at the Victoria Foundry, in Leeds, in the county of York, by us the undersigned, Robert Beacock, Thomas Tannett and Michael Asquith, was on the 3d day of February instant, dissolved by mutual consent, so far only as relates to the said Michael Asquith,...'[3]
1851 Award at the 1851 Great Exhibition. See details at 1851 Great Exhibition: Reports of the Juries: Class VI.
1851 Employing 262 persons.
c1853 Samson Fox was an apprentice here.
1861 Employs 422 men and 172 boys.[4]
1871 Travelling head shaping machine at Armley Mill Museum.
1866 Partnership Changed. '...the Partnership heretofore subsisting and carried on under the firm of Smith, Beacock, and Tannett, at the Victoria Foundry, in Leeds, in the county of York, by us the undersigned, Robert Beacock, Thomas Tannett, and George Pybus, was, on the 8th day of August instant, dissolved by mutual consent, so far only as relates to the said George Pybus...'[5]
1871 Employing 290 men 90 boys.[6]
1876 Members of the Iron and Steel Institute visited their machine and tool making works.
1877 Partnership Changed. '...the Partnership heretofore 11 subsisting and carried on under the firm of Smith, Beacock, and Tannett, at the Victoria Foundry, in Leeds, in the county of York, as Machine Tool Makers, by us the the undersigned, Joseph Craven, Joseph Lucas, John Thomas Tannett, and John Craven, was, on the date hereof, dissolved, by mutual consent, so far only as relates to the said Joseph Lucas....'[7]
1880 Barrow's screwing machine: 'In our notice last week of the works of the Barrow Shipbuilding Company, we mentioned briefly a large screwing machine on Mr. Barrow's system which was turning out excellent work. ... Mr. Barrow's screwing and turning machine may be described as a lathe with its motion reversed - the tools moving instead of the work and fitted with two sets of duplex tool rests. By the side of the machine at the Barrow Shipbuilding Works were shown a number of specimens, including a square-threaded tender brake screw which had been sent from the North Eastern Railway Works at Gateshead, and which was the 250th screw which had been cut by one set of dies without sharpening. The screw was an excellent one.'[8]
1882 5-ton overhead travelling crane for Monkbridge Ironworks, powered by square line-shaft.
1892 Description and engravings of a planing
machine and a slotting machine, supplied to Carnegie, Phipps and Co. The planer was designed to plane armour plates up to 3Oft. long by 10ft. by 5ft., and to
plane both ways, and fitted with a cross-breast slide, also
to plane both ways. The weight of the machine was over
120 tons.
In 1891 Smith, Beaoock, and Tannett had made for
Carnegie, along with other machine tools for cutting
armour plates, the double-headed armour-plate slotting
machine with a bed 35ft. long. There
were two strong cross-slides, each with standards cast thereto,
admitting in width 6ft. 6in. and 20in. thickness of armour
plate. The machine had strong carriages and slotting rams,
with adjustable strokes up to 20in., with quick return double-purchase driving gear, and balance weights slightly in excess
of that of the rams. [9]. See illustrations.
1896 Taken over by Greenwood and Batley.
Gottlieb Daimler worked in the engine shop of this company when he first went to Leeds.
Notes
Large lathe at Armley Mill Museum
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser, 31 March 1838
- ↑ The London Gazette Publication date:13 August 1841 Issue:20007 Page:2080]
- ↑ The London Gazette Publication date:27 February 1849 Issue:20950 Page:681]
- ↑ 1861 Census
- ↑ The London Gazette Publication date:14 August 1866 Issue:23151 Page:4559
- ↑ 1871 Census
- ↑ The London Gazette Publication date:19 June 1877 Issue:24474 Page:3749
- ↑ Engineering 1880/08/13
- ↑ The Engineer 1902/01/17]]
- The Engineer of 15th August 1876 p180
- The Engineer of 28th July 1882 p64