History in Structure

Soho Foundry Former Boulton and Watt Foundry Pattern Stores and Erecting Shops

A Grade II* Listed Building in Smethwick, Sandwell

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Coordinates

Latitude: 52.4975 / 52°29'50"N

Longitude: -1.9512 / 1°57'4"W

OS Eastings: 403408

OS Northings: 288841

OS Grid: SP034888

Mapcode National: GBR 5N2.1L

Mapcode Global: VH9YW.4HB9

Plus Code: 9C4WF2WX+XG

Entry Name: Soho Foundry Former Boulton and Watt Foundry Pattern Stores and Erecting Shops

Listing Date: 26 June 1996

Last Amended: 23 July 1997

Grade: II*

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1268451

English Heritage Legacy ID: 461800

ID on this website: 101268451

Location: Soho, Sandwell, West Midlands, B66

County: Sandwell

Electoral Ward/Division: Soho and Victoria

Parish: Non Civil Parish

Built-Up Area: Smethwick

Traditional County: Staffordshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): West Midlands

Church of England Parish: Smethwick The Resurrection

Church of England Diocese: Birmingham

Tagged with: Foundry

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Description


SP 08 NW SANDWELL FOUNDRY LANE
(west side), Smethwick

1868/9/10012 Soho Foundry: former
Boulton & Watt Foundry,
Pattern Stores and
Erecting Shops
26.6.96

GV II*

Foundry, pattern stores and erecting shops. Built 1794-95 for Matthew Boulton & James Watt, extended 1800 and later C19 and C20 alterations; pattern stores 1797, extended 1799-1800, 1809,1845 and later C19. Red brick. Belfast truss roofs clad in corrugated sheet steel with ventilation louvres on the ridges and brick coped gable ends. PLAN: rectangular plan foundry with casting pit and boring mill at east end, extended to west c1800 and late C19 parallel range added on north sicre. Along the north side of the original foundry a tunnel leads to a long range of pattern stores to the north-west, extended northwards in 1799-1800 and 1809, with 1845 pattern store at south-east end, on site of 1799 sand bins, wider late C19 pattern store and pattern shop built above. To the north of the original foundry a large erecting shop was added in 1850. EXTERIOR: 20 bays 3 tiers of segmentally arched windows, some blocked, below corbelled brick eaves. The gable ends have large blocked round arched openings with 3 oculi above.
INTERIOR: two orders of blind arches in the walls with buttresses between, at the east end is the casting pit arid boring mill, on the north side of the original foundry a long vaulted brick tunnel leading to the
long range of vaulted pattern stores to the north-west. HISTORY: in 1794 Matthew Boulton &James Watt established the firm of Boulton & Watt, and in 1794-95 they built the Soho Foundry to manufacture steam engines more efficiently. Matthew Boulton had required a power source for his earlier factory (the Soho Manufactory, demolished 1860) and James Watt had been called in to act as a consultant, eventually resulting in their historic partnership. At the new Soho Foundry Boulton and Watt produced, for the first time, complete steam engines, making and assembling all the separate components on one site.
From 1798 the foundry manager was William Murdock, engineer and inventor of gas-lighting, which was installed at the Soho Foundry from 1800-03, making it one of the earliest factories to be lit by gas-light.


Listing NGR: SP0340888841

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