Dewrance & Co. Ltd

Dewrance & Co. Ltd was a manufacturer of engine and boiler accessories, such as pumps and gauges.

Dewrance & Co. Ltd
IndustryEngineering
FateAcquired by Babcock & Wilcox Ltd
Founded1835 (1835) in London
Founder
  • John Dewrance (senior)
  • Joseph Woods
ProductsBoiler tubes, valves, gauges

History

It was established in London in 1835 as a partnership by Joseph Woods, with John Dewrance. It was involved in the building of the locomotive Lion in 1838 for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.[1] In 1844 after Wood's death the firm became a company specialising in manufacturing engine and boiler accessories. It produced a brass pressure gauge for Lloyd's Register of shipping to pressure-test ships' boilers before insuring them.[2] Such gauges have become collectable.[3] A pair are on display at the Internal Fire – Museum of Power.[4]

Dewrance died in 1861 and left the business to his son.[5] The firm's introduction of the groove-packed plug cock in 1875 was a major innovation because it made steam safety valves easier to operate.[6] Sir John Dewrance,[7] who was married to the granddaughter of Richard Trevithick took over the business in 1879.[8] In 1937 after Dewrance's death it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox Ltd.[8]

In 1961 it had 2,000 employees.[5]

The firm was sold by Dresser Industries in 1998 to Tyco International. It was then operating from Skelmersdale.[9]

Dewrance family

John Dewrance

John Dewrance conducted experiments on the distribution of heat in steam boilers.[10] There are claims he was responsible for the construction of George Stephenson’s locomotive the Rocket and for supporting it at the Rainhill trials.[9][lower-alpha 1] He was appointed Locomotive Superintendent of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway from 1840 to 1844 during which time his 2-2-2 designs at the Edge Hil workshops were noted for their neatness.[11]

In October 1845 he entered the employ of the Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland and was selected from three candidates as Locomotive Superintendent in March 1847 at a salary of £300 pera anuum with housing assistance.[lower-alpha 2] He was immediately seconded to locomotive manufacturer William Fairbairn & Sons, Millwall, London to gain experience. Following a review in October 1947 his services were dispensed with due to claim his remuneration was inappropriately high for his abilities.[13] He was then appointed Locomotive Superintendent by the rival Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) of Ireland, again for £300 per annum with a house in Cabra Road, Dublin.[14] Following the decision of the MGWR director's to let the operation of the line Dewrance was released with three months salary.[14]

Dewrance died in 1861 and left the business to his son.[15][5]

Sir John Dewrance

Sir John Dewrance, who was educated at Charterhouse and then at King's College London before marrying the granddaughter of Richard Trevithick, took over the business in 1879.[7][16][8] He took out 114 patents relating to steam fittings and boiler mountings.[17] He was involved with the Primrose League. In 1899 he became chairman of Babcock & Wilcox Ltd.[18] From 1920 to 1926 he was the President of the Engineering Employers’ Federation.[19]

Dewrance died in 1937 with the firm becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox Ltd.[8][20]

The Sir John Dewrance prize is awarded to the two best mechanical engineering students each year at City University.[21]

Recognition

One of the GWR Hawthorn Class locomotives built by Slaughter, Grüning and Company was named after the company in 1865.[22] British Empire Medals were awarded to Arthur Edgar Caswallon Evans, a Brass Turner in the 1946 New Year Honours,[23][24] to Jasper Sidney Jeal, a Centre Lathe Turner in the 1953 Coronation Honours[25] and to Maud Unwin, a Fettler, in the 1956 New Year Honours.[26] James McWaters Storey, the Managing Director, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1959 New Year Honours.[27]

The firm's archives are held in the British National Archives.[28]

Notes
  1. The single current source with the Rocket claim may not be independent,[9] and some may claim this was unlikely. If Dewrance could be linked with George Stephenson's firm then association with the Rocket might be entirely possible and his positioned at the L&MR to aid servicing of Stephenson's locomotives would then be very reasonable but there is no current sourcing to support this.
  2. The 1974 work Murray and MacNeill claim Dewrance was Locomotive Superintendent or equivalent since 1844.[12]

References
  1. "History of The Locomotive 'Lion' - Part 2". The Engineer. 14 November 1930. p. 535. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. "Brass Pressure Gauge by Dewrance London". Gilai Collectibles. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  3. "Antique Brass Steam Gauge Dewrance & Co. London Railroad Steam Engine Gauge". Bid or buy. 19 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  4. "Twin Gauge Board". Internal Fire Museum. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  5. "Dewrance and Co". Graces Guide to British Industrial History. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  6. "Valve history". Stoneleigh Engineering Services. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  7. Ross, HM (2004). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  8. "Dewrance". Chase International. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  9. Tyco (1999), p. 2.
  10. Clark, Daniel Kinnear (1824). The Steam Engine, 4: A Treatise on Engines and Boilers. Blackie and Son. p. 76. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  11. Donaghy (1972), p. 51.
  12. Murray & McNeill (1976), p. 197.
  13. Clements, McMahon & O'Rourke (2020), p. 33.
  14. Shepherd (1994), p. 82.
  15. "John Dewrance (d.1861)". Graces Guide to British Industrial History. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  16. "John Dewrance - Graces Guide". www.gracesguide.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  17. "Nautical Magazine". 1874. p. 94.
  18. "John Dewrance: father & son". Steam Index. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  19. Wigham, Eric (1973). "Appendix L". The Power to Manage: A History of the Engineering Employers' Federation. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-349-01264-0.
  20. "John Dewrance". Graces Guide to British Industrial History. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  21. Teague, S John (1980). The City University, a history (PDF). City University of London. p. 211. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  22. Sheppard, Geof (2008). Broad Gauge Locomotives. Southampton: Noodle Books. ISBN 978-1-906419-09-7.
  23. United Kingdom list (1): "No. 37407". The London Gazette. 28 December 1945.
  24. United Kingdom list (2): "No. 37412". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1945.
  25. "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1953.
  26. "No. 40669". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1955.
  27. "No. 41589". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1958.
  28. "Dewrance & Co Ltd, engineers". The National Archives. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  • Clements, Jeremy; McMahon, Michael; O'Rourke, Alan (2020). Locomotives of the Great Southern and Western Railway. County Louth: Collon Publishing. ISBN 9781527270282.
  • Dewrance Sir J 1912, letter to Science Museum, Nominal file 565
  • Donaghy, Thomas J (1972). Liverpool & Manchester Railway operations, 1831-1845. Newton Abbot, Devon: David and Charles. ISBN 9780715357057. OCLC 637059.
  • Hastings R 1843, The Chemist, Volume 4
  • Knight J & Lacey H 1844, The Mechanics Magazine, Volume 41
  • Murray, K.A.; McNeill, D.B. (1976). Great Southern & Western Railway. Dublin: Irish Railway Record Society. ISBN 0-904078-05-1.
  • Shepherd, W. Ernest (1994). The Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland: An Illustrated History. Leicester: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-008-7. OCLC 32627031.
  • Sheppard, Geof (2008). Broad Gauge Locomotives. Southampton: Noodle Books. ISBN 978-1-906419-09-7.
  • Thomas, R.H.G. 1960, The Liverpool & Manchester Railway, Batsford, London
  • Transactions 1938, Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, Volume 81
  • Tyco (1999). "Dewrance" (PDF). Tyco International. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)</ref>

Further reading
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