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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Yorkshire (East Riding & York) => Topic started by: suttontrust on Sunday 05 August 07 09:42 BST (UK)
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A friend insists that her grandfather owned the Vulcan iron Works in Hull, but I can find no evidence for this. He was William Henry Smith, b.1863, and in 1901 he was still in Doncaster. In the directories of the 1890s the iron works were in Wincolmlee and Scott Street, and were owned by Tindall and later, at the start of the 20th century, were owned by Tindall, Earle and Hutchinson. I know I need to do more work in the local studies library and the record office, but that's not easy at the moment and I wondered if anyone had any knowledge of the company.
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Hello sutontrust,
Perhaps it was the Sheffield Vulcan Works, is it worth a look in the Whites Sheffield Directories
A Vulcan made of stainless steel now sits on a roundabout in the Tinsley Park Area near where one of the Vulcan works was situated.
http://www.historicaldirectories.org/ has a good online search facility.
Regards Oly
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Hi, Oly. It was definitely Hull. We know where it was, and perhaps Smith worked there rather than owning the firm.
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Hi Suttontrust,
It was definately in Hull- corner Scott Street and Catherine Street (near Wincolmlee).
See link below for pictures taken by myself in the mid-80's. I have a copy of a 19th Century engraving of what is obviously the same building but labelled as the "Vulcan Iron Works". I'll dig out and post.
http://sculcoates.mysite.orange.co.uk
(see "Around Scott Street" and "Further Views")
Wincolmlee
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Engraving of Vulcan Iron Works attached (unfortunately in negative due to scanner difficulties). The view shown is the Scott Street frontage.
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That's terrific, many thanks.
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You might have already found this information, which shows the owners of the building, but in case you haven't I've pasted a web page url below which is on the Hull Museum website and shows this:
Location on Display:
Streetlife Museum - Streetscene
Accession No:
KINCM:2006.14841.9
Brief Description:
Wrought Iron lamp post on an large iron box base, with a hinged door on both sides and 'H Smith & Co, Electrical Engineers, Vulcan Iron Works, Hull' on a plaque, with small arms near top, six sided lamp with decorative top and finial
http://www.hullcc.gov.uk/museumcollections/collections/search-results/display.php?irn=63305&SearchSubmit_x=1&accessionnumber=&keywords=on&keywordsorig=&placeorig=&titleorig=&ImagesOnly=yes&Sender=List&Page=181
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Thanks so much. If it was the same Smith (and that may be a big "if") then my friend was right.
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The A2A manorial website shows that the Vulcan Iron Works was divided into lots for sale in 1904.
Maybe he bought one lot? Hull history centre has the records:-
Plan of the Vulcan Iron Works, Wincomlee, in lots for sale DBR/1785 1904>>
For interest: <<Vulcan Iron Works was the name of several iron foundries in England during the Industrial Revolution. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and smithery, was a popular namesake for these foundries.>>
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I echo the bit about how often Vulcan was used- perhaps the most famous nationally was the Vulcan Foundry in Newton le Willows. Here's a couple of views of "ours" from the 1980s when it was a derelict warehouse:
http://www.davidjessop.co.uk/morewincolmleearea.html
Regards,
Wincolmlee
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Apologies, I have come to this conversation rather late. The Vulcan Iron Works was established in 1843 by Fowler and McCollin for the manufacture of marine and land engines and boilers and the premises were extended in 1865. The partnership between William Fowler and William McCollin was dissolved in 1877 and the business passed over to Mssrs Tindall and Co and then Tindall, Earle and Hutchinson until being wound up in 1904. The works was sold in lots. The Hull Daily Mail reports on Nov 29, 1910 that Henry Smith, marine store dealer, of Henry Smith & Co, Vulcan Works, was summoned for failing to keep records of purchases in Hull Police Court. Presumably, said Henry bought one of the lots in 1904 but I don't know whether he occupied a part or whole of the works.
I am a descendant of William McCollin and more can be found here of Fowler & McCollin on my archived website:
https://www.oocities.org/d_mccollin/maleline2.html
PS. I'd love to see the original of the engraving above. My email can be found on the homepage of the above website.
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Hi d_McCollin and welcome to Rootschat, I have turned the image into a positive one for you Photoshopped it to smarten it up.
Carol
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Treetotal
That's great! Thanks! I am curious to know where the image came from. Is it contemporary or a recent re-creation?
Thanks!
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The member who posted it, Wincomlee has the negative but he hasn't been on Rootschat since May 2019 ::)
I just downloaded it, turned it into a positive image and then cleaned and toned it in Photoshop.
Carol
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Thanks Carol, you're a star!
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Dear All,
I've attempted to post the original photos taken in the 1980s (the earlier link doesn't work as I've suspended the website due to image piracy on the Facebook local groups).
My jpegs are too big to post- I'll try re-scanning on lower resolution and give it another go.
The main entrance with the curved fanlight, prominent in the engraving, was on the Scott Street elevation The photos show the bit extending to Catherine street which appears to have been added later.
Best wishes,
Wincolmlee
PS: I understand Vulcan was the Roman god of fire, blacksmiths and various other related trades, hence to common generic use in names of foundries and similar.
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Hi Wincolmlee...Maybe it would be a good idea to send a PM to Mc.Collin and send the images privately to protect the images.
Carol
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Thanks Carol-
Good idea.
I'm happy to put this one on for now.
Scott Street in foreground, Grosvenor Oil Mill (near Scott St. bridge) LH background.
Hull Hydraulic Power Co. in Machell Street extreme RHS.
The engraving bit is clearly identifiable to the left.
Best,
W
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Great photo...brightened it up a bit.
Carol
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Well done, Carol
A bit off topic but could anyone estimate the height of the building from the ground to the gutters, it would be interesting to model it for OH's new railway layout.
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Yes- nicely lightened. It's hard top believe I took that in the mid 80s, it looks so much older!
Height-wise- approx 20 brick courses from ground level to bottom of lower widows (20 x 3" = 5')
Total height approx 5x this measurement so height to eaves roughly 25'
Another height trick on older buildings with cast iron drainpipes which the fire brigade used for pitching and extending ladders was to assume 6' per complete drainpipe section. Unfortunately, the sections can't be made out here, even on the original, hence the brick course method.
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Wincolmlee, thank you