Bridewell Museum, Norwich
The Bridewell is Norwich's museum of crafts and industry, it has a fascinating selection of local artefacts including clocks, shoe and textile machinery the first machine for 'knitting' wire netting, there are also some stationary steam engines on display.
The ex Bagges Brewery single cylinder rotative Beam Engine is the undoubted gem of the collection, small and ancient (reputedly 1840) it is a beautifully proportioned single cylinder, single column (with cast 'A' braces) engine with parallel motion and gab eccentric driven slide valve. The quality of workmanship is excellent.
Valve chest and Gab handle, showing the exhaust pipe just to the right of the top lagging band - the most fascinating feature of this engine is the exhaust pipe emerging from the opposite side of the cylinder from the slide valve - implying some form of annular exhaust passage around the cylinder which cannot have been good for thermal efficiency. The Pickering governor is not original
Beam pivot , beam and parallel motion.
The beam appears to have been turned at each end - a refinement not often encountered and very effective !
It is thought to be a product of Tuxfords of Boston and is an early example of preservation, it is however dead and like the other engines in the museum, unlikely to steam again in its present location.
This drawing by Mr Geoffrey K.King conjectures what the engine may originally have looked like - Mr King, should you see this, please make contact as I have been trying to trace you for some time.
The little steam engine corner features a vertical single cylinder Robert Tidman organ engine of the 1880's in the background, this would have been mounted on a centre engine from a fairground ride such as a set of gallopers to drive a fairground organ. (Of the three significant fairground centre engine makers two were from Norfolk, Tidmans in Norwich, Savages in Kings Lynn, the third being Walkers of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire)
This unique 1880 Sturgess and Towlson (Vulcan Ironworks, Coslany, Norwich) reversing vee twin launch engine is sole survivor of a peculiar design from a local maker, it originally powered the steam launch 'Vivid'.
The small horizontal vis a vis steam water pump has been attributed to Riches and Watts of Dukes Palace Ironworks, once used by local well borers W & G Fake. It's attribution cannot be ignored as it was by the late Ronald H Clark, who restored and presented it and the Vee twin, however from all the information so far seen there is no feature of this engine which matches any of the practices of R & W yet found.
This small horizontal is also by Robert Tidman - as it worked at Steward and Pattersons Pockthorpe Brewery in Norwich, (probably driving an economiser plant in the boiler house) it is on display in the brewing section of the msueum.
A small model of a horizontal engine hides on a window sill visible only from Bridewell Alley.
This is the original Barnard wire netting 'knitting' machine - a major breakthrough when it is considered how many miles were used in Australia alone for rabbit control.
Sadly no longer on accessible display in an easily visible position is this ancient lathe, the building of which is credited to Johnson Jex, blacksmith, clock and watchmaker (and builder of an all iron cello !) at Letheringsett in North Norfolk, bearing in mind the date either Jex had inside information with regard to Messrs Maudslay and Whitworth's work, or vice versa. An ornamental turning lathe by Edward Hines along with some tooling and examples of it's work is on display in a better setting, sadly, Hines effectively ceased to exist as a recognisable company in 1999.
An 1880's horse drawn Shand Mason steam firepump from J J Colmans Carrow Mustard works completes the steam collection, this was used mounted on a barge or lighter as most of Colmans works bordered the river Wensum, it is noted that with the fire hoses directed to the back of this conveyance it could 'jet' propel itself at 4 miles per hour !
Well worth a visit if in Norwich.
Telephone 01603 667228