Matthew Boulton

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Matthew Boulton.

Sarehole Mill's blue plaque commemorating Matthew Boulton

Matthew Boulton (September 3, 1728 – 18 August 1809) was an English manufacturer and engineer.

Boulton was born in Birmingham, England where his father, Matthew Boulton the elder, was a "toymaker" (a manufacturer of small metal articles of various kinds). In 1749 he became a partner in his father's business (and the general manager), and in 1755 the Boultons acquired Sarehole Mill, which they used for rolling sheet metal. In 1756 Boulton married Mary Robinson, a distant cousin and heir to a large fortune. They had no children and she died around 1760.

Shortly after his father's death in 1759, Boulton went into partnership with John Fothergill. In 1762, they established the Soho Manufactory, two miles north of Birmingham. Here they undertook the manufacture of artistic objects in metal, such as his cut steel buttons, earlier marcasite imitations of diamonds, that were very popular in British society, as well as the reproduction of oil paintings by a mechanical process in which he was associated with Francis Egginton (1737-1805), who subsequently achieved a reputation as a worker in stained or enamelled glass. In this, he was also encouraged by Robert Adam. Between 1762 and 1775 he established a strong reputation as a craftsman; his works at Soho were widely known for excellent and artistic workmanship.

About 1767, Boulton, needing to improve the power supply for his machinery, made the acquaintance of James Watt, who on his side appreciated the advantages offered by the Soho works for the development of his steam-engine.

In 1772, Watt's partner, Dr. John Roebuck, got into financial difficulties, and Boulton, to whom he owed £1200, accepted his two-thirds share in Watt's patent in satisfaction of the debt. Three years later, Boulton and Watt formally entered into partnership, and it was mainly through the energy and self-sacrifice of the former, who devoted all the capital he had or could borrow to the enterprise, that the steam engine was at length made a commercial success. For 11 years the Soho Foundry made Watt's steam-engines for colliery owners to pump water out of mines, the Boulton & Watt engine being four times more powerful than Thomas Newcomen's original design. Watt marketed his rotary-motion steam engine from 1781. The earlier steam engine's vertical movement was ideal for operating water pumps but the new engine could be adapted to drive all sorts of machinery. Richard Arkwright pioneered its use in his cotton mills and within 15 years there were 500+ Boulton & Watt steam engines in British factories and mines. Boulton also arranged, in 1775, an act of parliament extending the term of Watt's 1769 patent to 1799. In 1800, the two partners retired from the business, which they handed over to their sons, Matthew Robinson Boulton and James Watt Junior.

In 1788, Boulton turned his attention to coining machinery, and erected at Soho a complete plant with which he struck coins for the Sierra Leone and East India companies and for Russia, and in 1797, produced a new copper coinage for Britain. Also in 1797, he took out a patent in connection with raising water on the principle of the hydraulic ram.

Boulton married his late wife's sister Anne (Nancy) at about this time - the marriage was contrary to ecclesiastical law, being considered incestuous, so it was conducted in obscure circumstances.

The Boultons had a daughter, Anne (died 1829), and a son, Matthew Robinson Boulton (1770-1842).

He died at Birmingham on August 18, 1809. He is buried in the grounds of St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, in Birmingham.

Boulton was a key member of the Lunar Society. His home, Soho House, is now a museum. An extensive archive of his papers are at Birmingham Central Library.

He is also remembered by the Moonstones; a statue of him, Watt and Murdoch, by William Bloye, Matthew Boulton College, and Boulton Road, all in Birmingham. There is also a Boulton Road in Smethwick.

[edit] Key innovations

Boulton's secret to improving workers' productivity was by equipping his works with all kinds of labour-saving devices made by the use of clever designs with interchangeable components, and making use of technology to reproduce designs, each of which was efficiently manufactured in quantity.
Instead of putting work out in the traditional way to toymakers around the town, he brought all the functions of a modern business, including design and marketing, under his control.
In the 1770s he introduced a very early social insurance scheme, funded by workers' contributions of 1/60th of their wages, and which paid benefits of up to 80% of wages to staff who were sick or injured or killed.
He ensured that the works were clean, well lit and well ventilated.
He refused to employ young children.

[edit] References

The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World by Jenny Uglow (Faber & Faber, 2002)
A History of the Button by Roy Earnshaw (Lands' End Catalog: March 1989, Volume 25, Number 3)