Walter Taylor (Southampton)
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Walter Taylor (1734-1803)[1] of Southampton, supplied wooden rigging blocks to the Royal Navy[1], greatly improving their quality[1] via technological innovations which were a significant step forward in the Industrial Revolution[1].
From the age of 19[1], Walter Taylor served as an apprentice to a block maker in Southampton[1]. His father (also named Walter) had previously served at sea and had observed the problems caused by these blocks, which were traditionally handmade[1].
On acquiring the blockmaking business, Walter Taylor and his father developed machinery to mass produce the rigging blocks[1], repeatedly and to an exact specification[1]. Subsequent developments led to the date stamping of blocks, and a commitment to replace any that failed[1].
Walter Taylor subsequently established a sawmill on a stream that runs through what is now Mayfield Park in Southampton[1]. In 1781[1], he moved to Woodmill, Southampton where there was a better supply of water and room to power some of the equipment by steam engines[1].
Walter Taylor was sole supplier of blocks to the Royal Navy from 1759 [1], supplying 100,000 blocks a year[1], until his death and succession by Marc Isambard Brunels more advanced machinery[1] in 1803.
