Blackstone & Co
 Blackstones original company building Broad Street, Stamford | |
| Industry | Agricultural engineering, diesel engines |
|---|---|
| Fate | Sold to MAN SE |
| Successor | Mirrlees Blackstone |
| Founded | January 29, 1889 |
| Founder | Edward Blackstone |
| Headquarters | Rutland Works, Stamford, Lincolnshire |
| Products | Diesel engines |
| Parent |
Lister Hawker Siddeley |
Blackstone & Co. was a farm implement maker at Stamford, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom.
History
Edward Blackstone was born in 1851.[1] In 1877 he became a partner in Jeffery and Blackstone[2] This company became the limited company Blackstone & Co on 29 January 1889.
Diesel engines
In 1896 they built lamp start oil engines. By 1912 they had developed a new internal combustion engine that ran on vaporising oil and was fired by a spark. It did not need a hot bulb like most engines of the time. By 1919 they had mounted a 25 hp 3 cylinder version in a crawler tractor, which they built till 1925.
By 1929 they were building diesel engines for the Agricultural & General Engineers (AGE) group. Richard Garrett & Sons assembled some of these tractors. They were similar to an International 15/30. AGE collapsed in 1932.
Mergers
After the collapse of AGE, Blackstone & Co. continued as an engine builder and was taken over by R A Lister and Company in 1937 to form Lister Blackstone.[3]
Hawker Siddeley
R A Lister & Company was taken over by the Hawker Siddeley Group in 1965 and, in a later re-organisation, Lister became Lister Petter and Blackstone became Mirrlees Blackstone.
Closure
Mirrlees Blackstone were bought by MAN Diesel, along with the diesel businesses of the collapsed GEC, although little remains. The Stockport factory has been partly demolished and replaced with a new office and warehouse facility which still serves the aftermarket for spares and servicing of Lister Blackstone engines under the MAN Diesel & Turbo tagline. The Blackstone name lives on with the Blackstones F.C.. Bespoke engines can still be supplied by D F Coulam Ltd to special order www.dfcspares.com
Products
- Marine diesel engines
- Shells during First World War
See also
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- Examples of Blackstone engines can be seen at the Anson Engine Museum near Manchester.
- An engine could be seen at the former Stamford Museum in Stamford, Lincolnshire. The museum also held an archive relating to the company.
- BBC History of the World in 100 objects included a Blackstone Oil Engine [4]
References
- ↑ Edward Blackstone
- ↑ Jeffery and Blackstone
- ↑ Lister
- ↑ Blackstones Oil Engine at BBC History of the World in 100 objects
- Classic Tractors of the World, by Nick Baldwin ISBN 978-0-7537-1446-1
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blackstone & Co. |
- Paxman History pages - Description of all AGE group companies
- Grace's Guide