Pooley and Son
Encyclopedia
Pooley & Son was a mechanical engineering company, specialising in the manufacture of weighing machines.
Henry Pooley (1803–78) was born in West Derby, a suburb of Liverpool. He was the third son of Liverpool iron founder Mr Henry Pooley Snr. Henry Jnr. studied his craft as apprenticed to his father under whose guidance he became an expert in the use of tools (for making patterns). In his spare time young Henry studied science and art, he attended drawing at classes under “the father of Mr. Spence, a sculptor of Rome.” On completion of his seven years' apprenticeship Henry took an active part in the management of his father’s business. Initially, he worked on the production of stoves, heating and ventilating apparatus and machinery of various kinds. Henry’s designs were noted for a strength of form with simple elegance and lightness of appearance though unusual at the time, a period when art and design were seen as separate disciplines. In 1830 Henry went into partnership with his father and the company changed its name to 'Henry Pooley & Son'. Mr Pooley's success was built from a combination of his talent for design and good fortune. In 1832, he was persuaded to add the manufacture of weighing machines as a minor addition to his business, not thinking that this step would totally change the character of his operations. But the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
, quickly followed by the extension and completion of other lines, created a massive demand for new methods for handling and rapidly weighing goods.
Seeing the potential, Pooley used his ingenuity and resource to enable him to exploit this new trade by developing equipment for not only weighing goods of all kinds but even railway engines. In 1846 Mr Richard Trevithick, the locomotive superintendent at Crewe, consulted him on the subject of balancing locomotive engines by actual weight and he arranged and made the first multiple weighing apparatus ever used for this purpose.
Pooley’s innovative designs were imitated by other companies, nevertheless his business extended rapidly. By his father's death, in the year 1841, he was left at the head of a large concern which continued to grow.
In his later years he took an active interest in improving public health and helped to build a number of public baths and washhouses in Liverpool and Chester.
By the time of Henry Pooley junior’s own death in 1878, 'Henry Pooley & Son' had become the country’s largest manufacturer of weighing equipment. In 1900 the company moved its head office from Liverpool to Birmingham and in 1931 the company was absorbed into W. & T. Avery. Pooley’s Albion Foundry, which had stood on Manchester Street, close to Liverpool city centre, was finally demolished to make way for the construction of the Liverpool City entrance of the Mersey Tunnel.
Henry Pooley (1803–78) was born in West Derby, a suburb of Liverpool. He was the third son of Liverpool iron founder Mr Henry Pooley Snr. Henry Jnr. studied his craft as apprenticed to his father under whose guidance he became an expert in the use of tools (for making patterns). In his spare time young Henry studied science and art, he attended drawing at classes under “the father of Mr. Spence, a sculptor of Rome.” On completion of his seven years' apprenticeship Henry took an active part in the management of his father’s business. Initially, he worked on the production of stoves, heating and ventilating apparatus and machinery of various kinds. Henry’s designs were noted for a strength of form with simple elegance and lightness of appearance though unusual at the time, a period when art and design were seen as separate disciplines. In 1830 Henry went into partnership with his father and the company changed its name to 'Henry Pooley & Son'. Mr Pooley's success was built from a combination of his talent for design and good fortune. In 1832, he was persuaded to add the manufacture of weighing machines as a minor addition to his business, not thinking that this step would totally change the character of his operations. But the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
, quickly followed by the extension and completion of other lines, created a massive demand for new methods for handling and rapidly weighing goods.
Seeing the potential, Pooley used his ingenuity and resource to enable him to exploit this new trade by developing equipment for not only weighing goods of all kinds but even railway engines. In 1846 Mr Richard Trevithick, the locomotive superintendent at Crewe, consulted him on the subject of balancing locomotive engines by actual weight and he arranged and made the first multiple weighing apparatus ever used for this purpose.
Pooley’s innovative designs were imitated by other companies, nevertheless his business extended rapidly. By his father's death, in the year 1841, he was left at the head of a large concern which continued to grow.
In his later years he took an active interest in improving public health and helped to build a number of public baths and washhouses in Liverpool and Chester.
By the time of Henry Pooley junior’s own death in 1878, 'Henry Pooley & Son' had become the country’s largest manufacturer of weighing equipment. In 1900 the company moved its head office from Liverpool to Birmingham and in 1931 the company was absorbed into W. & T. Avery. Pooley’s Albion Foundry, which had stood on Manchester Street, close to Liverpool city centre, was finally demolished to make way for the construction of the Liverpool City entrance of the Mersey Tunnel.