Richard Tangye
Sir Richard Trevithick Tangye | |
---|---|
Born | Illogan, Cornwall | 24 November 1833
Died | 14 October 1906 | (aged 72)
Education | Sidcot School |
Occupation | Engineer |
Engineering career | |
Discipline | Mechanical engineer |
Projects |
Sir Richard Trevithick Tangye[needs IPA] (24 November 1833 – 14 October 1906) was a British manufacturer of engines and other heavy equipment.
Biography
Richard Tangye was born at
Career
Tangye disliked this role, and through an advertisement in The Friend obtained a clerkship in a small engineering firm in Birmingham, where two of his brothers, skilled mechanics, subsequently joined him. Here Richard Tangye remained four years, obtaining a complete mastery of the details of an engineering business, and introducing the system of a Saturday half-holiday which he had supported on its introduction by John Frearson, the radical Birmingham Engineer.[4] It was subsequently adopted in many English industrial works.[3]
Tangye Ltd
In 1856, Tangye started business in a small way in Birmingham as a hardware factor and commission agent. His first customers were the Cornish mine-owners in the Redruth district.[3]
In March 1857, Richard Tangye, with brothers James and Joseph, started a manufacturing business in Mount Street under the title of James Tangye and Bros. Principally manufacturing
We launched the Great Eastern and she launched us
In 1859, brothers Edward and George joined, together with George Price.[6] The company acquired the patent of the differential pulley-block in 1861, and in 1862 James Tangye invented the Tangye Patent Hydraulic Jack. This resulted in the 1862 purchase and demolition of Soho-located Smethwick Hall, on the site of which was built the Cornwall Works.[7] In 1867 the patent for a new type of Direct-acting Steam Pump was acquired, and in 1870 the company commenced the manufacture of steam engines.[6]
The company was commissioned to design the hydraulic systems for the UK's first
In 1872, the two youngest brothers, Richard and George, became sole proprietors. They developed the company internationally, opening offices in
Tangye travelled extensively, visiting Australia more than once and also New Zealand and America. He sought to restore his health on the ocean voyages but his main purpose in going to these countries was to expand his business. His accounts of his travels reveal a man who was annoyed that he was not shown the deference by hotel employees that he enjoyed in Britain and who was often unimpressed by the food he was presented with (excluding the fruit, which he greatly liked) - but who enjoyed being recognised and was pleased when he saw evidence of progress e.g. in the establishment of libraries.
Philanthropy
Richard Tangye and his brother George were founding benefactors of
Tangye was a noted collector of Oliver Cromwell manuscripts and memorabilia.[10] His collection included many rare manuscripts and printed books, medals, paintings, objets d'art and a bizarre assemblage of 'relics'. The 'relics' included Cromwell's Bible, button, coffin plate, death mask and funeral escutcheon. On Tangye's death, the entire collection was donated to the Museum of London, where it can still be seen today.[11] Items from the Tangye Collection are also to be found at the Cromwell Museum.
Personal life
Tangye was under five feet tall, short even by the standards of the time.
After death
After the deaths of Richard (1906) and George (1920), with the family owning the majority of shares, their sons entered the business.
Publications
Tangye wrote an autobiography, One and All (1889). The only modern study is Sir Richard Tangye 1833-1914: A Cornish Entrepreneur in Victorian Birmingham (2015) by Stephen Roberts.
Examples of Tangye engines
The various engines had an elegance as well as being functional. Here are some examples in various museums.
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Tangye vertical engine on display at the Black Country Living Museum.
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Tangye single-cylinder horizontal steam engine from 1890, at Broomy Hill Waterworks Museum.
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Richard Tangye - Graces Guide".
- ^ a b c d e Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Birmingham Daily Mail. 16 May 1914.
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(help) - ^ "Richard Tangye with the hydraulic press used to launch the SS Great Eastern". Institute of Civil Engineers. 1857. Retrieved 5 June 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d "The Basic Industries of Great Britain by Aberconway – Chapter XXI". gracesguide.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ "A History of the County of Stafford – Volume 17". british-history.ac.uk. 1976. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ "Saltburn Cliff Lift". Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ "Saltburn Cliff Lift". Redcar & Cleveland. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Death of Sir Richard Tangye" (PDF). New York Times. 15 October 1906. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ "War websites". Channel4. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- OCLC 754167835.
- Waterhouse, Rachel (1957). A Hundred Years of Engineering Craftmanship. Birmingham, London: Tangyes Limited.
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tangye, Sir Richard". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 398. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 (accessed 8 June 2008).