[[File:Vulcan Works Bradford lithograph Industries of Yorkshire ca 1888.jpg|thumb|400px|

Vulcan Works, Thornton Road, Bradford, ca 1888, founded by Robinson Thwaites, was one of several Victorian era iron mills sharing the name; like many others, it made a wide variety of machinery including mining equipment and locomotives]]

Vulcan Iron Works was the name of several iron foundries in both England and the United States during the Industrial Revolution and, in one case, lasting until the mid-20th century. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and smithery, was a popular namesake for these foundries.

England

During the Industrial Revolution, numerous entrepreneurs independently founded factories named Vulcan Iron Works in England, notably that of Robinson Thwaites and Edward Carbutt at Bradford, and that of Thomas Clunes at Worcester, England. The largest of all the ironworks of Victorian England, the Cleveland Works of Bolckow Vaughan in Middlesbrough, were on Vulcan Street.

Thwaites & Carbutt, Bradford

The Vulcan Works at Thornton Road, Bradford was a spacious and handsome factory. It was described in Industries of Yorkshire as

Ley's, Derby

thumb|right|The mess room for Ley's Malleable Castings in Colombo Street, Derby

The Vulcan Iron Works at Osmaston Road, Derby was founded in 1874 by Francis Ley (1846-1916). On a site occupying 11 acres by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, he manufactured castings for motor cars. In the London Gazette of April 14, 1876, Ley was granted a patent for "improvements in apparatus for locking and fastening nuts on fish plate and other bolts". The iron foundry was closed and demolished in 1986.

McKenzie, Clunes & Holland, Worcester

thumb|upright=1.3|left|Vulcan Iron Works, Worcester, founded by Thomas Clunes

The Vulcan Iron Works at Cromwell Street, Worcester was founded in 1857 by Thomas Clunes (b. 1818, d. 28 September 1879). living in St Martin's, Worcester, with nine children, was a "Master Engineer employing 104 men and 10 boys"; his son Robert at age 11 was an "Apprentice to Engineer". In 1861, Clunes was joined by two former railwaymen, McKenzie and Holland, and the firm moved into railway signalling equipment.

Vulcan Iron Works, Langley Mill

The G R Turner company's Vulcan Iron Works at Langley Mill, Derbyshire was built in 1874. produced railway rolling stock until the 1960s; at its peak it employed 350 men.

Vulcan Ironworks, Preston

thumb|Gregson and Monk Engineers, Salter Street, Preston, in 1960

In 1857 the firm of Baxendale and Gregson was founded in Shepherd Street, Preston, Lancashire. When the works there became too small, the business moved to a new Vulcan Ironworks, built at Salter Street, just off North Road, Preston, under the name Gregson and Monk.

When Monk retired in March 1874, James Gregson became sole proprietor. He employed about 400 men, making up to 100 weaving looms per week. Over 25,000 looms made by Gregson were claimed to be at work in or near Preston in 1884.

The machines made by the firm included:

San Francisco

A Vulcan Iron Works was established at 135 Fremont Street, San Francisco in 1850 during the California gold rush. The factory occupied the block bounded by Fremont, Mission, Howard, and First Streets. The factory maintained the name through a number of owners building boilers, steam engines, mining machinery, sawmills, and some relatively primitive steam locomotives for 19th century California railroads. It built the Oregon Pony in 1861. The factory was destroyed by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but steel fabrication activities resumed on the site after the quake.

Charleston

There was a Vulcan Iron Works on Cumberland Street, Charleston, South Carolina in 1865.

See also

  • Vulcan (motor vehicles)

References

  • Preserved Vulcan Iron Works steam locomotive list
  • Photograph of Vulcan Iron Works Worcester steel at Shrub Hill station
  • Photograph of Gregson and Monk Engineers, Salter Street, Preston
  • Photograph of a Gregson and Monk power loom
  • Photograph of James Gregson's Highgate Park mansion, Preston in 1900
  • Photograph of a grate, cast by Vulcan Iron Works San Francisco
  • Finding Aid for Vulcan Iron Works collection at Hagley Library