Career Joshua Routledge

1 career

1.1 round foundry
1.2 routledge engineer s rule
1.3 improved rotary steam engine

career

nothing recorded of joshua routledge s education, supposedly learned smithing trades father. in 1798 routledge in leeds, yorkshire occupation given whitesmith (tinsmith) on marriage certificate recorded @ st peter s parish church, leeds. occasion of first marriage, on 5 november, mary king. daughter, ann, born there in 1803.

the round foundry

routledge may have apprenticed @ historic round foundry in leeds. matthew murray (1765–1826) , david wood (1761–1820) partnered in building round foundry circa 1795 , later joined james fenton (1754–1834) , silent partner william lister. fenton, murray, & wood gained reputation innovative thinking , sound technical practices. firm became famous designers , builders of textile machinery , steam engines rivalled soho works in birmingham operated steam age pioneers james watt , matthew boulton.

routledge engineer s rule

by 1800, routledge had become manager @ round foundry. somehow, along way, learned value of logarithms , thereby had means of developing method of measuring kinds of metals , other bodies needed engineering purposes. using principles of edmund gunter s (1581–1626) logarithmic scales , william oughtred s (1574–1660) sliding rule, routledge combined 12-inch brass slide containing logarithmic scales ordinary 2-foot ruler added table of commonly used references called gauge points. rule became known routledge engineer s rule.

according handwritten, unsigned document on file @ bolton archives (lancashire) routledge acquired patent improved slide rule in 1813 but, date, no record of has been traced. that, in 1805, published first known instructions engineer s improved sliding rule , numerous editions followed before , after death in 1829, recent being in 1983.

a letter parents, dated 1811, records routledge associated, @ time, thompson, swift , co, iron founders , steam engine makers located in little bolton, lancashire, , notice published in manchester mercury dated 12 november 1811 informs partnership firm had been dissolved mutual consent.

improved rotary steam engine

in 1816 routledge had prosperous ironmonger (hardware) business @ 26 deansgate in bolton. business allowed him time engage in other engineering pursuits support inventive activities. thus, in february 1818, acquired patent improvement or improvements upon rotary steam engine. newspaper account dated 8 august 1822 , quoted in historical gleanings bolton & district describes him spirited , ingenious inventor of portable, steam-powered machine broke stones road repair @ astounding rate of 70 or 80 tons in ten hours, never before contemplated.

about time, name appears among original shareholders of bolton gaslight , coke company supplying gas towns of great , little bolton

in 1822 entered short-lived partnership (dissolved 1824) william kay of bury lancashire supply iron pillars specification of william fairbairn fireproof hudcar mill, said state-of-the-art cotton mills of day. hudcar mill, built manufacturer thomas haslam, demolished in 1977. pigot , dean s directory of 1821–22 styles partnership of kay , routledge brass , ironfounders , engineers.

routledge undertook engineering project joseph (1765–1842) , thomas ridgway (1778–1839) extend , rearrange pioneering wallsuches bleach works in horwich, lancashsire sometime before leaving england, in 1824, warsaw, poland. wallsuches bleach works preserved grade ii listed complex, described rare survival of once large scale important industry in bolton area .

in poland, routledge engaged thomas evans & co of warsaw erect large steam corn mill. foundry forerunner of lilpop, rau loewenstein, noteworthy engineering firm distinguished expertise in manufacture of railroad engines , other heavy-duty industrial machinery.