Textile and Industrial Heritage - Smeaton's Engine

John Smeaton has already starred on the Local Faces panel, above is a sketch of one of his engines which appears on the Textile and Industrial Heritage panel. The writing on the top is 'sketch of a (steam?) engine by J Smeaton about the year 1741'.

The subject is believed to have been drawn at Garforth Colliery c1741 (Royal Society). Thomas Newcomen designed a steam engine in 1712 mainly for draining mines. This is one of Smeaton’s drawings for an improved version of the engine. He improved the sealing on the cylinders and paid more attention to the measurements of the individual parts of the machine.

Mr Smeaton is being mentioned again now because there's a portrait of him at Temple Newsam, at the bottom of the stone staircase. If anyone is going to the Flocking Together Exhibition he or she can kill two birds with one stone and see the painting too.

The embroidery was hand stitched on calico which had been stained with tea and ironed when still wet to give it an old, stressed look. The material was then printed on a domestic printer - not a technique advised if you value your printer - giving an image which isn't colour-fast but fine if the whole piece is stitched. Anne Boyle embroidered the piece.

Local Faces - John Smeaton (1724-94)

John Smeaton is known as the father of Civil Engineering and was the founder of the Society of Civil Engineers in 1771.

He was born at Austhorp, attended Leeds Grammar School (the old John Harrison site) and after starting work at his father's law firm then went on to learn how to make mathematical instruments with Henry Hindley. I wonder how long it took to pursuade his father that law wasn't his forte?

A mechanical and civil engineer, he is most famous for building the Eddystone Lighthouse (first to use concrete since the Romans), but he also made improvements to the Aire Calder Navigation and undertook several drainage projects. He built substantial bridges in Banff, Coldstream (Robert Burns used this one to cross into England for the first time) and Perth all of which are still in use.

Despite working throughout England and Scotland it seems he didn't leave the area to live and died at the family home, Austhorp Lodge in 1794.

Models of his prototypes and the wood framed lathe he made and used are on display at Armley Mills. His innovative model for dealing with the foundation of Eddystone lighthouse is illustrated over on the Leeds Museums blog.

Janet Taylor hand and machine stitched this piece on printed fabric (4 hours).