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MAKING THE MODERN WORLD
Stories about the lives we've made
 

period:  1800-1860 Manufacture by Machine

The Swainson & Birley Mill at Preston, Lancashire, 1834. © Science Museum / Science and Society

From 1800, the profession of engineering developed rapidly. 'Machines to make machines' were vital for producing the looms and spinning machines that equipped the new factories and powered the Industrial Revolution.

Find out more in Henry Maudslay & the Pioneers of the Machine Age, John Cantrell & Gillian Cookson (eds), Tempus Publishing, Stroud, 2002.

1800-1860
Manufacture by Machine
Inventing engineering
Engineering education was crucial to Britain's industrial success.
Rise of the factory system
Factories were idealised but often unusual workplaces.
Machinery in motion
New machine tools dramatically changed manufacturing techniques.
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