Note: This year’s CIHS conference is entitled Water Works and one of the talks is by Chris Crewdson about Engineering at Gilkes. Sorting through some of Father’s papers I found a draft article that he wrote in the 1990s about GGG so it seemed an apposite time to put it on this blog.
The firm of Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd. has been trading at Canal Head, Kendal for 112 years. That is not the beginning of the story, however, for the company is the direct descendant of Williamson Brothers who were founded in 1853 and built their first turbine in 1856. Since that time they have remained the leading British turbine manufacturer, well able to take their place alongside the giant mechanical/electrical firms which have flourished in countries where water power is much more abundant.
Henry Williamson was born about 1825 (1), the son of a Kendal linen draper. He trained as an engineer at the Liverpool College and Institution, receiving a prize there in 1846. With his brother William he seems to have started a general engineering business in 1853 at Halfpenny Mill in Stainton, about four miles from Kendal. Like most small engineering firms of their day they concentrated on agricultural machinery, probably selling a mixture of “bought-in” items and their own products. In their 1855 catalogue they draw attention to the potential of the water turbine for providing power for stationary farm machinery, but there is no evidence that they built a turbine during their period at Stainton.
However, in 1856 the Williamsons moved from Stainton to Canal Head, Kendal. It was fortunate that their need for space came at a time when the Kendal and Lancaster Canal Company had available some large surplus buildings. These had been the original canal warehouses, which had become redundant after the opening of the railway in 1846. The Williamsons renamed them Canal Iron Works, a name which still appears on the company’s writing paper.
In time the Williamsons, and later Gilkes, were to take over all the buildings on the site and to extend them considerably, particularly after the canal was drained in the 1939-45 war. The whole industrial history of the area now known as Canal Head is complex. In the 18th century most of the area was laid out as tenter grounds. These were lawns where processed woollen cloth was stretched between frames containing tenter hooks to dry and bleach. In the centre were the Castle Mills, powered by water wheels under the buildings. The coming of the Kendal Canal was to change all this, swallowing up some 680 yards of tenters. The Canal Committee also replaced the old Mill Bridge with the new Kent Bridge (still in existence and now called Miller Bridge) to give access to the canal from the town.
By a series of weirs part of the waters of the Kent were diverted round the then island at Gooseholme and through a head race to the Castle Mills, returning to the river by a long tail race. These are clearly shown on old maps, but dropped out of use in 1942. Following a disastrous flood in 1954 the various channels at Gooseholme and through the Canal Head area were filled in, the weirs removed, and the main channel of the river widened and carefully graded.
To return to Williamsons and the Canal Iron Works. The land and buildings belonged to Kendal Corporation, thanks to their involvement in the canal, and they leased the buildings to the Williamsons for 20 years at a rent of £85 per annum. The range of buildings was well constructed, having been designed as an entity in 1818-19 by Francis Webster, a local architect. They included an office, covered wharves, stables and workmen’s cottages. Parts of these buildings still exist in Gilkes’ works, the stables for instance forming the offices whilst the present boardroom was probably the original canal clerk’s office.
When the Williamsons took over the buildings they converted part of them to a machine forge and blacksmith’s shop, while other parts became a foundry. Power was supplied by a 5hp steam engine. They continued to make machinery similar to that they had made at Stainton although, like many small firms of their type they added a line of steam engines and boilers. One of their neat vertical engines was the prototype for a Stuart Turner model.
However, even before the move the brothers had become interested in turbines. Only a few years before the first Thomson “Vortex” turbine had been installed in Ireland and the first example in England was supplied to James Cropper of the Burneside paper mills, just north of Kendal. This was built in Belfast under Thomson’s supervision. Unfortunately there is no evidence available as to whether the Williamsons saw it, but it is unlikely that in so small a place as Kendal they would have missed the opportunity of looking over such an interesting development. Whether they were put in touch with Thomson by Cropper we don’t know, but it is recorded that they obtained from Thomson a licence to manufacture the Vortex turbine. Thomson explained the theoretical aspects to the brothers and even provided drawings for their early turbines.
Patterns for a water turbine, as well as a Thomson-designed pump, were in existence at Stainton in 1855, but it was not till 17 days after their move, which took place on 31st July 1856 that the order was recorded for Turbine No. 1. This was a 5hp vertical-shaft Vortex model and was bought by a farmer at Old Hutton, only about a mile from the Williamsons’ original works. The turbine drove the farm machinery through geared shafts for over 100 years until replaced by electric power. Happily, it still survives, Gilkes having bought it back when it was retired. Considering it was essentially a prototype, a working life of a 100 years, with apparently only one new runner and a few minor repairs, speaks volumes for Thomson’s design and the Williamsons’ engineering.
In March 1862 Williamsons’ design team was strengthened by the addition of W. C. Unwin, a young man of 24 who had learnt engineering with William Fairbairn in Manchester. In his three-year stay in Kendal he probably helped considerably with the development of the firm’s turbines and pumps. He was later to become well-known as Professor Unwin at what is now Imperial College, being recognised as a leading authority on hydraulics. Williamsons obviously were growing rapidly because they showed a turbine, pump and steam engine at the 1862 Exhibition. They employed 64 men and 21 boys in 1871 and at that time the firm was run by William and his younger brother, Benjamin. He had probably joined the firm when Henry died about two years before at a relatively young age. Paul Wilson was of the opinion that the continual strain of running the firm told hardly on the brothers (1 ). At all events having built some 441 turbines, plus of course steam engines, pumps, and the general products, in 1881 they sold the business to Gilbert Gilkes for £5,000. The stock, patterns, fixtures and so on, which were extra, were valued at £1,661.
Unfortnately not a lot is known about Gilbert Gilkes. (2). He was born in Dublin in 1845. He was a strict Quaker and Paul Wilson was of the opinion that he started out as a civil engineer. Certainly he was a member of the Institution. He was a competent rather than enterprising businessman but under his control the turbine side expanded steadily from about 14 a year to an average of 37. The agricultural machinery side, now dominated by the larger manufacturers, was dropped, but other types of water machines such as Pelton Wheels and Girard Turbines entered the range. Perhaps his greatest achievement was in selecting men to carry on the business, in particular Norman Wilson, the father of Paul Wilson, and D. J. Pennington. They became Joint Managing Directors in 1894 when the concern became a limited company trading as Gilbert Gilkes & Co. Ltd.
Norman Wilson had studied under Professor Unwin in London. He was, as his son puts it, “a devoted turbine man”, doing a lot to develop both the products and the export side of the business. It must be remembered that in many parts of the world, such as South America, British engineers were in a position to influence purchases from U.K. manufacturers and the compact and reliable Gilkes turbines were ideal for self-contained projects such as mines and tea estates.
One of the most important developments occurring in the early years of the the twentieth century concerned governing, or the control of turbine speed. This was essential because the existing simple speed control mechanisms were not accurate enough for turbines driving A.C. generators, or alternators. By 1910 the old centrifugal type had given way to Gilkes designed oil-pressure governors.
Following the First World War, when many specialised items were made as part of the Government’s policy of using all available engineering capacity, the firm was reorganised as a modern limited company, trading under the same name and with Norman Wilson and Eric Crewdson as joint Managing Directors, Gilbert Gilkes taking a well-earned retirement at last. He was to die only three years later at the good age of 79, having laid secure foundations for the firm as it exists today.
Eric Crewdson, then 32, had learnt engineering in the Royal Engineers and the Royal Flying Corps, as well as serving an apprenticeship at Gilkes and lecturing at McGill University, Montreal. He was a great nephew of Gilbert Gilkes and thus maintained the family connection. His attitude was that the brain power available to Gilkes matched that elsewhere and therefore it was a good idea to use it! As a start he designed and patented the Turbo impulse turbine, which was to have many advantages over the Pelton Wheel in certain conditions. It was this turbine that was to keep the firm alive during the difficult days of the 1930’s depression.
During this period, in 1928, the water turbine business of James Gordon was acquired and the name incorporated in the firm’s title, this producing the alliterative Gilbert Gilkes and Gordon Ltd name, sometimes promoted as GGG but more commonly known simply as Gilkes.
1n 1934 Norman Wilson retired, being succeeded by his son Paul
Paul had gained an introduction to engineering at Gilkes before taking his degree at Cambridge, afterwards learning the practical side of engineering in South Africa. Unlike many engineers he had a great interest in the past of his profession, contributing papers and articles to various historical society publications and also writing the Science Museum booklet on water turbines. He was elected President of the Newcomen Society for the Study of the History of Engineering and Technology on three occasions. By the time of his last occupancy of this post he had become Lord Wilson of High Wray, O.B.E., D.Sci., H.ML. F.I.C.E. and F.I.Mech.E. and was Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland. Under his direction the decision was taken to expand Canal Works in 1948/9. The opportunity to do this was provided by the fact that during the war the Kendal canal had sprung a leak and was now drained in the vicinity of the town. The result was a large new building over the old canal basin, with 200ft x 50ft bays and a large loading bay. At the same time a policy of modernising the machine tools and other equipment to keep in the forefront of production methods was instituted.
Since the war the pursuit of export markets has been extremely active, a policy necessary in a country where hydro-electric capability is limited by geographical considerations. A glance at the list of UK turbines in recent years clearly shows how much of the firm’s production has gone abroad. In 1969 this effort was rewarded by the firm winning the Queen’s Award to Industry for Export Achievement. Ironically, as Paul Wilson once noted, many exports are “hidden” as part of other contractors’ composite schemes. Since 1981 there has been a subsidiary on the American continent, Gilkes Inc. of Seabrook, Texas, U.S.A.
Eric Crewdson retired in 1954 and was succeeded by this eldest son Peter who had joined the firm in 1946. Paul Wilson died in 1980. Now in its 140th year, the Gilkes name is still that first thought of in the British turbine industry. However, production is by no means limited to turbines. Water motors, pumps, and laboratory models still form a considerable part of the firm’s output. Over the years Gilkes have built some very interesting turbines including the one from Williamson days at Cragside, Northumberland. This was the first hydro-electric installation in England. This was turbine No. 428. That it was a success was shown by Sir William installing a 24hp turbine in his permanent power-house, which has recently been restored by The National Trust.
An unusual application was found in the two 200hp Pelton wheels supplied to the Copper Mines Tin Plate Works near Port Talbot in 1902. These drove the rolls mechanically, rather than by an electric transmission, and apparently performed exactly as planned. Around the same time several large Pelton Wheels were supplied to Welsh quarries intent on mechanising slate production.
Four turbines supplied to Caylloma Silver Mines in Peru had to be capable of being broken down to mule-size loads for final transport to the power station 14,000 feet up. Another, much later Pelton wheel in the Andes, this time in Bolivia, supplied some 9,000hp. It is worth remembering that not only is there usually plenty of water in mountainous areas, but also turbines do not lose power at high altitudes, thus giving an added competitiveness against the diesel engine.
Reliability and easy maintenance by local labour were a major factor in obtaining orders for a series of small hydro-electric schemes in Malaysia in the 1980s. The United States too, is an attractive market in many ways, particularly the Eastern states where there are many potential low head hydro-electric sites. However, Gilkes turbines can be found in over 50 countries from Chile in the south to Iceland in the north. Undoubtedly many firms could learn a lot from Gilkes’s philosophy as stated by Paul Wilson – to set out intelligently, to make the things that somebody wants, better than other people can do.
Although this article is mainly concerned with turbines, it is interesting to look at what else has been produced by Gilkes over the years. As mentioned, in the Williamson Brothers days the main product was agricultural equipment and general local engineering parts. This side had vanished by the turn of the century, though the foundry which was built for this trade continued in use until 1960.
One line that started soon after the turbines, possibly under the influence of Professor Unwin, was small scale engines and turbines for use in educational establishments and laboratories. Manufacture of these continues to this day, suitably up-dated of course, and no doubt proves most useful in introducing engineering students to the Gilkes name at a formative stage in their careers!
There was a demand from customers for complete electrical power installations and at one time a special department was formed to undertake this work. Much of it was for country houses or villages, but probably the largest contract was for the supply and installation of electric power to Towyn and Aberdovey in Wales. Normally the base load would come from water-power, with a diesel engine to help out in peak periods. Apparently the department was not too profitable, not surprisingly in view of the fact that virtually everything but the turbines had to be bought in, and the department closed in 1937. With the nationalization of the electricity industry after the war this was undoubtedly the correct decision.
A turbine powered rock drill was experimented with, to the design of Moses Kellow from the Croesor Quarries. It never went into production and Paul Wilson, who later studies the patent drawings, thinks it would not have been competitive with air drills. Slightly more successful were multi-cell centrifugal pumps designed by J. T. Rossiter about 1912, but Ernest Jackson, Gilkes’s Chief Engineer, designed a much better range which did well in export markets. Also, during the First World War some soldering machines were made. They did not work well and production was dropped after the war.
Pumps were much more akin to turbines and it is not surprising that this was the most promising development in the 1920s. A range of centrifugal pumps was marketed, mainly for export, but by the 1930s it was clear that Gilkes could not compete with the large volume producers and after that only a few “one-off” examples were built. However Eric Crewdson did design and patent in 1932 a small rotary self-priming pump, which was extremely efficient, though expensive for normal pumping operations. It did not sell well for some years, until during World War II it was found to be an ideal marine engine cooling water pump, coping well with the many problems found in this application. Marketed under the GGG label, the descendants of these pumps still form a substantial part of the firm’s turnover.
Crewdson also had a couple of other designs to his credit. One was an Electric Brake Governor, which balanced fluctuating loadings on a turbine-driven generator against an electric brake, thus allowing the turbine to run at a steady speed. While this worked well, another good idea, the Seklig Borehole Pump, was fine in theory and in the laboratory but just would not work in practice. A paper on it was presented to the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1952, but it never achieved production.
One of the most interesting post-war productions is the very specialised pump needed to supply oil to bearings, seals and governors of both steam and gas-turbines. What makes this so interesting is that the high pressures used in the turbines tends to push the oil back into the pump. Added to this is the complication that the back-pressure drops off when shutting down (and the reverse when starting). In conjunction with these products complete pump-driven fuel supply systems are supplied for the gas turbine market.
In addition to the straightforward water turbines included in the main list Gilkes also makes all sorts of odd designs for special purposes. These include little Pelton wheels for driving compartment fans in tankers, small motors on trawlers to drive deck machinery, turbines that sit on the heads of oil-wells, and turbines to recover power otherwise lost in chemical factories and refineries. The small turbine, or water-motor is useful in many applications where flame-proofing and precise control over speed and direction is important.
I have added a couple of footnotes below.
- According to Henry Williamson’s death certificate he died on the 22nd February 1859, aged 30, of exhaustion. This would have meant he was born about 1829 but of course death certificates rely on the informant’s information and he does not appear to have been at home at the time of his death.
2. This draft article was written in pre-internet days and of course nowadays much information is more readily available. An obituary of Gilbert Gilkes can be found at the excellent Graces Guide.