The Man Who Brought Vulcanised Rubber to the UK
- 6 June 2022
The invention of vulcanised rubber in the 19th century revolutionised the global industry. To improve the strength and durability of natural and synthetic rubber; the process of vulcanisation was brought to the UK by County Durham businessman and entrepreneur Stephen Moulton.
The story began in the United States, where tyre manufacturer Charles Goodyear was born in 1800. A chemist and manufacturing engineer, he developed vulcanised rubber and patented his invention with the US Patent Office in 1844.
© Starsphinx / Shutterstock.com
After researching the processes for five years, he created and manufactured waterproof, pliable, mouldable rubber that was more stable. His discovery led to many years’ successful rubber manufacturing for his business, the Naugatuck India-Rubber Co, in Naugatuck, Connecticut. The Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company, founded in 1898, was later named after him. Moulton became involved in the rubber industry when he became an agent for Charles Goodyear. Born in 1794, in England, he had travelled to New York, where he met Goodyear. They began working together in the US.
Vulcanised rubber in the UK
Moulton brought the first samples of vulcanised rubber to the UK in the mid-1800s. He shared the samples with the self-taught manufacturing engineer Thomas Hancock, of Marlborough, who founded the British rubber industry. Hancock successfully obtained a UK patent for the vulcanisation process.
Moulton bought the redundant Kingston woollen mill, in Bradford-on-Avon, where he opened his rubber factory in 1848. Goodyear himself and wealthy local businessman Septimus Palairet, of nearby Woolley Grange, backed the venture.
The old mill was an ideal location for a rubber factory, as the vacant wool production buildings had steam and waterpower already and the local workforce was skilled in similar factory work. They were also keen to start work again after the demise of the woollen mill.
Railways contracts
Moulton was an astute businessman and entrepreneur. After getting the Kingston Mill rubber factory up and running, he won a lucrative contract supplying the Great Western Railway with rubber hoses, buffers and other components.
He liaised with famous railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel to design and produce products of the correct specifications, which led to other railway companies approaching Moulton’s factory for their rubber needs, at a time when the railway industry was booming.
Military uses
His factory also manufactured thin rubber sheets that were made into waterproof capes for the army. After the Crimean War started in 1853, these were in great demand. A new type of warfare (widely used later on the Western Front during the Great War) saw both sides digging extensive trench lines around Sevastopol – a Black Sea port in southern Ukraine.
The brutal winter made conditions in the trenches as horrific as they could possibly be. The war continued until 1856 and the waterproof capes helped the soldiers to survive the atrocious, wet, freezing conditions.
Rubber is still widely used for military applications today, in operations that require specific high-quality materials.
Famous “Iron Duke” machine
The machinery used in Kingston Mill was modern and huge, as it was a time of great changes in the manufacturing industry. Britain became the world’s leading commercial nation and the Industrial Revolution saw factories springing up everywhere.
The largest machine at Moulton’s rubber factory was known as the Iron Duke. Designed in the US, it was built in the UK in 1849. The rubber rolling machine was named after the Duke of Wellington. It resembled a huge mangle and made waterproof material for clothing by attaching rubber to the cloth. It weighed 16 tonnes and stood 12 ft high.
The Iron Duke was still in use in the rubber manufacturing industry more than a century later, before it finally “retired” in the 1960s. It was taken to the Industrial Museum in Bristol, where it remained in storage for decades.
Finally, Bradford-on-Avon Museum Society and Preservation Trust restored the Iron Duke with Heritage Lottery Funding in 2016, after taking over responsibility from Bristol Museums, Art Gallery and Archives. It is now on permanent display in Kingston Road, Bradford-on-Avon, as a memento of Britain’s thriving 19th century rubber industry.
Moulton’s legacy continues
Moulton’s rubber factory continued to thrive for more than 40 years. The founder died in 1880, aged 85. In 1891, after more than four decades’ success, the company merged with George Spencer’s rubber manufacturing plant in London. The resulting company, George Spencer Moulton Rubber Company, became one of Britain’s main suppliers to many industries.
During the early 20th century, rubber manufacturing was big business, and several companies were founded at different locations, including Limpley Stoke Mill and Greenland Mills. Bradford-on-Avon was known as a rubber town and the industry provided plenty of employment.
The Limpley Stoke Mill Company moved to Melksham in 1915 and subsequently acquired Bradford-on-Avon’s Sirdar rubber firm. The Limpley manufacturer acquired the Spencer Moulton Company in 1956.
Bradford-on-Avon continued to be a hub of rubber production until 1995. Sadly, cheap imported rubber led to the demise of a number of British manufacturers in recent history. However, its link to the heyday of British rubber production will never be forgotten.
Stephen Moulton’s legacy lives on – the late Dr Alex Moulton, the founder’s great-grandson, set up the Alex Moulton Charitable Trust, in 1977, at Bradford-on-Avon’s Hall Estate. The trust aims to interest the local community in the town’s unique industrial legacy, inspiring future generations of engineers and designers.
