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Without Iron, Coal and Steam Quarry Bank Mill wouldn't even have existed. During the time that Quarry Bank Mill was in use there was a massive boost in the iron and coal industries. Bigger machines were being made, they needed to be fuelled, that's where the coal came in. Many people were trying to come up with steam engines which could produce a lot of energy but didn't use as much coal. In 1766, a Scottish inventor names, James Watt managed to do so by making some changes and improvements to the steam engine's original design. It was Watt yet again, who in 1781 discovered how to move a wheel using the power of steam. In 1788 his steam engines were just starting to be used in the industry. The first ones were mainly used for pumping water. The steam was only made possible because of two very major developments: 1. New ways of making iron: In 1709, Abraham Darby managed to discover how to make cast iron using coke. Coke is made from coal. This was a big breakthrough because before this iron had always been made by using charcoal and by the 18th charcoal was becoming scarce and fairly expensive. In 1784, Henry Cort invented a new method wrought iron in a massive coal furnace, so it became cheaper to make iron. Well made iron machinery was absolutely essential for the machines used in the big factories. Iron makes coal more important! 2. A new role for coal: All of the new factories were depending on coal because it fuelled all the steam engines and the iron foundries. Coal makes iron more important! So basically, none of these events could have happened without the other! |
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