The Great Elswick Works
The newly-formed W.G. Armstrong & Co. began production at the Elswick Works on 1st October 1847. Their first order came from Jesse Hartley, the engineer at the Albert Dock in Liverpool and, as the hydraulic technology was adapted to other types of machinery, the business grew from strength to strength. The firm's contracts included manufacturing hydraulic mining machinery for the lead mines at Allenheads in Northumberland and a hydraulic engine for operating the printing press at the Newcastle Daily Chronicle. 6
Orders were received from all over the country, and then from all over the world. The business evolved through many incarnations over the decades, continuing to manufacture hydraulic machinery but also entering the field of armament production and, later, ship building, becoming widely-known as "The Great Elswick Works".
