NOTES AND REFERENCES
- Report of the Select Committee on Injury from Noxious Vapours (486), P.P. 1862, xiv, p. 99.
- Ann Beck, 'Some Aspects of the History of Anti-Pollution Legislation in England 1819-1954', Journal of the History of Medicine, 14 (1959), pp. 475–489. The problem of coal smoke was only finally resolved with the Clean Air Act of 1954.
- W. A. Campbell, The Chemical Industry (Longman, London, 1971), pp. 29; see also L. F. Haber, The Chemical Industry during the Nineteenth Century (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1958), pp. 16–17. For information on the role of John and William Losh in the Walker Chemical Works on Tyneside, see W. A. Campbell, The Old Tyneside Chemical Trade (University of Newcastle, Newcastle, 1964), pp. 13–15.
- James Keir and James Watt were both members of the Lunar Society, but worked indepen-dently on methods for producing caustic soda from solutions of sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt) and lime by double decomposition. Only Keir developed the method to a manufacturing scale which must have been substantial since he paid £10 000 duty on the soap produced from his caustic soda. See R. Padley, 'The Beginning of the British Alkali Industry', University of Birming-ham Historical Journal, 3(1) (1951), pp. 64–77. When Keir's method was reconstructed in the 1960s, there was difficulty in achieving the same success. See J. L. Moilliet, `Keir's Caustic Soda Process — an Attempted Reconstruction', Chemistry and Industry, 5 March 1966, pp. 405–408.
- For an account of Leblanc's role in developing the process, see Ralph E. Oesper, 'Nicholas Leblanc (1742–1806)', Journal of Chemical Education, 19 (1942), pp. 567–572. Leblanc never received the prize money and committed suicide in 1806. Although Napoleon III was petitioned by Leblanc's heirs in 1855, no payment was forthcoming. See Ralph E. Oesper, 'Nicholas Leblanc (1742–1806)', Journal of Chemical Education, 20 (1943), pp. 17–19.
- J. R. Partington, A Short History of Chemistry 3rd edition (Macmillan, London, 1957), pp. 134–136.
- For details of the Tennant family and the early history of the St. Rollox works, see Haber, op. cit. (3), pp. 14–17, and E. W. D. Tennant, 'Early History of the St. Rollox Chemical Works', Chemistry and Industry, 66 (1947), pp. 667–673. For an account of the problem of acid gas at the St. Rollox works, see Peter Reed, 'Where Even the Birds Cough: The First British Cases of Large-scale Atmospheric Pollution by the Chemical Industry on Merseyside and Clydeside in the Early 19th Century', in The Role of Oxygen in Improving Chemical Processes (6th BOC Priestley Conference), ed. M. Fetizon and W. J. Thomas, (Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, 1993), pp. 115–122.
- D. W. F. Hardie and J. Davidson Pratt, A History of the Modern British Chemical Industry, (Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1966), pp. 26.
- J. Fenwick Allen, Some Founders of the Chemical Industry, (Sherratt and Hughes, London, 1906), pp. 123. Muspratt and Kurtz experimented by reacting black ash with tallow and rosin to inves-tigate the effectiveness of Leblanc soda for making soap. This information came from Kurtz's surviving notebooks when Fenwick Allen wrote his articles for Chemical Trades Journal which were subsequently published in book form as Some Founders of the Chemical Industry. Kurtz's notebooks have not survived to the present day.
- For a discussion of the triangular trade, see T. C. Barker, 'Lancashire Coal, Cheshire Salt and the Rise of Liverpool', Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 1951, pp. 83–101.
- The link between repeal of the duty on salt and James Muspratt's arrival in Liverpool is suggested in T. C. Barker and J. R. Harris, A Merseyside Town in the Industrial Revolution — St. Helens 1750–1900 (Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, 1954), pp. 225, but the present author agrees with David Hardie that the two events were a coincidence of dates, see D. W. F. Hardie, A History of the Chemical Industry in Widnes (Imperial Chemical Industries, London, 1950), pp. 17. It was more likely the repeal of the duty on barilla in 1822 that influenced Muspratt's move to Liverpool from Dublin in the same year.
- Letter from 'a constant reader', Liverpool Mercury, 5 October 1827.
- Liverpool Mercury, 1 August 1828.
- Gordon W. Roderick and Michael D. Stephens, 'Profits and Pollution: Some Problems facing the Chemical Industry in Liverpool in the Nineteenth Century. The Corporation of Liverpool versus James Muspratt, Alkali Manufacturer, 1838', Industrial Archaeology 11(2) (1974), p. 36.
- Report of the proceedings, Liverpool Journal, 7 May 1831.
- Announcement in Liverpool Mercury, 13 May 1831.
- Proceedings of the Town Council of Newcastle upon Tyne, 9 January 1839, p. 19.
- Report of Queen v Muspratt, The Times, 10 April 1938.
- A Full Report of the Trial of the Important Indictment Preferred by the Corporation of Liverpool Against James Muspratt, Esq., Manufacturer of Alkali at the Liverpool Spring Assizes 1838 before Sir John Taylor Coleridge, Knight, and Special Jury, for a Nuisance Alleged to Proceed from his Chemical Works in Vauxhall Road, Liverpool (D. Marples, Liverpool, 1838). Copy in Special Collections, Harold Cohen Library, University of Liverpool.
- Op. cit. (14), Roderick and Stephens, pp. 35.
- Op. cit. (19), pp. 95.
- Ibid, p. 85.
- Ibid, p. 13.
- Ibid, p. 41.
- Ibid, p. 43.
- The scope of the alkali works at Newton allowed Muspratt to investigate a process patented by William Gossage in 1837 (B.P. 7416/37) to regenerate the sulphur lost as sulphur waste in the last stage of the Leblanc process. Loss of sulphur was a severe financial burden. Gossage agreed to operate the plant but there were insurmountable problems preventing its use on a large scale. Although Gossage suggested it would cost £500 to deal with the sulphur waste problem it cost Muspratt £5 000. Gossage said later that the process cost him £20 000 and 30 years. At Newton, Muspratt also experimented with the ammonia-soda process for making soda but the loss of expensive ammonia meant the process was not economic. Later, in the 1870s, Brunner and Mond adapted the Solvay plant to achieve an economic process that brought the demise of the Leblanc process.
- Letter to James Muspratt from James Hornby (VVinwick), dated 4 November 1836, 920MU5/ 2–39, Muspratt Papers, Liverpool Record Office.
- Rowson and Cross Papers (DDC/18), Lancashire Record Office, contain a series of files on court cases brought against Muspratt and his Newton works. Included are the court cases brought by Sir John Gerard. Rowson and Cross were solicitors in Prescot.
- From the 16th century the Gerard family were extensive land owners. First baronet was created 22 May 1611; Sir John Gerard was the 12th Baronet of Bryn. In 1876 Sir John's brother, Robert, was created the 1st Baron Gerard of Bryn. See Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, pp. 1131–1132.
- Report of Gerard, Bart. v Muspratt, The Times, 3 September 1846.
- For a discussion of the role of the landowners in the problem of pollution from alkali works, see A. E. Dingle, 'The Monster Nuisance of All': Landowners, Alkali Manufacturers, and Air Pollution, 1828-64', Economic History Review, 35 (1982), pp. 529–547. For an account of the growing opposition to this pollution, see Sarah Wilmot, 'Pollution and Public Concern: The Response of the Chemical Industry in Britain to Emerging Environmental Issues, 1860-1901', in The Chemical Industry in Europe, 1850–1914: Industrial Growth, Pollution and Profes-sionalization, ed. Ernst Homburg, Anthony S. Travis and Harm G. Schroter, (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (Netherlands), 1998), pp. 121–147.
- First Report of the Inspector appointed under the Alkali Act, P.P. 1865 (3460), pp. 159–160.
- Punch, 24 May 1862, pp. 204.
- Roy M. MacLeod, 'The Alkali Acts Administration, 1863–84: The Emergence of the Civic Scientist', Victorian Studies 9 (1965–66), p. 88.
- Ibid, p. 88. The fourteen members of the House of Lords comprising the Select Committee included two scientists, five estate owners (including Derby), the Comptroller of the Treasury, and two others from Derby's previous administration.
- Peter Reed, 'entry for William Gossage', Dictionary of Business Biography vol. 2 (Butterworth, London, 1984), pp. 616–619. See also J. Fenwick Allen op. cit. (9), pp. 1–36.
- Plans (with a schedule) of the British Alkali Company at Stoke Prior works are held at Worcestershire County Record Office (Ref: BA 8851/20). For information about the British Alkali Company, see Alan White, Worcestershire Salt: A History of the Stoke Prior Salt Works (Halfshire Books, Bromsgrove, 1996), pp. 13–20 and also Alan White, The Worcestershire and Birmingham Canal: Chronicles of the Cut (Brewin Books, Studley (Warwickshire), 2005), pp. 265–268.
- For a list of registered patents, see op. cit. (36), Dictionary of Business Biography, pp. 618–619.
- Dissolving 500 litres of hydrogen chloride in 1 litre of water yields a solution containing 42 per cent of hydrogen chloride at one atmosphere pressure and 0°C.
- B.P. 7267/36 concerned 'Certain improved apparatus for decomposing common salt, and for condensing and making use of the gaseous product of such decomposition, also certain improve-ments in the mode of conducting these processes'. The condensing tower is described in detail with a summary of its operation; some drawings are included.
- Op. cit. (1), p. 85.
- William Henry, 'Experiments on the Quantity of Gases absorbed by Water, at different Temperatures, and under different Pressures', Philosophical Transactions, 93 (1803), 29–42.
- Op. cit. (9), J. Fenwick Allen, p. 88.
- The origin of the Woulfe bottle is probably linked to a series of experiments carried out by Peter Woulfe in 1767. See Peter Woulfe, 'Experiments on the Distillation of Acids, volatile Alkalies, etc. showing how they may be condensed without Loss and how thereby we may avoid disagree-able and noxious Fumes: in a Letter from Mr. Peter Woulfe, F.R.S. to John Ellis, Esq; F.R.S. Philosophical Transactions, 57 (1767), pp. 517–536.
- Woulff bottles were also used in Germany, Belgium and Austria.
- Scrubbers were used in coal-gas manufacture to remove ammonia and ammonium salts from the gas, but their use does not predate Gossage's invention. There is no mention of scrubbers in the 1841 edition of Samuel Clegg, A Practical Treatise on Manufacture and Distribution of Coal Gas (John Weale, London, 1841), but the 1853 edition does have a section on scrubbers, see pages 198–199. Today the principle of the acid tower is used in scrubbers or scrubbing towers in the petrochemical industry, see McGraw-Hill Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology, 6th edition, vol.1,1987, p. 15.
- The St. Gobain works were near Le Fére, about 130 km to the north-east of Paris. Although Gay-Lussac wrote a report about the need for the tower in 1827, the first tower was not constructed until about 1834. For details of the Gay-Lussac tower and St. Gobain works, see Maurice Crosland, Gay-Lussac: Scientist and Bourgeois (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1978), pp. 199–204.
- The Gay-Lussac tower was registered in B.P. 9558 on 15 December 1842 in the name of Charles Sautter (son of the secretary general of the St. Gobain chemical works). See also, ibid, p. 202.
- Op. cit. (46), p. 261.
- British imports of esparto grass rose from 16 ton in 1861 to 200 000 ton in 1887, see Haber, op. cit. (3), p. 96.
- T. Richardson and H. Watt, Chemical Technology, 1(3), (Bailliery, London, 1863), pp. 307–308.
- Peter Reed, 'Acid Towers and Weldon Stills in Leblanc Widnes', Journal of the North Western Society for Industrial Archaeology and History, 2 (1977), p. 4.
- Ibid, p. 4.
- Op. cit. (1), p. 85.
- It is interesting to note that while Hutchinson, and the other alkali manufacturers in Widnes used the Leblanc process, it was two of his employees, John Brunner as office manager, and Ludwig Mond as a technical advisor, that later formed the successful partnership of Brunner Mond, and Company Ltd. and adopted the ammonia-soda process as a direct competitor to the Leblanc process.
- Ibid, p. x.
- Lord Stanley of Alderley and Lord Derby were related through the Stanley family name. See entries in Burke's Peerage and Baronetage.
- Peter Reed, 'Robert Angus Smith and the Alkali Inspectorate', in The Chemical Industry in Europe, 1850–1914: Industrial Growth, Pollution and Professionalization, ed. Ernst Homburg, Anthony S. Travis and Harm G. Schroter, (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (Netherlands), 1998), p. 157.
- Ibid, pp. 150–151.
- Christopher Hamblin, entry for Robert Angus Smith, Oxford DNB (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004).
- Robert Angus Smith, Air and Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology (London, 1872), contains detailed scientific data collected over many years by Smith in different places and under different conditions. No attempt was made to develop a strategy to improve air quality, only to draw attention to the existing poor quality. Robert Angus Smith, Disinfectants and Disinfection (Edinburgh, 1869) brought together much of Smith's pioneering work in the chemistry of oral infection, his patent for a disinfectant powder and many of the papers he wrote on the subject. For a discussion of Smith's work, see A. Gibson and W. V. Farrar, 'Robert Angus Smith F.R.S. and "Sanitary Science", Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 28 (1974), pp. 241–262; J. M. Eyler, 'The conversion of Angus Smith: The Changing Role of Chemistry and Biology in Sanitary Science, 1850-1880', Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 54 (1980), pp. 216–234; and E. Gorman, 'Robert Angus Smith, F.R.S., and "chemical climatology", Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 36 (1981–82), pp. 267–272.
- The Board of Trade requested approval from the Treasury for an Inspector and four Sub-Inspectors at salaries of £1 000 and £500, respectively, a similar rate to that of other inspectors. The Treasury responded by reducing the salaries and urging a reduction of the staff by a half. After intense lobbying the salaries were set at £700 for the Inspector and £400 for each of the four Sub-Inspectors.
- The Sub-Inspectors appointed were: A. E. Fletcher (Western Division in Liverpool); B. Todd (Eastern Division in Newcastle); J. T. Hobson (Middle Division in Manchester): C. Blatherwick (Scotland and Ireland in Glasgow).
- Op. cit. (32), p. 57.
- Op. cit. (55), p. 158.
- The original register for the 1863 Act is now in the possession of the Health and Safety Executive. Once the registration number of a particular works is known, it can be linked to information about the works provided in the annual reports of the Inspector.
- Op. cit. (59), p. 35. Frighteningly, men were sent into the flues to check on gas escapes - see 'Report of Warrington County Court, Taylor and another versus Muspratt and others', Liverpool Journal, 21 September 1849.
- Ibid, p. 41.
- By using a standard solution (a solution of known concentration) of silver nitrate and measuring the amount of silver chloride precipitated, it is possible to calculate how much acid gas has passed through in the measured interval of time.
- Edward Troughton replaced all the antiquated astronomical instruments at the Greenwich Observatory. See Anita McConnell, entry for Edward Troughton, Oxford DNB (Oxford Univer-sity Press, Oxford, 2005) and also W. Skempton and J. Brown, 'John and Edward Troughton', Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 27 (1972–3), pp. 233–262.
- Op. cit. (61), p.48.
- Ibid, p. 42.
- Ibid, p. 53.
- Robert H. Sherrard, 'The White Slaves of England', Pearson's Magazine, vol. 11 (1896), pp. 48–55.
- G. Lunge, A Theoretical and Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Sulphuric Acid and Alkali, vol. 1, (John Van Voort, London, 1879), p. 191.
- George André, Spon's Encyclopaedia of the Industrial Arts, Manufactures and Commercial Products, (E. and F. N. Spon, London, 1879), p. 109.
- Op. cit. (72), p. 186.
- Op. cit. (57), p. 162.
- Ibid, p. 163.
- Op. cit. (9), p. 7.