User:Sitush/Alexander Brodie

Alexander Brodie (1732-1811) was an ironmaster and armaments manufacturer who had business interests in Calcutts, Broseley, Shropshire. He also operated as a financier, with a base in London. He opened up another business in Manchester in the early 1790s, trading in partnership with a McNiven and Ormerod from St George's iron foundry at Knott Mill. They manufactured domestic ironmongery essentials such as stoves, grates and kitchen equipment. His "patent stove", from which it he is said to have made much money, was not in fact in patent and, similarly, his works at Calcutts produced pirated versions of James Watt's stationary steam engine. He held government contracts and also supplied special stoves for use on ships.

Prior to setting up the foundry in Manchester he was already supplying pig iron to foundries which were operating there. This came from his Shropshire works.

In Aptil 1798 the firm of Boulton and Watt discovered that he had infringed various of their patents at his Calcutts site, the outcome of which was that he agreed to pay £602 in compensation.

By the early 1800s he also had a share in a foundry at Bridgnorth, Shropshire known as the Hazeldine Foundry. When his foundry closed the site was taken on by W & J Galloway & Sons. He died a wealthy man.

He took out a patent relating to "boiler and furnaces" in 1805, which showed his address as being London..

Brodie death notice in The Gentleman's Magazine, 1811, vol 81 part 1, p.89 notice Galloways dump

An employee of Galloways & Co. called Thomas Sutcliffe was President of the Friendly Society of Boiler Makers as early as 1839, the organisation having been established in 1834.

There was a strike of boiler makers at the Galloway works in 1882 and in 1905 "bringing about a rupture between the firm and our members, which to this day [1905] has not been healed ... Overtures have repeatedly been made from the Society, but the long feud has not yet ended".