Description:Proposed design for a pumping engine at New River Head Water Works, London.
Some of Boulton & Watt’s first engines had been supplied to London water works; in the 1780s they received several more orders. One of their major customers well into the 19th century was the New River Company. This drawing shows a proposal for a new pumping engine with a 32 inch cylinder in 1782. Unusually, it is a rotative 'sun and planet' engine – most pumping engines were connected directly to the pump rods by the beam. Watt described this method of using a rotative engine to pump water in his patent of 1782. However in appears that this engine was never built.
This drawing is part of the Archives of Soho collection, which is held by Birmingham City Archives [Ref. MS3147/Portfolio/5/1090]