W. H. Allen, Sons & Company Ltd.

The Company, initially known as W. H. Allen & Co was founded in 1880 by William Henry Allen as a manufacturer of centrifugal pumps and steam engines in York Street, Lambeth, London.[1][2] Electric light generating machinery followed with the support of Gisbert Kapp. The firm also supplied marine auxiliary equipment for both the Royal Navy and Mercantile Marine.[2][3][4]

W. H. Allen Co. Original York Street, Lambeth Works in 1880

In 1889 William Henry Allen's son Richard (later to be Sir Richard Allen) was taken into partnership.[3] The Company moved to a green field site at Queens Park, Bedford in 1894 and the name was changed to W. H. Allen Son and Company.[3][5][6][4] In 1900 the business was incorporated as a limited company.

Steam turbine production and diesel engine manufacture for driving pumps and electrical generators commenced in 1908.[3][7][4] In 1909, the firm received an order from Lord Pirrie, the chairman of Harland & Wolff for eight 400kW electrical generating sets. These comprised three-cylinder totally enclosed compound engines driving Allen dynamos and were installed on the White Star Liners, RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic.[8][9]

During the First World War the Company manufactured under license 80 hp Le Rhône Gnome rotary engines. In 1917 the output was increased to 110 hp known as Le Rhône 9J engines. The rotary engines were used in the Airco DH5, the Sopwith Scout, the Bristol Scout and the Avro.[10]

In 1920 the name was changed to W. H. Allen Sons & Company Ltd upon the appointment of two more of William Henry Allens sons, Harold Gwynne and Rupert Stanley as Managing Directors.[11]

W. H. Allen & Sons Co. Ltd Queens Engineering Works, Bedford Main Office Block in 2002

In 1955 the Company purchased the industrial premises of Messrs. Fisher Humphries and Co. Ltd., a firm of agricultural engineers at Atlas Works, Pershore, Worcestershire.[12] Epicyclic gear manufacture was transferred from Bedford to Pershore in 1956.[3]

In 1960 William Foster & Co. Ltd and its subsidiary Gwynne's Pumps were acquired.[13][14] In 1968 the Company merged with Belliss & Morcom of Birmingham to form Amalgamated Power Engineering (APE).[3] In 1981 APE was acquired by Northern Engineering Industries plc (NEI) based in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne.[15]

In 1988 the pump business was sold to Weir Pumps while the steam turbine business was sold to Allen Steam Turbines in Oakley, Bedfordshire.[16]

NEI was acquired by Rolls-Royce plc in 1989.[3] The diesel business continued at Queens Engineering Works, Bedford as part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering (RRPE) group, until the factory was closed in 2000.[17] Allen Diesels purchased the intellectual property rights of Allen diesel engines and operate from the Pilgrim Centre in Bedford.[18]

References
  1. "Bedford Timeline". 23 May 2008. Archived from the original on 15 Dec 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  2. Lane, Michael R (1995). The Story of Queens Engineering Works Bedford - A History of W. H. Allens & Sons Co. Ltd. London: Unicorn Press. pp. 7–8. ISBN 0-906290-09-0.
  3. "W. H. Allen, Sons and Co". Grace's Guide To British Industrial History. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  4. Brereton, Austin (13 July 1918). "From Lambeth to Bedford: The Romance of a Great Engineer" (PDF). The Illustrated London News: 40–41 – via W. H. Allen Engineering Association (WHAEA).
  5. Lane, Michael R (1995). The Story of Queens Engineering Works Bedford - A History of W. H. Allens & Sons Co. Ltd. London: Unicorn Press. p. 21. ISBN 0-906290-09-0.
  6. "Messrs. Allen's Engineering Works". Bedfordshire Times & Independent. 6 January 1894.
  7. Lane, Michael R (1995). The Story of Queens Engineering Works Bedford - A History of W. H. Allens & Sons Co. Ltd. London: Unicorn Press. pp. 43–45. ISBN 0-906290-09-0.
  8. Lane, Michael R (1995). The Story of Queens Engineering Works Bedford - A History of W. H. Allens & Sons Co. Ltd. London: Unicorn Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-906290-09-0.
  9. "The Wreck of the Titanic and Connections to Bedford". The Bedfordshire Times & Independent. 19 April 1912. p. 7.
  10. Lane, Michael R (1995). The Story of Queens Engineering Works Bedford - A History of W. H. Allens & Sons Co. Ltd. Unicorn Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 0-906290-09-0.
  11. Lane, Michael R (1995). The Story of Queens Engineering Works Bedford - A History of W. H. Allens & Sons Co. Ltd. London: Unicorn Press. p. 77. ISBN 0-906290-09-0.
  12. "The Company's New Works in Worcestershire" (PDF). The Allen Magazine (29): 9. October 1955 – via W H Allen Engineering Association.
  13. "The Times Newspaper". The Times. 19 June 1961.
  14. "Current Affairs" (PDF). The Allen Magazine No. 50 Winter Issue January 1961 (50): 3. January 1961 – via W H Allen Engineering Association.
  15. "AQ1 Management Records of W. H. Allen, its Parent Companies and Successors". Bedfordshire Archives. October 2020.
  16. "Amalgamations (1968-1990)". W. H. Allen Engineering Association. October 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  17. "End of Era as Rolls Shuts Allen's Works". Bedfordshire on Sunday. 26 March 2000.
  18. "Allens Today". W. H. Allen Engineering Association. Retrieved 16 January 2023.

W. H. Allen Engineering Association (WHAEA) Document Archive Extensive set of documents relating to W. H. Allen & Sons Co. Ltd from 1880 to 2022.

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