Two hundred and fifty years ago a set of innovative technologies and brilliant individuals came together to propel the United Kingdom to the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. Britain was changed forever as people moved from the countryside into the towns looking for jobs in factories and mills of the Workshop of the World.
The Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution shown in this new set of stamps from Royal Mail did more than just invent machines. They also built the infrastructure of roads, railways and canals that moved raw materials to the factories; took finished goods to market and laid the foundation for today’s mass transportation system. This issue also marks the 250th anniversary of Josiah Wedgwood setting up his own pottery works in Burslem, Staffordshire, Matthew Boulton’s bicentenary and the 250th anniversary of James Brindley commencing the historic Bridgewater Canal from Worsley to Manchester.
 |
|
|||
| Shown
on
the stamps: 1st Matthew Boulton – Manufacturing & James Watt – Steam Engineering 50p Richard Arkwright – Textiles & Josiah Wedgwood – Ceramics 56p George Stephenson – Railways & Henry Maudslay – Machine Making 72p James Brindley – Canal Engineering & John McAdam – Road Building |
1st Class –
Matthew Boulton – Manufacturing
(1728-1809) A Birmingham factory owner and engineer whose works and
capital facilitated the
manufacture of James Watt’s steam engines.
1st
Class – James Watt – Steam Engineering
(1736-1819) Strong contender
for the title of father of the steam age because of his years of
hard work in improving the Newcomen design created a ‘steam
engine’.
50p – Richard
Arkwright – Textiles
(1732-1792) Credited with having invented the ‘water
frame’ for spinning cotton, and
sometimes known as the father of the industrial revolution. Arkwright
opened the world’s first
water-powered cotton mill in Derbyshire.
50p – Josiah
Wedgwood – Ceramics
(1730-1795) Wedgwood not only pioneered the industrial production of
ceramics, he was an
archetypical industrialist of the age: religious dissenter,
anti-slavery campaigner and member of
the Lunar Society.
56p – George
Stephenson – Railways
(1781-1848) Stephenson invented or developed several aspects of rail
transport which are still
with us to this day, including flanged wheels, and the standard gauge.
56p – Henry
Maudslay – Machine Making
(1771-1831). Maudslay saw that the new age of machines would require
metal to be worked
with precision. He pioneered the making of the machines –
lathes, drills, planning machines, etc.
which were used to make the other machines of the revolution.
72p – James
Brindley – Canal Engineering
(1716-1772) One of the most important engineers of the eighteenth
century and a maker of
canals, most notably the Bridgewater, started in 1759, which set the
template for later canals.
Brindley also pioneered many of the techniques that were later used in
railway building.
72p – John McAdam
– Road Building
(1756-1836). While Thomas Telford is usually the major celebrity of
Industrial Revolution
transport infrastructure, it was McAdam’s designs and
building techniques that created Britain’s
first decent all-weather roads.
The stamps were designed by
Webb and Webb.
The 37mm x 35mm stamps are printed in sheets of 30/60 by Joh.
Enschedé Stamps, Haarlem, Netherlands in litho, perf 14 x
14½ with all-over phosphor.
Products
issued:
Set of 6 stamps mint
Presentation Pack
Set of 6 on Royal Mail FDC
Set of 6 Stamp Cards unused
Special
Postmarks
Postmarks available for the day of issue are
shown below - more may be added.
These are not to scale due to using different scanners.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Ref FD909 Philatelic Bureau Official Postmark |
Ref FD910 Steam Mills, Cinderford Official Postmark |
Ref FD910NP Steam Mills, Cinderford Official non-pictorial Postmark |
Ref M11295 Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution, Birmingham |
Ref N11297 The Industrial Revolution, Saltaire, W Yorks. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Ref M11296 Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent |
Ref N11298 Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution, Darlington (Stephenson's Locomotion) |
Ref N11299 George Stephenson Industrial Pioneer, Shildon Co Durham |
Ref M11294 Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution, Dudley |
Ref L11290 Industry Terrace, London SW9 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
| Ref M11293 Industrial Revolution, Brindley Wharf, Birmingham |
Ref L11289 Pioneers of the Industrial Revolution, Bletchley Park PO, Milton Keynes |
Ref L11305 Pioneers of Industrial Revolution, London |
Ref M11309 Stephenson Drive, Birmingham, (Stephenson's Rocket) |
|
If
you would like us to tell you when this page is updated, please put
your email in the ChangeDetection box alongside the stamps;
If you have any
questions about these stamps please email
us.
NB:
all emails will be
acknowledged in 1-2 days. If you do not receive an acknowledgement
please email us from a different address (eg hotmail, gmail).
This page updated 17 March 2009