A. Horlock and Co

A. Horlock and Co. was a marine and locomotive engineering company based in Northfleet in Kent.[1]

A. Horlock and Co.
IndustryEngineering
Founded1847 (1847)
FounderAlfred Horlock
DefunctJuly 1853 (1853-07)
Headquarters
Northfleet
,
United Kingdom
ProductsSteam locomotives, Steam engines and marine equipment

History
Locomotive Jenny Lind built by A. Horlock and Co in 1848 for the Padarn Railway
Fire Queen of the Padarn Railway preserved at the Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum

The company was founded at Northfleet in Kent in 1847 by Alfred Horlock. He leased land formerly owned by his uncle on which the Poynder & Medlicott "Lime Works" factory stood and built a new foundry, named the Northfleet Ironworks.[2] The company mainly manufactured marine equipment[3] and steam engines.[4]

In 1848, the Dinorwic Quarry in North Wales ordered two 4 ft (1,219 mm) gauge steam locomotives from Horlock. These were amongst the earliest Crampton locomotives built and were the only locomotives built by Horlock. They were named Fire Queen and Jenny Lind.[5] In 1850, the company produced a schooner for the Channel Islands and France Steam Navigation Company. The boat was powered by two 20 hp steam engines and was made primarily of malleable iron.[6]

Alfred Horlock testified at the 1849 Parliamentary commission inquiring into the application of iron for railway bridges and other structures.[7] A. Horlock and Co suffered a series of robberies in 1851.[8] The company was declared bankrupt in July 1853[9] and the factory was auctioned to shipbuilders Bell, Wells & Co, who resold it in 1857.[10]

Surviving products

The steam locomotive Fire Queen, built in 1848, is on display at the Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum near Bangor in North Wales.[11]

References
  1. Lowe, James W. (1975). British Steam Locomotive Builders. ISBN 0-905100-816.
  2. "At the Auction Mart". Kentish Mercury. 27 April 1847.
  3. "For Sale". Shipping and Mercantile Gazette. 28 May 1850.
  4. "For Sale". Kentish Gazette. 16 January 1849.
  5. "A. Horlock and Co". Graces Guide.
  6. "Gentlemanly Amusements". Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. 26 February 1850.
  7. Humber, William (1857). A Practical Treatise on Cast and Wrought Iron Bridges and Girders. E. & F. N. Spon.
  8. "County Petty Sessions". South Eastern Gazette. 28 January 1851.
  9. "The London Gazette". Oxford University and City Herald. 30 July 1853.
  10. "MESSRS. FULLER and HORSEY are instructed by Messrs. Wells, Bell, and Co. to SELL by AUCTION". London Evening Standard. 1 July 1857.
  11. Penrhyn Castle Industrial Museum (3rd. ed.). The National Trust. 1982.
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