View source for British Thomson-Houston

{{Short description|British engineering and heavy industrial company}}
{{distinguish|Thomson-Houston Electric Company}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox company
| name = British Thomson-Houston
| logo = File:BTH logo on inspection plate.JPG
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| logo_caption = BTH logo on an electric motor access plate
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| industry = [[Heavy industry|Heavy industrial]]
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| founded = 1886 as Laing, Wharton and Down
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| hq_location = [[Rugby, Warwickshire]]
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| parent = [[General Electric]]
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'''British Thomson-Houston''' ('''BTH''') was a British engineering and [[heavy industry|heavy industrial]] company, based at [[Rugby, Warwickshire]], England. Originally founded to sell products from the [[Thomson-Houston Electric Company]], it soon became a manufacturer using licences from the American company. They were known primarily for their electrical systems and [[steam turbine]]s.

BTH merged with the [[Metropolitan-Vickers]] company in 1928 to form [[Associated Electrical Industries]] (AEI), but the two brand identities were maintained until 1960. The holding company, AEI, was bought by [[The General Electric Company|GEC]] in 1967.

In the 1960s AEI's apprenticeships were highly thought-of, both by the apprentices themselves and by their future employers, because they gave the participants valuable experience in the design, production and overall industrial management of a very wide range of electrical products. Over a hundred of the apprentices - who came to Rugby from all over the UK, and a few from abroad - lodged in the nearby Apprentices' Hostel at [[Coton House]] which was uphill from Rugby on the road to Lutterworth and Leicester.

Each year in Rugby there was a big parade of floats run by the apprentices.

In 1980, G.E.C. Turbine Generators Ltd, on the Rugby site, was awarded a [[Queen's Awards for Enterprise]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}

==History==
[[File:British Thomson-Houston dataplate.JPG|thumb|upright|Showing correct company name and format]]
[[File:Laing, Wharton & Down Generator - Cassier's 1892-09.png|thumb|British Thomson-Houston had its origins in ''Laing, Wharton & Down''. One of their steam-driven generators was described in the September 1892 issue of ''[[Cassier's Magazine]]''.]]
[[File:Turbinas BTH.jpg|thumb|BTH 120 MW turbo-alternators, installed at Costanera Power Station, Buenos Aires, Argentina]]

The company '''Laing, Wharton and Down''' was formed in 1886 to sell products from the [[Thomson-Houston Electric Company]]. Laing, Wharton and Down soon won a contract for electrical lighting for the east end of London.<ref name="OfficialSite">{{cite web |title=British Thomson-Houston History |url=http://www.marconi.com/Home/about_us/Our%20History/GEC%20Heritage/British%20Thompson-Houston%20History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306132153/http://www.marconi.com/Home/about_us/Our%20History/GEC%20Heritage/British%20Thompson-Houston%20History |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 March 2005 |website=Marconi Corporation |access-date=19 August 2018}}</ref>

In 1894 Laing, Wharton and Down purchased patents and exclusive production rights from the American company, now known as [[General Electric]] after Thomson-Houston merged with [[Edison General Electric Company]] in 1892. At this stage Laing, Wharton and Down was renamed as '''British Thomson-Houston''' and General Electric became the majority owner of the company.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Money Market |agency=The Times |date=17 August 1894}}</ref>

Once BTH had the production licences for Thomson-Houston's products it started setting up factories in the [[English Midlands]], with [[Rugby, Warwickshire]] chosen as the main location due to its good accessibility by rail and a local coal supply.<ref name="GracesGuide">{{cite web |title=BTH |url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/BTH |website=Grace's Guide to British Industrial History |access-date=19 August 2018}}</ref> In 1900 BTH bought Glebe Farm on the west side of Mill Road north of the railway in Rugby for £10,000, from Thos. Hunter & Co., to build their factory on it. The Mill Road factory opened in 1902 and made [[electric motor]]s and [[Electrical generator|generator]]s. In the same year BTH obtained a licence to produce the [[Curtis steam turbine]], which became one of the company's major products. In 1905 BTH made its first [[turbo-alternator]] and in 1911 got licences for all of General Electric's drawn-wire [[light bulb]]s, which it produced under the [[Mazda (light bulb)|Mazda]] [[trademark]].<ref name="OfficialSite" />

For much of the late 19th century BTH competed for electrical generation and distribution contracts with [[British Westinghouse]], mirroring the same company's battles in the US between their parents, [[General Electric]] and [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation|Westinghouse]]. The [[Power Act 1900]]{{clarify|date=October 2020}} let BTH and British Westinghouse get new contracts to supply electric power to large areas.<ref name="OfficialSite" />

As well as manufacturing, BTH also began to move into transport. On 22 December 1898 BTH opened the [[Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company]], followed by the [[Isle of Thanet Electric Tramways and Lighting Company|Isle of Thanet Electric Tramways]] on 4 April 1901 and the [[Chatham and District Light Railways Company]] in June 1902. In 1903 BTH was contracted to supply the electrical equipment for the [[Tyneside Electrics]] railway network in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]].<ref name="TNEE">{{cite book|last1=Hoole, Ken|author-link=Ken Hoole|title=The North Eastern Electrics|date=1987|publisher=The Oakwood Press|isbn=0-85361-358-3}}</ref> In 1907 BTH started a joint venture with [[Wolseley Motors]] to make [[petrol-electric]] buses and in 1909 the company supplied major coal-fired steam generators to London to power an electric [[tram|trolley]] system that was being set up.<ref name="GracesGuide" />

===Consolidation===

[[File:Thinktank Birmingham - object 1978S03348(1).jpg|thumb|The 'Bee Hive' Refrigerator<br>[[Birmingham Museums Trust]]]]

During [[World War I]] BTH expanded into naval electrical equipment, supplying the [[Royal Navy]] with various lighting, radio and signalling gear.<ref name="OfficialSite" />

After the war BTH expanded dramatically, adding or expanding factories at [[Willesden]], [[Birmingham]], [[Chesterfield, Derbyshire|Chesterfield]], and [[Lutterworth]]. It later had factories in [[Coventry]], and in [[Larne]] in [[Northern Ireland]]. From 1924 to 1927 [[Demetrius Comino]] worked as an apprentice for BTH.

In 1926 Gerard Swope, president of [[General Electric]], proposed that BTH, Westinghouse, [[General Electric Company]] (GEC) and [[English Electric]] should amalgamate. [[Lord Hirst]] of GEC was not interested in Swope's scheme, but a new holding company was formed, '''[[Associated Electrical Industries]]''' (AEI), and in 1928 AEI bought BTH and [[Metropolitan-Vickers]] (Metrovick). BTH had been in the process of buying [[Joseph Swan#Ediswan|Edison Swan]] (Ediswan) and [[Ferguson, Pailin & Co]], with AEI completing the purchases in 1929. Howard C. Levis, chairman of BTH from 1916, became chairman of AEI in 1928, retiring the following year.<ref name="OfficialSite" />

In 1927 BTH sold the [[Chatham and District Light Railways Company]] to Maidstone and District Motor Services Ltd.

Throughout the 1920s BTH made turbo generators and motors for [[ocean liner]]s including {{RMS|Mooltan}}, {{RMS|Viceroy of India}}, {{RMS|Strathnaver}} and {{RMS|Strathaird}}. The BTH factory in Northern Ireland made the [[turbo generator]] and propulsion motor for one of the world's first [[Turbo-electric transmission|turbo-electric]] merchant ships, the [[Banana boat (ship)|banana boat]] [[USS Taurus (AF-25)|SS ''San Benito'']], in 1921. This was followed by turbo generators and propulsion motors for the banana boats {{SS|Musa}}, {{SS|Platano}} and {{SS|Darien|1924|6}}.

The site at Rugby was also developed. Building 52, the research laboratory, was purpose-built in 1924. In the late 1920s AEI started to build buildings west of the footpath that runs north through the AEI site in Rugby to the Leicester Road, known in the area as the Black Path because it was surfaced with cinders, [[clinker (waste)|clinker]] and [[bitumen]]. During [[World War II]] BTH expanded north of the [[River Avon, Warwickshire|River Avon]] into the Boughton Road site to make [[ignition magneto|magneto]]s for aircraft engines and other war products.

[[File:RRKestrel.JPG|thumb|right|One of the two British Thomson-Houston [[distributor]]s (the circular gold-coloured component) on a [[Rolls-Royce Kestrel]] aero engine]]
BTH had a major role in developing the world's first [[prototype]] [[jet engine]], which was built by [[Frank Whittle]]'s [[Power Jets]] company at the BTH works in Rugby in 1937. Development was later moved to the [[Lutterworth]] works, which were falling into disuse at the time. BTH's directors seemed sceptical of the design and offered little help, and in 1940 decided they were not really interested in making jet engines due to their commitment to electrical equipment. [[Rover (car)|Rover]] was soon selected to make jet engines, but exchanged jet engine production with [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] for making [[Rolls-Royce Meteor|tank engines]] in 1943. In 1944 the Lutterworth Power Jets work was nationalised.

After World War II [[Oliver Lyttelton]] took over as chairman of AEI, and started a massive expansion. He returned as chairman between 1954 and 1963 and oversaw the opening of a massive new £8 million turbine works was opened at [[Larne]] in 1957. In 1955 AEI acquired [[Siemens Brothers]], which was merged with Edison Swan in 1957 to form the '''Siemens Edison Swan''' subsidiary.<ref>{{cite web |title=Celebrating 175 glorious years |url=http://www.aeicables.co.uk/history.asp |website=AEI Cables |access-date=20 August 2018}}</ref> Rivalry with Metrovick intensified, particularly after BTH won the contract to build the new [[Buenos Aires]] Central Costanera S.A. power station, valued at £35 million, in 1957. Lyttelton continued to try to reduce this friction, leading to several unsuccessful reorganisations and slipping profits.<ref name="OfficialSite" />

The postwar period saw continued development at BTH. The [[Hungary|Hungarian]] scientist [[Dennis Gabor]] invented [[holography]] at the BTH site in Rugby in 1947, and in 1951 BTH supplied a {{convert|1200|bhp|kW|abbr=on|order=flip}} [[Gas turbine#Civilian maritime|gas turbine]] for the ''Auris'', the first commercial ship to use gas-turbine propulsion. In 1955 BTH supplied 18 [[New Zealand DSC class locomotive]] Rolls-Royce powered locomotives for [[New Zealand Railways Department|New Zealand Railways]]. The Ediswan trademark appeared on semiconductors in 1956 and the following year [[British Rail Class 15]] diesel-electric locomotives were designed by BTH.

===AEI (Associated Electrical Industries)===
To try to cure internal political and efficiency problems, AEI stopped using the BTH and Metrovick names on 1 January 1960. This led to a huge decline in sales because no-one had heard of "AEI" before, and in turn, a massive drop in AEI's stock price. Continued attempts to streamline what was two separate management structures continued to fail, and by the mid-60s the entire AEI group was in financial trouble. The '''AEI''' name was first used on products in 1961. By 1967 AEI brands included Siemens Edison Swan, [[Hotpoint]], [[Birlec]] and [[W.T. Henley]].

The AEI research lab (building BR57) was built in 1960 at the Boughton Road site. At this point the size of the Rugby site peaked, with all of the company's land west of the Black Path built over.

Britain's first commercial [[nuclear power]] facility was built between 1956 and 1962 at [[Berkeley Nuclear Power Station|Berkeley]]. This was followed by the building and commissioning of the 25 m Chilbolton radar dish at [[Chilbolton Observatory]] between 1963 and 1967.

===GEC (General Electric Company)===
[[File:AA former BTH east gate.jpg|thumb|right|View across Mill Road, [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]] of where the east entrance of BTH was]]
In 1967 [[The General Electric Company|GEC]] bought AEI outright and became the UK's largest electrical group. A year later GEC acquired [[English Electric]], prompting a series of mergers and reorganisations. GEC-AEI Electronics (Blackbird Road and New Parks, Leicester) was merged with Marconi's Radar Division (Chelmsford) and Elliott's Aerospace Control Division to form '''Marconi Radar Systems Ltd.''' (MRSL) in 1969.

In 1980 GEC Turbine Generators Ltd received [[The Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade (Export)]].

During the 1980s GEC Rugby shrank and buildings were demolished. The south part of the area to the west of the Black Path became a supermarket site. The Boughton Road site became several separate small firms. In 1989 GEC Rugby split into GEC [[Alstom|Alsthom]] and [[Cegelec Projects]], which were reunited in 1998 as '''Alstom'''.

The firm's [[wikt:clubhouse|clubhouse]] on Hillmorton Road was demolished in 2007, and the south edge of its surrounding sports field was encroached along for house building.

By 2011 the Mill Road factory site was greatly changed and included [[Rugby College]].<ref>[http://www.warwickshire.ac.uk/our_locations/rugby.aspx] Warwickshire University, Rugby College. Retrieved 2013-12-28</ref> Quartzelec,<ref>[http://www.quartzelec.com/quartzelec-rugby.html] Quartzelec, Rugby. Retrieved 2013-12-28</ref> and [[Converteam]]<ref>[http://www.converteam.com/majic/pageServer/1p040000yn/UK---Main-Office---Rugby.html] Converteam {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404053706/http://www.converteam.com/majic/pageServer/1p040000yn/UK---Main-Office---Rugby.html |date=4 April 2010 }}</ref> worked on electrical engineering projects in some of the early BTH buildings, notably buildings 4, 193 and 140. A public road was built through the site between its former east and west gates. In 2012 Converteam was bought out by [[General Electric]], therefore coming full circle back to when they were partnered in AEI. Converteam (now GE) produced rotating machines and used former-BTH equipment (machines) for running tests.

==Research==
During post-World War II Britain, AEI established a consolidated research effort at [[Aldermaston]] in Berkshire, England. The research centre was based at [[Aldermaston Court]], a large stately home owned by AEI that had been requisitioned for military use in the war era.

==Preserved locomotives==
One of the BTH-built batch of New Zealand Railways DSC class Bo-Bo shunters has been preserved and is used in industrial service, complete with original Rolls-Royce engines. The locomotive (DSC406) is the primary motive power at Alliance Ltd, [[Pukeuri]], New Zealand. All the others were scrapped between 1986 and 1990.

[[New South Wales 41 class locomotive|Metro-Cammell-BTH diesel electric locomotive 4102]] has been preserved in New South Wales, Australia.<ref>[http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=4807240 Locomotive, Diesel 4102] NSW Government Environment & Heritage</ref>

Another BTH diesel locomotive is preserved in the UK<ref>[https://preservation.kesr.org.uk/diesel-locomotives/no-40] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231123730/https://preservation.kesr.org.uk/diesel-locomotives/no-40 |date=31 December 2019 }}.</ref> This locomotive was purchased from [[Ford Dagenham]] by AEI and presented to the [[Kent and East Sussex Railway]] for preservation. See [[Rolling stock of the Kent & East Sussex Railway (heritage)]] for details.

==See also==
*[[British Thomson-Houston Company War Memorial]]
*{{RMS|Viceroy of India}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110516211136/http://www.rugby-local-history.org.uk/indus.html The industrial history of Rugby]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160107024557/http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/system/files/65700_Boughton%20Road,%20Rugby.pdf Wessex Archaeology (2007) Boughton Road Buildings Assessment - BTH/AEI]
*[http://www.rugby-local-history.org.uk/bth/bth.html Images of BTH]
*[http://www.aeirfc.co.uk AEI (Rugby) RFC website]
*[http://cotonhouse.org/ AEI/BTH Coton House alumni site]
*[http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~wylie/Ediswan/Ediswan.htm Ediswan]
* {{PM20|FID=co/050485|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=}}

{{General Electric Company plc}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Turbine manufacturers]]
[[Category:Engineering companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Electrical engineering companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Locomotive manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Former defence companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Associated Electrical Industries]]
[[Category:BTH locomotives| ]]
[[Category:British companies established in 1894]]
[[Category:British companies disestablished in 1960]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies established in 1894]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Rugby, Warwickshire]]
[[Category:1894 establishments in England]]
[[Category:1960 disestablishments in England]]