Safety Lamps/Ackroyd & Best Pittsburgh Ad in the July 1915 Colliery Engineer

Safety Lamps

Ackroyd & Best Pittsburgh Ad in the July 1915 Colliery Engineer.jpg - ACKROYD & BEST PITTSBURGH OFFICE AD IN JULY 1915 COLLIERY ENGINEER - The history of Ackroyd & Best is a storied one. William Ackroyd was born in 1849, the eldest of 11 children. William, trained as a mining engineer, joined his brother Alfred and took over operations of the Morley Main Colliery which was mined for coal from 1855 to 1909. William Best was born in 1846 in Pudsey and moved to Morley at the age of 10 when he started work in the Morley Main Colliery as a Pit Boy. He worked his way up through lamp foreman and became well acquainted with William Ackroyd. Together they opened their first factory in 1896 to produce safety lamps in Morley at the Hembrigg Lamp Works and in 1897 they formed a limited company with Ackroyd as Chairman and Best as General Manager. They were producing lamps at Hembrigg using the most up-to-date machinery available at the time. In 1902, Hembrigg Works was found to be structurally unsafe and the company was forced to find new quarters at the Perseverance Works where they remained till 1911. Meanwhile, Earnest Arthur Hailwood was born in St. Helens, Lancashire, in 1877, the son of an engineer. Schooled early in Sheffield, he was one of 12 children and for lack of family finances, he started work at the age of 12. By 16 he was employed at a steel foundry in Sheffield and in 1899 at the age of 22 he moved to Morley and started work with Ackroyd & Best. By 1906, Ackroyd & Best boasted that over 250,000 of their lamps were in use. Hailwood worked his way up through the ranks. The relationship between William Best and Ackroyd and the other company directors had become so acrimonious over operation of the company that in 1908 Best was dismissed by the company. Earnest Hailwood was then promoted to Best’s position as General Manager of the company. Best through other endeavors continued to work on the development of miners’ lamps till his death in 1932. Hailwood energized the company as it moved to its new manufacturing facility at Beacon Works in 1911. It is thought that the company started the Pittsburgh, PA office during this period to expand its marketing of lamp products overseas. The company then added the Glass Works to the Beacon Works in 1915 for a secure source of glass during the start of WWI. Following Ackroyd’s death in 1920, Hailwood developed the company to become the largest manufacturer of illuminating glassware and fittings in England during the 1920s. Hailwood was a prodigious inventor having taken out nearly 200 patents covering a range of items from miners’ lamps to glass and lighting products. In 1927 the company’s name was changed to Hailwood and Ackroyd and Hailwood continued to manage the company until 1937. The company continued to make glass products until 1979 when the business closed. See Horning, Eureka #29, pp 19-25 and Horning, Eureka #31, pp 20-24

Ackroyd & Best Pittsburgh Ad in the July 1915 Colliery Engineer | ACKROYD & BEST PITTSBURGH OFFICE AD IN JULY 1915 COLLIERY ENGINEER - The history of Ackroyd & Best is a storied one. William Ackroyd was born in 1849, the eldest of 11 children. William, trained as a mining engineer, joined his brother Alfred and took over operations of the Morley Main Colliery which was mined for coal from 1855 to 1909. William Best was born in 1846 in Pudsey and moved to Morley at the age of 10 when he started work in the Morley Main Colliery as a Pit Boy. He worked his way up through lamp foreman and became well acquainted with William Ackroyd. Together they opened their first factory in 1896 to produce safety lamps in Morley at the Hembrigg Lamp Works and in 1897 they formed a limited company with Ackroyd as Chairman and Best as General Manager. They were producing lamps at Hembrigg using the most up-to-date machinery available at the time. In 1902, Hembrigg Works was found to be structurally unsafe and the company was forced to find new quarters at the Perseverance Works where they remained till 1911. Meanwhile, Earnest Arthur Hailwood was born in St. Helens, Lancashire, in 1877, the son of an engineer. Schooled early in Sheffield, he was one of 12 children and for lack of family finances, he started work at the age of 12. By 16 he was employed at a steel foundry in Sheffield and in 1899 at the age of 22 he moved to Morley and started work with Ackroyd & Best. By 1906, Ackroyd & Best boasted that over 250,000 of their lamps were in use. Hailwood worked his way up through the ranks. The relationship between William Best and Ackroyd and the other company directors had become so acrimonious over operation of the company that in 1908 Best was dismissed by the company. Earnest Hailwood was then promoted to Best’s position as General Manager of the company. Best through other endeavors continued to work on the development of miners’ lamps till his death in 1932. Hailwood energized the company as it moved to its new manufacturing facility at Beacon Works in 1911. It is thought that the company started the Pittsburgh, PA office during this period to expand its marketing of lamp products overseas. The company then added the Glass Works to the Beacon Works in 1915 for a secure source of glass during the start of WWI. Following Ackroyd’s death in 1920, Hailwood developed the company to become the largest manufacturer of illuminating glassware and fittings in England during the 1920s. Hailwood was a prodigious inventor having taken out nearly 200 patents covering a range of items from miners’ lamps to glass and lighting products. In 1927 the company’s name was changed to Hailwood and Ackroyd and Hailwood continued to manage the company until 1937. The company continued to make glass products until 1979 when the business closed. See Horning, Eureka #29, pp 19-25 and Horning, Eureka #31, pp 20-24

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