Dartmouth’s latest exhibition is all about the Newcomen steam engine. This new exhibition adds another two rooms to Dartmouth Museum and increases permanent display space by almost a third, when it opens in October 2023. The new exhibition focuses on the evolution of atmospheric steam power at the birth of the Industrial Revolution, as experienced through the David Hulse Collection of eight atmospheric steam engine models.
Each model has been chosen as it builds on Dartmouth engineer Thomas Newcomen’s installation of the first working “fire” engine in Dudley in 1712. There were no significant improvements in Newcomen’s design until James Watt’s Smethwick engine in 1779 , which precipitated others in the collection, ending with Trevithick’s 1804 engine which used high-pressure expanded steam and was small and light enough to enable steam-powered transport. David Hulse has spent 50 years bringing these engines to life in 1/16th scale models. David designed and manufactured every component in each engine, including the ceramic bricks for the buildings that housed the engines; each engine has taken about 6,000 hours of work. They are testament not only to David’s extraordinary skills as a model maker – and his inexhaustible patience – but also to his profound scholarship, as he has scrupulously researched every detail of their construction and operation in museums and archives throughout the country. The collection is known around the world for the quality of its modelling. David has generously donated the collection to Dartmouth Museum, where it will be on permanent display.
This collection will be a wonderful resource and inspiration for students, specialist modellers, and those who simply want to know more about the machines that powered the industrial revolution and changed the world. The exhibition goes on to show the impact of steam power on Dartmouth and the lives of its people and opens on October 21st.
Dartmouth Museum is a community museum, committed to preserving and exhibiting the fascinating and rich history of Dartmouth and surrounding villages. It is housed in a merchant’s house in the historic Butterwalk and was built in the 1640s. The Museum welcomes over 7,000 visitors annually from all over the world and is one of the few museums in the South Hams that is open throughout the year. A charity, it is run entirely by volunteers, including 30 stewards, who keep the Museum open 7 days a week.
For further details visit their website:
You can also see a video of David Hulse talking about his engines in the film ‘Mechanical Wonders’.
Industrial Heritage Networks 