In this book W. O. Henderson has brought together in English translation the journals of four foreign visitors who travelled in England and Scotland in the years immediately following the Napoleonic wars, in a way which may be regarded as a sequel to his recent book on J. C. Fischer’s diaries of industrial Britain.
Two of the travellers whose journals are included in this volume were Swiss industrialists. Hans Caspar Escher was both a professional architect and the founder of the famous engineering firm of Esther Wyss of Zürich, Bodmer, also of Zürich, lived in England for many years and was recognised as an inventor of genius. The other accounts of industrial Britain in the Regency era are a report by the Prussian Factory Commissioner May and a short survey of the Newcastle upon Tyne colliery railways by the French government engineer Louis de Gallois. The four diaries show how informed foreign visitors were impressed by the way in which Britain had survived the perils of Napoleon’s Continental System and was now forging ahead to consolidate her position as the workshop of the world. This book was first published in 1968.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Part I: Foreign Reports on Industrial Britain 1. Introduction 2. Hans Caspar Esher 3. Johann Georg Bodmer 4. J. Georg May 5. Louis de Gallois Part 2: Escher's Letters from England, 1814 1. Calais, July 31 2. Dover, August 2 3. London, August 5 4. London, August 11 5. Manchester, August 15 6. Manchester, August 20 7. Liverpool, August 23 8. Glasgow, August 30 9. Glasgow, September 7 10. Glasgow, September 11 11. Edinburgh, September 18 12. Sunderland, September 22 13. Manchester, October 1 14. Manchester, October 4 15. Manchester, October 10 16. Manchester, October 15 17. Manchester, October 18 18. London, November 1 19. Dover, November 17 20. Calais, November 18 21. Postscript I 22. Postscript II Part 3: Bodmer’s Diary 1816–1817 1. London, October 22–November 5, 1816 2. Birmingham, November 6–November 30, 1816 3. Liverpool, December 1–December 7, 1816 4. Manchester and District, December 8–December 24, 1816 5. Scotland, December 25, 1816–January, 1817 6. From Newcastle upon Tyne to London, January 4–January 24, 1817 7. London, January 24–February 14, 1817 Appendix: List of drawings made by Bodmer during his visit to England Part 4: Report on a Journey to England by Factory Commissioner J. G. May in 1814 1. Woollen Cloth 2. Cotton 3. Linen 4. Silk 5. Hosiery 6. Dyeworks, Printing and Bleaching Works 7. Hats 8. Paper 9. Tanning 10. Breweries 11. Distilleries 12. Pottery 13. Glass 14. Iron and Steel Products 15. Plated Manufacture 16. Brass and Lead 17. Metal Buttons and Needles 18. Engineering 19. Steam Engines 20. Hydraulic Power 21. Gas Lighting 22. Factory Building 23. Patents 24. The Custom House and the London Docks 25. The Society of Arts 26. Conclusion Part 5: Report by Louis de Galloiss on English Railways 1818 1. de Galloiss Report 2. Appendix 3. Conclusion
