Martineau’s roots date back to Birmingham in 1828, a time when Birmingham and the wider West Midlands were earning their place in history as the manufacturing centre of the world.

Much of the credit goes to three great men - Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdock.

Matthew Boulton was born in Birmingham in 1728 and joined his father in 1749 as a partner in their silver stamping business. Some ten years later Boulton established his factory at Soho, two miles north of Birmingham, where he manufactured a variety of products in metal including steel buttons.

In 1769, a Scottish engineer called James Watt patented the separate condenser for steam engines “for the lessening of the consumption of steam and fuel in fire engines”. The separate condenser massively increased the power and flexibility of the steam engine. The development of Watt’s steam engine was financed by John Roebuck, but he was declared bankrupt in 1772. Roebuck owed Matthew Boulton £1,200, and Boulton accepted a two thirds share in Watt’s patent as satisfaction of the debt.

Three years later Watt entered into a partnership with Boulton and developed steam engines at the Soho factory to pump water out of mines. They were joined by another Scottish engineer William Murdock, who in 1774 constructed a high pressure steam engine to run on wheels. Boulton’s tremendous energy drove his colleagues towards greater achievements.

Murdock began experiments distilling coal gas and in 1803 the factory at Soho was lit by coal gas burners. Between 1781 and 1785 Watt obtained patents for many other inventions including the sun and planet gear system, the centrifugal governor and a steam pressure indicator.

By 1824, the partnership of Boulton and Watt had produced a total of 1,164 steam engines. Watt’s steam engine sparked the industrial revolution, with applications not only in mines but also in rail and sea transport. The universal unit of power (the watt) being one joule per second is named after him.

Today, the consequences of global industrialisation are evident, and Birmingham has risen to the challenge with ambitious plans to reduce the city’s contribution to the causes of climate change and help adapt to the changes already taking place. For more information on Birmingham’s climate change activities, see www.birminghamcuttingco2.org

We are amongst many businesses and organisations in Birmingham who are rightly proud of the region’s heritage, and equally determined to help the city realise its ambition to lead by example in global efforts to combat climate change.