Heenan & Froude

Heenan & Froude was a British engineering company established in 1881 at Newton Heath, Manchester, by engineers Richard Hammersley Heenan and Richard Hurrell Froude. Its origins combined Heenan's experience in railway engineering with the technological legacy of Richard Froude's father, William Froude, whose patents included the water-brake dynamometer. The dynamometer became one of the company's defining products and connected the business to marine, industrial, railway, and later automotive testing. During the late Victorian period, Heenan & Froude operated as a broadly capable engineering contractor rather than a narrowly focused manufacturer. It supplied and erected steelwork for major infrastructure, including Folkestone Pier, and produced a large girder bridge for Chile's national railway. The company was also appointed structural engineer for Blackpool Tower, one of its most celebrated projects. Its work on the tower included the principal structure, electric lighting, and steel frontage associated with the aquariums. Other activities included the design of steerable torpedoes and the construction of Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester. The company expanded geographically and industrially in the early twentieth century. It purchased a factory in Birmingham in 1902 and incorporated while moving its headquarters to Worcester in 1903. By that stage it had become a general engineering group producing mine and exhaust ventilation fans, colliery equipment, conveyors, elevators, belts, sawing machinery, chains, engines, boilers, bridge and roof ironwork, refuse destructors, and dynamometers. This broad product range reflected the industrial economy of the period, particularly the needs of mining, railways, factories, municipal services, and heavy construction. After the First World War, the motor manufacturer Darracq and Company London acquired a substantial interest in Heenan & Froude. Darracq subsequently became part of STD Motors, which acquired the remaining shares in 1920. STD Motors collapsed in 1935, after which investors acquired the engineering business and renamed it Heenan Group Ltd. The reorganized company comprised seven engineering companies operating from five factories and became a publicly listed business. It continued to expand through acquisitions and entered a 50/50 venture with Caprotti Ltd in 1938 to develop and market steam-locomotive valve technology. Fielding & Platt of Gloucester was acquired the following year. During the Second World War, Heenan Group became a shadow factory producing precision aircraft components. In the post-war period, chairman A. P. Good used acquisitions to build a railway engineering division. The enlarged group included Associated Locomotive Equipment, W. G. Bagnall, Brush Electrical Engineering, and Caprotti. Through these businesses, it held rights to manufacture several steam-locomotive poppet-valve systems, including British-Caprotti and Lentz designs. One notable locomotive associated with this engineering activity was British Railways Standard Class 8 No. 71000, Duke of Gloucester. W. G. Bagnall was later sold to W. H. Dorman & Co. in 1959. Following Good's death in 1953, the group was progressively dismantled under his successor, James Fielding. Heenan & Froude nevertheless retained a connection with engine testing: it supplied dynamometers to Ford UK for testing the Ford GT40, and Fielding acquired an early UK-supplied example of the model. In 1968 the group was acquired by Redman Engineering and renamed Redman Heenan Froude Ltd. The business soon withdrew from heavy engineering and shifted toward property development and leasing, adopting the name Redman Heenan International plc. In 1986, a reverse takeover led by Sir Stanley Clarke backed the Clarke St. Modwen property business into the listed company. The resulting organization was renamed St. Modwen Properties plc. The remaining engineering activities were sold to FKI Group in 1987. The original Heenan & Froude enterprise therefore ceased to exist as an independent engineering group, although the Froude name continued in successor businesses associated with dynamometers and testing equipment.

Heenan & Froude began in 1881 when Richard Hammersley Heenan, who had worked on the East India Railway, purchased the works of Woodhouse and Co. at Newton Heath and entered into partnership with Richard Hurrell Froude. In 1883, after the death of his father William Froude, Richard Froude inherited rights to patents including the water-brake dynamometer. That technology became central to the company's identity and later supported its involvement in railway and automotive engine testing. The early company undertook major civil and mechanical engineering work. It supplied and constructed the steelwork for Folkestone Pier in 1887 and provided a 1,600-foot girder bridge for Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado, Chile's national railway. It also developed two steerable torpedo designs and contributed substantially to Blackpool Tower. Appointed structural engineers for the tower in 1882, Heenan & Froude supplied and erected the principal structure, its electric lighting, and steel elements for the aquarium fronts. The company also designed Manchester's Castlefield Viaduct, completed in 1892. Expansion followed in the early twentieth century. A Birmingham factory was acquired in 1902, and incorporation and a move to Worcester took place in 1903. The business then manufactured a broad range of industrial equipment, including ventilation fans, mining plant, conveyors, elevators, belts, chains, engines, boilers, structural ironwork, refuse destructors, and dynamometers. The ownership structure changed after the First World War. Darracq and Company London acquired a major stake, and after Darracq joined STD Motors in 1920, STD acquired the remaining shares. STD's 1935 bankruptcy resulted in a new investor-owned company called Heenan Group Ltd. The new group operated seven engineering companies from five factories and became listed on the London Stock Exchange. It expanded through acquisitions and formed a 50/50 Caprotti venture in 1938. Fielding & Platt was acquired in 1939. During the Second World War, the group operated as a shadow factory producing precision aircraft parts. After the war, chairman A. P. Good developed a railway engineering division through acquisitions that included Associated Locomotive Equipment, W. G. Bagnall, Brush Electrical Engineering, and Caprotti. The group controlled British rights for several steam-locomotive poppet-valve systems. Its railway activities were associated with locomotives such as British Railways Standard Class 8 No. 71000, Duke of Gloucester. W. G. Bagnall was sold in 1959. After Good died in 1953, James Fielding oversaw a piecemeal disposal of the group's businesses. Heenan & Froude retained expertise in testing equipment and supplied dynamometers to Ford UK for Ford GT40 testing. Fielding acquired an early UK-supplied GT40. In 1968 Redman Engineering acquired the company and adopted the name Redman Heenan Froude Ltd. The business soon abandoned heavy engineering in favor of property development and leasing, becoming Redman Heenan International plc. In 1986, Sir Stanley Clarke led a reverse takeover that placed the Clarke St. Modwen property business into the listed company, which was renamed St. Modwen Properties plc. The remaining engineering operations were sold to FKI Group in 1987. Heenan & Froude consequently ceased to operate as an independent engineering company.

• 1987

  Engineering businesses sold to FKI

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  The residual engineering businesses were sold to FKI Group after the company moved into property.

• 1968

  Acquired by Redman Engineering

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  The group became Redman Heenan Froude Ltd after acquisition by Redman Engineering.

• 1938

  Caprotti joint venture created

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  Heenan Group and Caprotti Ltd formed a 50/50 venture focused on steam-locomotive valves.

• 1935

  Heenan Group established

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  Following STD Motors' bankruptcy, investors acquired and renamed the business Heenan Group Ltd.

• 1903

  Incorporation and Worcester headquarters

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  The expanding company incorporated and moved its headquarters to Worcester.

• 1892

  Castlefield Viaduct completed

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  The company was responsible for the design of Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester.

• 1883

  Water-brake dynamometer patent rights inherited

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  Richard Froude inherited rights to William Froude's patents, including the water-brake dynamometer.

• 1882

  Blackpool Tower engineering appointment

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  The company became structural engineer for Blackpool Tower and supplied major structural and electrical components.

• 1881

  Partnership founded in Newton Heath

  [1]Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org

  Richard Hammersley Heenan and Richard Hurrell Froude formed Heenan & Froude in Newton Heath, Manchester.

A diversified British heavy-engineering and infrastructure contractor that combined structural construction, industrial machinery, railway technology, and engine-testing equipment.

• Engine and machinery testing equipment

  Water-brake dynamometers

  Water-brake dynamometers were derived from William Froude's patented technology and became one of the company's most recognizable engineering products. They absorbed mechanical power through hydraulic resistance and were used to measure the performance of engines and other machinery. The technology supported later testing work for Ford UK, including testing associated with the Ford GT40.

• Construction and infrastructure engineering

  Structural steelwork

  The company supplied and erected steel structures for infrastructure projects during the late Victorian period. Its work included the principal structure of Blackpool Tower, steelwork for Folkestone Pier, a large girder bridge for Chile's national railway, and other bridge and roof ironwork.

• Industrial machinery

  Mining and ventilation plant

  As a general engineering manufacturer, Heenan & Froude produced mine plant, colliery equipment, and exhaust and mine-ventilating fans. These products served the industrial and extractive sectors that formed an important part of the British engineering market in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

• Material-handling equipment

  Conveyors, elevators, belts, and chains

  The company's product range included belts, conveyors, elevators, and bench chains for the movement of materials in factories, mines, and other industrial settings. These offerings illustrated its shift from specialist structural projects toward broad industrial equipment manufacture.

• Railway engineering

  Steam-locomotive valve gear

  Through Associated Locomotive Equipment and Caprotti-related operations, the group held UK production rights for steam-locomotive poppet-valve systems, including British-Caprotti and Lentz rotary-cam and oscillating-cam arrangements. These activities formed part of the post-war railway engineering division.

• Aerospace manufacturing · 1939

  Aircraft components

  During the Second World War, the company operated as a shadow factory and supplied precision aircraft parts. This wartime role temporarily redirected its manufacturing capabilities toward national defense production.

• 1986

  Converted the listed company into a property vehicleStrategy

  Background

  After the engineering operations had been reduced, the listed corporate structure was used for a property-business transaction.

  Action taken

  Sir Stanley Clarke led a reverse takeover that placed Clarke St. Modwen into Redman Heenan International plc, which was renamed St. Modwen Properties plc.

  Aftermath

  The transaction marked the effective end of Heenan & Froude's identity as an independent engineering group.

  Source

• 1968

  Accepted acquisition by Redman EngineeringM&A

  Background

  The diversified engineering group was undergoing restructuring and ownership change.

  Action taken

  Redman Engineering acquired the group and renamed it Redman Heenan Froude Ltd.

  Aftermath

  The company soon left heavy engineering and concentrated on property development and leasing under the later name Redman Heenan International plc.

  Source

• 1938

  Created a joint venture with CaprottiM&A

  Background

  The group sought to expand its railway engineering activities and commercialize steam-locomotive valve technology.

  Action taken

  Heenan Group agreed to a 50/50 company with Caprotti Ltd for the development and sale of steam-locomotive valves.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement became part of the group's broader railway engineering expansion and later acquisition activity.

  Source

• 1903

  Expanded into a broad general-engineering groupStrategy

  Background

  After acquiring a Birmingham factory, the company had expanded beyond individual structural projects and was serving mining, manufacturing, transport, and municipal customers.

  Action taken

  It incorporated and moved its headquarters to Worcester while developing a wide portfolio of industrial machinery and structural products.

  Aftermath

  The move supported the company's growth into a diversified engineering business during the early twentieth century.

  Source

1. 1Heenan & Froudeen.wikipedia.org