Records of Messrs. Marshall and Boyd (Hope Iron Works)

Cash Book for Messrs. Marshall and Boyd, Hope Iron Works covering the period 1867-1871

The Boyd family were involved in machine engineering work throughout the nineteenth century. In 1814 G and W Boyd were wheelwrights who made threshing machines and mill-stones. By 1838 they had a brass foundry. They moved to premises in James Street, Hull, in the 1840s and in 1851 they employed 13 people and four apprentices. William Boyd was by then 71 years old. In 1852 the family split their operations and Robert and John Boyd set up in the Hope Iron Works in Holderness Road. Robert's son, Edward, continued this firm, manufacturing small items such as die plates, valves and levers for local industry and cabin light fittings for ships. The original Boyd premises in James Street were sold in 1870 to Priestman and Sizer and, although Richard Sizer left the firm in 1873, the cashbook for the Hope Iron Works firm seems to have passed down through the Sizer family, presumably having originally been left behind by the Boyds at James Street. It is a useful resource for examining the operations of a small iron foundry (Bellamy, 'Some aspects of the economy of Hull', Pt. I p.288; Pt. II Appendix III B p.2 n.1).

Access will be granted to any accredited reader

Donated by Miss A.M. Sizer, Hessle, 20 Feb 1965