Records of The Waddle Patent Fan and Engineering Company Limited

Records of The Waddle Engineering and Fan Co. Ltd, Llanelli, 1813 - 1977, comprising legal and property papers, 1862 - 1970, purchases and sales records, 1813 - 1972, including letters and letter books, 1852 - 1965, accounts, 1813 - 1972, papers relating to manufacture and production, 1834 - 1974, including analyses books, 1868 - 1966, labour costs, 1834 - 1974, and a large number of technical drawings, 1866 - 1977.

Founded as a boiler and engine manufacturer in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire by Hugh Waddle during the early 1800s, the business was one of the first heavy industries in the town. In the 1840s, Hugh Waddle invented the ‘Waddle’ fan, a ventilating fan that would revolutionise the way in which collieries could circulate air underground. These fans were manufactured at Llanelli from 1840s-1970, and would eventually make their way to coalfields and mines throughout the world. The company’s name changed to ‘The Waddle Patent Fan and Engineering Company’ towards the end of the 19th century.

Hugh Waddle died in 1846, and was succeeded by his son, John Roberts Waddle (1818-1887), who in due course was followed by his son, Hugh William Waddle. On 5 November 1907, The Waddle Patent Fan Company, Ltd was registered as a limited company. The first Managing Director of the new company was Arthur James Horsfield Burn, a Mechanical Engineer, from Llanelli. The Turbon Patent Fan Company, Limited was also formed in April 1910, to protect the patents relating to the manufacture and designs of the new ‘Turbon’ fan.

The Waddle Patent Fan was an open centrifugal fan specifically designed for the ventilation of collieries. A unique design in that the air was discharged from the outer edge of the fan and no casing was required. Extremely large to begin with (some over 40 ft in diameter), improvements in design and manufacture soon resulted in smaller, more efficient fans being produced. Waddle fans were installed throughout the British coalfields, in the coalmines of India and gold and diamond mines of South Africa and South America.

Following the Coal Mines Act of 1911, it became a safety requirement that all mines should have the ability to reverse the airflow, something that the open Waddle fans were unable to do without a major re-design. The Turbon fan was an enclosed fan, silent in operation with a unique corrugated runner, more powerful than many of its competitors, and most importantly, reversible. In addition to ventilating fans and engines, the Llanmore works would also supply various goods to the steel and tinplate companies in the Llanelli area. The works were heavily involved with Ministry of Supply contracts, including the manufacturing of parts for the Nissen steel buildings company during WWII.

Despite many efforts of modernisation and diversification the works were closed in 1980.

Arranged into three series representing their position and function within the business: legal and property, purchases and sales and manufacture and production.

Ar Agor / Open

Dim cyfyngiadau / No Restrictions

Adnau preifat / Private deposit

Acc No: 5732.

Mae copiau clawr caled o`r catalogau ar gael yn Archifau Sir Gaerfyrddin ac yn y Gofrestr Cenedlaethol Archifau. Polisi Archifau Sir Gaerfyrddin yw catalogio yn iaith y ddogfen / Hard copies of the catalogue are available at Carmarthenshire Archives and the National Register of Archives. It is the policy of Carmarthenshire Archives to catalogue in the language of the document.

Cyflwr da / Good condition

Compiled by Robert Evans, for Archives and Records Council Wales, with reference to listings supplied by Carmarthenshire Archives Service; 'Looking around Llanelli with Harry Davies', published by Llanelli Town Council, 1985; Pigot's directory of South Wales, 1830; Llanelli - Birth of a Town, by William and Benita Rees. http://www.llanelli-history.co.uk . This catalogue was produced with support from the National Cataloguing Grants Programme for Archives and from Welsh Assembly Government as part of the Archives and Records Council Wales cataloguing project, ‘Powering the World: Looking at Welsh Industry through Archives’.

Mae'r holl gofnodiadau sy'n cydymffurfio â pholisi casglu Archifau Sir Gaerfyrddin wedi eu cadw / All records which meet the collection policy of the Carmarthenshire Archives have been retained

Deposited by Mr G. J. Ellis, Chairman, L. B. E. Engineering Services, Newport, South Wales, 1981.

Ni ddisgwylir croniadau / Accruals are not expected

Further plans and drawings are held by The Richard Burton Archives, Swansea.