To drive the region’s clean growth revolution forwards it’s important to be forward thinking; exploring new technologies, greener ways to do things, and staying on the pulse of energy innovation. But sometimes it’s good to reflect for a moment and consider how our history helps shape our future.
The Webster & Horsfall Group’s history
Founded in 1720, The Webster & Horsfall Group began with John Webster, an ironmonger by trade, who started drawing wire at his mill in Perry Barr. Experimenting with crucible steel in 1766 led to the development of high carbon steel piano wire, and in time, this led to the invention of the patent steel wire that made the valve spring for internal combustion engines, deep cast mining and trans-Atlantic telegraph cables possible.
The Webster & Horsfall Group was responsible for manufacturing the armoured coating of the first successful trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable in 1866 and has remained a trailblazer in innovation ever since.
In 1848, James Horsfall (half of The Webster & Horsfall partnership) moved his operation to a former sword factory in Hay Mills. This historic site is where our future focused energy park is still located, evolving one of the UK’s oldest manufacturing sites to the pioneering hub for clean energy innovation it has become today.
Linking the past to the present
The Webster & Horsfall Group was, and remains, a family-owned business and is still owned and managed by direct descendants of James Horsfall.
The DNA of their 300-year industrial heritage still runs strong in Tyseley Energy Park’s work today. Robert Horsfall, Head of Finance and Strategic Projects at Tyseley Energy Park, commented: “The rich industrial heritage gained from the Webster & Horsfall Group is integral to our current mission to help Birmingham overcome the severe energy, business, and social challenges it faces today.
“Drawing on the group’s expertise from our academic, industrial and government partnerships as well as our current member organisations provides a robust platform for us to achieve our ambitious business goals. The TEP site, infrastructure, business and community connections are all fundamental in supporting new approaches to clean energy that drive real impact.”
But our passion for heritage doesn’t stop there; following the launch of the Canal & River Trust’s West Midlands Canal Prospectus earlier this year, we’ve been assessing how we can use the Grand Union Canal, a part of Birmingham’s historic waterways, in innovative ways to further our clean growth progress, linking the past to the present.
Today, the Tyseley Energy Park site is home to over twenty organisations, all of which are helping to shape Birmingham’s Green Energy and Innovation Quarter. We are also the forthcoming location of the National Centre for the Decarbonisation of Heat, which will be operated by the University of Birmingham and through its work, will position the West Midlands at the forefront of heating innovation, shaping both regional and national policy.
If you’re interested in how your business can become part of Tyseley Energy Park’s story, get in touch here: Contact Us – Tyseley Energy Park.
And if you’d like to discover more about our history, click here: Our History – Tyseley Energy Park