Trevithick's boiler

Contributed by Cornwall Museums

THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'.

CORNISH MINES AND ENGINES. Also know as the Cornish boiler. Early boilers were kettle shaped with a fire underneath. Trevithick's boiler was tubular and had a fire tube within it thus increasing the heating surface and being tubular could withstand the higher pressure. These came into general use around 1812, the same year as Trevithick built a threshing machine for Trewithen. This example is c.1820.

Comments are closed for this object

Most of the content on A History of the World is created by the contributors, who are the museums and members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC or the British Museum. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site’s House Rules please Flag This Object.

About this object

Click a button to explore other objects in the timeline

Location

Cornwall

Culture
Period

1820

Theme
Size
Colour
Material

View more objects from people in Cornwall.

BBC © 2014The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.