Heenan & Froude
| Company type | Public (later) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Engineering |
| Founded | January 1, 1881 in Newton Heath, Manchester, United Kingdom |
| Founder | Richard Froude, Richard Hammersley Heenan |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Fate | Acquired and rebranded as St. Modwen Properties plc after reverse takeover in 1986; engineering divisions divested in 1987 |
| Headquarters | Worcester , United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom, international projects (e.g. Chile) |
Key people | A.P. Good (chairman), James Fielding (successor) |
| Products | Steel structures, water brake dynamometers, ventilation fans, mining machinery, locomotive valve gear systems, precision aircraft components |
| Parent | STD Motors (1920–1935), Heenan Group Ltd (post-1935), Redman Heenan Froude Ltd (from 1968) |
Heenan & Froude was an engineering firm based in the United Kingdom, established in 1881 in Newton Heath, Manchester, by engineers Richard Froude and Richard Hammersley Heenan. Leveraging William Froude's invention of the water brake dynamometer, their most prominent achievement was the construction of Blackpool Tower, which stands 518 feet tall.
History
Following his work on the East India Railway, Hammersley Heenan returned to England and took over Woodhouse and Co. in Newton Heath. In 1881, he joined forces with Richard Hurrell Froude to create Heenan & Froude Ltd. Two years later, in 1883, Richard inherited patents from his father William Froude, including the water brake dynamometer.
The company was involved in major engineering projects during the late Victorian era, such as providing steel structures for Folkestone Pier in 1887 and fabricating a 1600-foot girder bridge for Chile’s national railway system. They also developed two steerable torpedo prototypes that were presented to both the British Admiralty and Australian authorities. In 1882, Heenan & Froude acted as structural engineers for Blackpool Tower, supplying steel framework, electric lighting installations, and aquarium facades. Additionally, they engineered Manchester’s Castlefield viaduct in 1892.
After acquiring a manufacturing plant in Birmingham in 1902, the firm expanded operations and moved its headquarters to Worcester by 1903. By this period, the company had diversified its engineering portfolio to include exhaust and mine ventilation fans, mining and colliery machinery, belts, conveyors, elevators, sawing equipment, bench chains, water dynamometers, various engine types, patented water boilers, ironwork for bridges and roofs, as well as refuse incinerators.
STD Motors
Post-World War I, the automobile manufacturer Darracq and Company London—originally French but British-owned since 1903—obtained a significant shareholding in Heenan & Froude. After Darracq merged into STD Motors (the consolidation of Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq companies) in 1920, STD Motors acquired full ownership of Heenan & Froude.
Heenan Group
When STD Motors collapsed financially in 1935, new investors purchased the company and rebranded it as Heenan Group Ltd. At that time, it consisted of seven engineering firms operating across five factories and was publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. In 1938, Heenan Group entered a joint venture equally shared with Caprotti Ltd to produce and market steam locomotive valve gear systems. The company further expanded by acquiring Gloucester-based Fielding & Platt in 1939.
Acquisitions
Throughout World War II, Heenan functioned as a shadow factory, manufacturing precision components for aircraft. After the war, under chairman A.P. Good’s leadership, the company established a railway engineering division by integrating significant assets from the British locomotive industry:
- Associated Locomotive Equipment: operating from Shrub Hill Works in Worcester
- W. G. Bagnall of Stafford: focused on locomotives and railway rolling stock; sold to W.H. Dorman & Co. Ltd. in 1959
- Brush Electrical Engineering Company
- Caprotti Ltd: fully acquired by Heenan
Associated Locomotive Equipment held UK manufacturing rights for steam locomotive poppet valve gears such as British-Caprotti and Lentz Rotary Cam systems. Their most distinguished project involved fitting these valve gears to the singular BR Standard Class 8 4-6-2 No.71000 Duke of Gloucester. Following Good’s death in 1953, his successor James Fielding gradually divested several business units. Notably, after providing dynamometers for Ford UK during testing of the Ford GT40, Fielding purchased one of the earliest GT40s supplied within the UK.
Redman Heenan Froude
In 1968, Redman Engineering acquired Heenan Group, leading to the formation of Redman Heenan Froude Ltd. Shortly thereafter, the firm shifted away from heavy engineering to concentrate on property development and leasing activities, adopting the name Redman Heenan International plc. By the late 1980s, Froude Engineering was integrated into Babcock International.
St. Modwen Properties
In April 1986, Sir Stanley Clarke CBE orchestrated a reverse takeover by merging his property development company, Clarke St. Modwen, into the dormant entity Redman Heenan International plc. Following this transaction, the business was rebranded as St. Modwen Properties plc. The residual engineering divisions were divested to FKI Group in 1987.
External links
- Articles with short description
- British companies disestablished in 1987
- Manufacturing companies based in Worcester, England
- Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
- Defunct engineering companies of England
- 1881 establishments in England
- Manufacturing companies established in 1881
- British companies established in 1881