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The Soho Manufactory was an early factory
Factory

A factory or manufacturing plant is an industry building where workers manufacturing Good or supervise machines Process Manufacturing one product into another....
 which pioneered mass production
Mass production

Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk to discrete solid parts to assemblies of such parts ....
 on the assembly line
Assembly line

An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods....
 principle, in Soho, Birmingham
Soho, Birmingham

Soho is an area in north west Birmingham, approximately 2 miles from the City Centre on the A41 road, which until 1911 formed part of Handsworth, West Midlands District....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

The factory was established by the toy manufacturer
Toy industry

The toy industry was the term used to describe a number of metalworking industries that produced small goods; hinges, buttons, belt buckles and hooks are all examples of goods that were once considered "toys"....
 Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton

Matthew Boulton was an England manufacturer and engineer and a key member of the Lunar Society....
 and his business partner John Fothergill. In 1761, they leased a site on Handsworth
Handsworth, West Midlands

Handsworth is an inner city suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands , England.The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr....
 Heath, containing a cottage and a water-driven metal-rolling mill. The mill was replaced by a new factory, designed and built by the Wyatt family of Lichfield
Lichfield

Lichfield is a city status in the United Kingdom and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. One of seven civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated 25 km north of Birmingham and 200 km northwest of central London....
, and completed in 1766.






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The Soho Manufactory was an early factory
Factory

A factory or manufacturing plant is an industry building where workers manufacturing Good or supervise machines Process Manufacturing one product into another....
 which pioneered mass production
Mass production

Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines. The concepts of mass production are applied to various kinds of products, from fluids and particulates handled in bulk to discrete solid parts to assemblies of such parts ....
 on the assembly line
Assembly line

An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods....
 principle, in Soho, Birmingham
Soho, Birmingham

Soho is an area in north west Birmingham, approximately 2 miles from the City Centre on the A41 road, which until 1911 formed part of Handsworth, West Midlands District....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

The factory was established by the toy manufacturer
Toy industry

The toy industry was the term used to describe a number of metalworking industries that produced small goods; hinges, buttons, belt buckles and hooks are all examples of goods that were once considered "toys"....
 Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton

Matthew Boulton was an England manufacturer and engineer and a key member of the Lunar Society....
 and his business partner John Fothergill. In 1761, they leased a site on Handsworth
Handsworth, West Midlands

Handsworth is an inner city suburb of Birmingham in the West Midlands , England.The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr....
 Heath, containing a cottage and a water-driven metal-rolling mill. The mill was replaced by a new factory, designed and built by the Wyatt family of Lichfield
Lichfield

Lichfield is a city status in the United Kingdom and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. One of seven civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated 25 km north of Birmingham and 200 km northwest of central London....
, and completed in 1766. The cottage was later demolished and Boulton's home (Soho House
Soho House

Soho House , Matthew Boulton's home in Handsworth, West Midlands, Birmingham, England, is now a museum , celebrating his life, his partnership with James Watt and his membership of the Lunar Society....
) was built on the site, also by the Wyatts.

The Manufactory produced a wide range of goods from button
Button

In clothing and fashion design, a button is a small disc, typically round, object usually attached to an article of clothing in order to secure an opening, or for fashion....
s, buckle
Buckle

A buckle is a clasp used for fastening two things together, such as the ends of a belt , or for retaining the end of a strap. Before the invention of the zipper, buckles were commonly used to fasten boots and other shoes....
s and boxes to japanned ware
Lacquer

In a general sense, lacquer is a clear or coloured varnish that dries by solvent evaporation and often a curing process as well that produces a hard, durable finish, in any sheen level from ultra matte to high Gloss and that can be further polished as required....
 (collectively caled toys), and later luxury products such as silverware
Silverware

Silverware, also called silver or silver plate, is a term for a number of household items:* Silver , candlesticks, dishware, flatware or cutlery usually made of sterling silver, a silver-plated base metal or stainless steel...
 and ormolu
Ormolu

Ormolu is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-karat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze. The mercury is driven off in a kiln....
 (a type of gilded bronze
Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other chemical element such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon....
). It was also home to the first steam
Steam

In physical chemistry, and in engineering, steam refers to vaporized water. It is a pure, completely invisible gaseous phase . At standard temperature and pressure, pure steam occupies about 1,600 times the volume of an equal mass of liquid water....
-powered mint
Mint (coin)

A mint is an industrial facility which manufacturing coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is normally related in a fashion that more closely ties to the political situation of an era....
, whose presses were subsequently used at the first Birmingham Mint
Birmingham Mint

The Birmingham Mint, a Mint , originally known as Heaton's Mint or Ralph Heaton & Sons, in Birmingham, England started producing Token coin and coins in 1850 as a private enterprise, separate from, but in cooperation with the Royal Mint....


In later years, the Manufactory was served by canal at Soho Wharf, at the end of the short Soho Branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations
Birmingham Canal Navigations

Birmingham Canal Navigations is a network of navigable canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country....
' Soho Branch Loop Line.

The manufactory was demolished in the middle of the 19th century and the site used for housing. In the 1990s the television archaeology
Archaeology

Archaeology, archeology, or arch?ology is the science that studies Homo cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, Artifact , features, Biofact s, and cultural landscape....
 programme Time Team
Time Team

Time Team is a United Kingdom Television program that has aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Presented by the actor Tony Robinson, the series features a team of specialists doing an archaeology Excavation in three days, with Robinson explaining the process Wiktionary:in layman's terms....
 excavated the foundations, in some of the local back gardens.

See also

  • Soho Foundry
    Soho Foundry

    Soho Foundry was a factory created in 1795 by Matthew Boulton and James Watt at Smethwick, West Midlands , England , for the manufacture of steam engines....
  • Soho Mint
    Soho Mint

    Soho Mint was created by Matthew Boulton in 1778 in his Soho Manufactory in Handsworth, West Midlands, England.A Mint was erected at the manufactory containing eight machines, driven by steam engine, each capable of striking 70 to 84 coins per minute....