166 HENRY DEACON 



is inconveniently restricted, and the plant has 

 to be arranged so as best to economise the 

 space. 



Mr. William Pilkington withdrew from 

 Widnes, and Mr. Deacon in the year 1855 

 was joined by his old employer, Mr. Gaskell, 

 who dissolved partnership with Mr. Nasmyth 

 after they had been connected for six- 

 teen years. The reason of Mr. Gaskell's 

 retirement from the firm of Nasmyth 

 was a dangerous illness, which his medical 

 man feared would compel him to retire 

 altogether from active life ; happily he 

 recovered from this serious breakdown, and 

 such was the opinion he had formed of Henry 

 Deacon when he was in the shops at Patri- 

 croft, that he was now prepared to become 

 his partner, and to place his capital in the 

 concern, to carry on the manufacture of alkali, 

 as Deacon & Co., subsequently Gaskell, 

 Deacon & Co. 



Widnes was at this time a centre of 

 attraction in the chemical world, not merely 

 on account of the growing prosperity of the 

 place, but the inventions of William Gossage 

 were drawing the attention of all manufactur- 

 ing chemists to the complete revolution which 

 his discoveries would bring about in several 



