PETER SPENCE 26 1 



source of alumina, and, after trying all kinds 

 of materials, was at the time experimenting 

 on coal shale; the experiment seemed to be a 

 failure, and he proposed abandoning the idea, 

 but after completing his operations, he 

 unintentionally left the materials in the basin 

 which he meant to have emptied; the next 

 morning to his delight and surprise, there 

 was a fine crop of alum crystals. This accident 

 was the foundation of his success. The 1845 

 patent was the initiation of Spence's alum 

 process, which was destined so completely to 

 revolutionise the alum trade, and make alum 

 so cheap a product as very greatly to increase 

 its consumption. 



But Cumberland was not the best locality 

 that could be selected. Spence soon saw 

 that Manchester and its neighbourhood were 

 much more advantageously situated; coal 

 shale could be much more abundantly 

 obtained, close at hand, and the markets for 

 the finished products were equally convenient. 



The next patented invention came from 

 Pendleton, near Manchester, on the i2th 

 November, 1850, and this was also for alum, 

 and with it cement. The previous patent 

 was very crude and simple, but it contained 

 the germ, which during the succeeding five 



