The  late  Joseph  Shuttleworth. 
271 
Neither  of  the  partners  possessed  much  capital,  but  both  be- 
came skilled  in  the  use  of  all  the  tools  and  appliances  required 
in  their  trade,  and  were  gifted  with  rare  powers  of  energy, 
industry,  and  perseverance, — qualities  which  laid  the  foundation 
of  an  enterprise  that  has  become  the  most  extensive  of  the  kind 
in  the  kingdom,  and  whose  manufactures  are  in  use  almost 
throughout  the  civilised  world. 
The  late  Mr.  Shuttleworth,  although  not  without  inventive 
faculties,  could  not  be  said  to  be  endowed  with  the  peculiar  and 
rare  genius  of  “ the  born  inventor.”  He  possessed  in  a remark- 
able degree  a perception  of  the  proper  proportion  of  parts,  which 
was  intuitive  ; and  also,  when  a number  of  plans  were  placed 
before  him,  his  discernment  in  selecting  the  best  method  for 
accomplishing  the  object  was  equally  remarkable.  His  judg- 
ment in  mechanical  matters  was  singularly  quick  and  unerring, 
_ hence  the  few  mistakes  made  in  the  productions  sent  out  from 
Stamp  End.  Both  Mr.  Clayton  and  the  late  Mr.  Shuttleworth 
were  thorough  men  of  business,  and  possessed  great  judgment 
in  mechanical  matters  ; but  in  the  conduct  of  their  business 
Mr.  Shuttleworth  devoted  himself  more  to  the  mechanical 
department  of  their  operations,  leaving  the  commercial  matters 
to  his  partner. 
The  original  site  of  their  Works,  which  now  cover  nearly  four- 
teen acres  of  ground,  was  a plot  of  land  about  one  and  a half  acres 
in  extent,  of  which  one  acre  was  under  water  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  year  ; but  the  remaining  half-acre  sufficed  for  the 
wants  of  the  firm  in  its  early  days  ; and  by  means  of  an  excellent 
system  the  partners  made  the  most  of  their  resources,  taking 
especial  pains,  from  the  first,  that  no  work  calculated  to  bring 
discredit  ever  left  their  foundry.  Consequently,  their  failures 
were  few.  The  first  important  contract  undertaken  by  Messrs. 
Clayton  and  Shuttleworth  was  for  the  Minningsby  Boston  Water- 
works, a contract  which  not  only  placed  them  in  possession  of 
welcome  capital,  but  which,  in  consequence  of  its  highly  suc- 
cessful execution,  brought  them  additional  orders. 
Although  Clayton  and  Shuttleworth  cannot  claim  to  be  the 
inventors  of  the  portable  steam-engine,  they  are  fairly  entitled 
to  rank  among  the  most  successful  improvers  of  this  class  of 
farm  machinery  ; and  the  same  remark  may  be  applied  to  the 
steam  threshing-machine.  The  list  of  prizes  won  by  the 
firm  at  the  Shows  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  will  ever 
redound  to  their  honour.  In  the  year  1839,  Messrs.  Tuxford, 
of  Boston,  had  prepared  plans  for  a combined  engine  and 
threshing-machine,  but  it  was  not  actually  constructed  until 
1842.  At  the  Society’s  Show  at  Liverpool  in  the  previous  year, 
1841,  a portable  engine,  manufactured  by  the  Disc  Steam  Engine 
