Soho House
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Soho House is the former mansion of the Soho Manufactory , one of the first factories in the world, in the Handsworth neighborhood of northeast Birmingham .
Soho House was created as an extension of an existing home when entrepreneur Matthew Boulton leased the land it stood on and built one of the world's first factories. Boulton's mother and wife, and later his partner John Fothergill, lived in the house during the construction of the factory (1761-1765); Boulton and his wife only moved into the building after the factory was completed in 1766. As Boulton's factory was very successful and attracted many visitors, Boulton had the original building replaced by the architect Samuel Wyatt from 1789 onwards with the representative building that still exists today. A steam heater was also installed, the heat of which rose from openings in the steps, as well as the world's first steam-operated hot water system for bathrooms and the kitchen. Both were constructions by Boulton and his friend James Watt .
Between 1766 and 1809 the house was a frequent meeting place of the Lunar Society , of which Boulton was co-founder and which acted as an important think tank of the early industrial revolution in England.
While most of his Soho Manufactory was demolished between 1848 and 1863, the house remained and was used in very different ways, most recently as a police barracks. Soho House has been part of the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery since 1995 ; a permanent exhibition honors the life and work of Matthew Boulton. It is also used for exhibitions on local topics. Soho House is now a listed building.
literature
- Robert E. Schofield: The Lunar Society of Birmingham: a social history of provincial science and industry in eighteenth-century England . Clarendon Press, Oxford 1963.
- Jenny Uglow : The Lunar Men . 2nd Edition. Faber And Faber Ltd, London 2003, ISBN 0-571-21610-2 .
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 29 '58.7 " N , 1 ° 55' 22.4" W.