Stevens's Model Dockyard was a company which made and sold models, toys and parts for modellers (not to be confused with the original
Model Dockyard or
Clyde Model Dockyard - different companies dealing in similar products). Established 1843, it was located in
Aldgate
Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London.
The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...
,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Products
Stevens Model Dockyard was as much a retailer as a maker and large numbers of items are now claimed to be by the company that were only retailed by them, rather than made by them. There is little evidence of what exactly they made prior to 1900, but certainly ship models, fittings and engines, spirit fired steam locomotives, wooden rolling stock and brass-on-mahogany rail, stationary engines and components. Their 20th century catalogues differentiate 'our own make' from 'British made' (i.e. items retailed and made in the UK, but not be Stevens) and they do not mention the origin of those items made by concerns outside of the UK. Stevens' own make items are best quality, the steam engines and locomotives usually finished in lacquered brass, like optical equipment. Their catalogues included a huge range of items by other makers including model
sailing boats
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
Types
Although sailboat terminology ...
and hulls,
steam boats, boat fittings,
stationary steam engine
Stationary steam engines are fixed steam engines used for pumping or driving mills and factories, and for power generation. They are distinct from locomotive engines used on railways, traction engines for heavy steam haulage on roads, steam car ...
s,
machine tool
A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, Boring (manufacturing), boring, grinding (abrasive cutting), grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some s ...
s,
marine engines
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electri ...
,
railway locomotives, railway
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
,
track, lineside accessories, steam engine parts,
clockwork
Clockwork refers to the inner workings of either mechanical devices called clocks and watches (where it is also called the movement (clockwork), movement) or other mechanisms that work similarly, using a series of gears driven by a spring or wei ...
motors, hydraulic motors,
boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...
s,
electric motors
An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate Laplace force i ...
, electrical novelties,
telegraphs, electrical accessories,
optical instrument
An optical instrument is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes, microscopes, telescopes, and camera ...
s and books. They also sold
Meccano
Meccano is a brand of construction set created in 1898 by Frank Hornby in Liverpool, England. The system consists of reusable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, and plastic parts that are connected using nuts and ...
,
Klipit and other branded items.
[''Stevens's Model Dockyard'' catalogue, currently available as a reproduction published by TEE Publishing]
Company name
William Stevens claimed he first set up on own account in 1843, but he does not appear in London directories until 1848. When he does he has nothing to do with models. Rather, he was a ‘news vendor’ or ‘news agent’ trading from Trinity Square in the city. In 1857 he first lists himself as a ‘news agent & ship modeller’. Only when he moved to 22 Aldgate in 1865 did he cease his news agency to focus on ship
models alone. Three years later, in 1868, he finally expanded into ‘steam engines and all the separate parts’. It was only then that ‘Stevens Model Dockyard’ was fully established. The company name was slightly adapted from 'The Model Dockyard' a business established earlier in the 1860s by Edwin Bell.
[''Train Collector''(The journal of the Train Collectors' Society) 54 (March 2020) p31 and 71 (June 2024) p17 ]
References
External links
ToySteamBible.org: Stevens Model Dockyard
Steam engines
Toy retailers of the United Kingdom
Manufacturing companies established in 1843
Toy steam engine manufacturers
1843 establishments in England
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