The Early Years

When Appleby Bros, for whom Henry Coles had worked since 1872, left Southwark in 1878, they vacated a factory in Emerson Street and a rather smaller workshop round the corner at 8 Sumner Street. It was this work- shop (later re-numbered 89 Sumner Street) which Henry Coles took over in the following year.

Like his mentor, C. J. Appleby, Henry Coles was a versatile general engineer. Although he later came to specialise in cranes, to begin with he made a wide variety of equipment. Sumner Street was close to Clink Street. Here was sited the old city jail hence the slang term for prison became `clink' and it is part of the folklore of the Coles history that, in addition to equipment for honest businessmen, the company also made hard labour machines for use in `the clink'. Exactly what these machines were is not clear, but the order books for the late 1880s indicate a regular trade between Coles and the Home Office.

For details of what other products Coles made during those years it is necessary to rely upon the one or two order books which have survived together with a couple of catalogues, advertisements (from 1887 onwards) and a few stories in the trade press. For many years now, it has been accepted within the Coles organisation that the first crane was the fully slewing, rail-mounted grabbing crane shown on page 19. In fact, this was one of several similar machines sold to Glasgow Corporation Gas Works in 1895. A similar crane, but rigged for hook operation, was supplied during the 1880s to the Jersey Harbour Board.

Whether or not this was the first crane, it is clear that the Jersey/Glasgow design was quite outstanding for its time. An article in Engineering of August 1895, concerning the Glasgow Gas Works installation, is glowing in its description. The `extremely simple and direct manner' of transmitting the crane motions and `the small amount of gearing required' offer ad- vantages unique to this maker's cranes'. Technical journals of the day were not inclined to throw praise about, so this article speaks volumes for the Coles machine. As with all Coles rail cranes of the time, these machines had a single superstructure bedplate casting, an unusual and far reaching innovation. In addition, the grabbing crane (at Glasgow) had a patented live roller slewing race.

The catalogues for the period also show evidence that Coles looked beyond steam the essence of Victorian power for the motive force for his cranes. The 1895 catalogue lists hydraulic and electric cranes on the front cover. Inside, there is no mention of the latter, but an engraving does appear of a rail mounted hydraulic crane. This machine was literally hydraulic that is to say, water driven and was designed to take its power from water standpipes at the side of the track. It was offered in a variety of sizes. Hydraulic power was not new fixed base water driven cranes had been installed in Newcastle docks as early as 1847 although Coles appear to have been the first to suggest rail-mounting. It is not known whether he sold any of this type. He did, however, install three fixed base hydraulics at Woolwich Arsenal in x886, which installation warranted a full page article in The Engineer.

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