Soho Manufactory (1766)

The Soho Manufactory was an early factory which pioneered mass production on the assembly line principle, in Soho, Birmingham, England.

The factory was established by the “toy” manufacturer Matthew Boulton and his business partner John Fothergill. In 1761, they leased a site on Handsworth Heath, containing a cottage and a water-driven metal-rolling mill. The mill was replaced by a new factory, designed and built by the Wyatt family of Lichfield, and completed in 1766. The cottage was later demolished and Boulton’s home (Soho House) was built on the site, also by the Wyatts.

The Manufactory produced a wide range of goods from buttons, buckles and boxes to japanned ware (collectively called “toys”), and later luxury products such as silverware and ormolu (a type of gilded bronze). It was also home to the first steam-powered mint, whose presses were subsequently used at the first Birmingham Mint.

Read more about Soho Manufactory on Wikipedia.