William Roberts & Co of Nelson
[1] Industrial historian Mike Rothwell has called Phoenix foundry “Nelson’s most significant engineering site”.In August 1862 they bought a plot of land from J. and J. Walton in Hibson Street and formed a new iron founding business called Marsland, Roberts and Company.The business was bought in July 1867 by John Brennand who was a cotton manufacturer at Rake Head Mill in Burnley living at Byerden House.Phoenix Foundry was soon engaged in large contracts, in 1870 building a pair of 'McNaughted' beam engines for Messrs William Lund and Sons at North Beck Mills, Keighley.[1] The Earl of Chesterfield at Burton upon Trent was the source of another large order for a waterworks pumping engine installed at Newton in Makerfield to supply water to Earlestown.