The Bull Engine

The Bull engine is named after the Cornish engineer Edward Bull, a friend of Richard Trevithick. The Bull engine at Kew Bridge was built by Harvey & Co in 1856, although it was not put to work until 1859. A Bull engine differs from a traditional Cornish beam engine in that the steam cylinder is inverted over the pump and thus dispenses with the need for a main beam. This design meant that a Bull engine took up about half the space of a beam engine of similar pumping capacity and makes the engine safer to operate.