Remains of the Boulton and Watt Soho foundry and mint, Birmingham Canal, Smethwick

Scheduled area

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History & significance

The remains of the Boulton and Watt Soho foundry and mint is a heritage site of international significance for the history of industrial manufacture and engineering innovation, located beside the Birmingham Canal in Smethwick. Established in the late eighteenth century, the foundry became renowned as a centre of precision metalworking and steam engine manufacture under the partnership of Matthew Boulton and James Watt, whose technological advances were fundamental to the Industrial Revolution. The surviving structures and archaeological deposits preserve evidence of the foundry's operations, including cast iron work, machinery bases, and manufacturing infrastructure that reflect the site's role as a pioneering industrial enterprise. The site represents a critical phase in the development of mechanised production methods and the application of steam power to manufacturing processes during the late Georgian and nineteenth-century periods.

Remains of the Boulton and Watt Soho foundry and mint, Birmingham Canal, Smethwick is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1021388. View the official record →

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