The connection of the development of the blast furnace to Birmingham does not seem to have been discussed previously. I came across it in an old book recently put online at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54475/54475-h/54475-h.htm.
I quote:
Siemens was much engaged from 1846 in conjunction with his brother Frederick in experimental attempts, continued over a period of ten years, at the construction of the regenerative gas furnace. At length, in 1861, he proposed the application of his furnace to an “open hearth,” and during the next few years some partial attempts to carry out his process were made, and he himself had established experimental works at Birmingham in order to mature his processes, while Messrs. Martin of Sireuil, in France, having obtained licences under Siemens’ patents, gave their attention to a modification of his process, by which they succeeded in producing excellent steel. Siemens having in 1868 proved the practicability of his plans by converting at his Birmingham works some old phosphorized iron rails into serviceable steel, a company was formed, and in 1869 the Landore Siemens’ Steel Works were established at Landore in Glamorganshire, and a few years after, these had sixteen Siemens 69open hearth melting furnaces at work, giving a total output of 1,200 tons of steel per week. The number of furnaces was subsequently increased. Extensive works specially designed for carrying out the Siemens and the Siemens-Martin process were shortly afterwards erected at other places, as at Newtown, near Glasgow, Panteg in Wales, etc. In Great Britain the open hearth process gradually gained upon the Bessemer, until in 1893, when the total output of both kinds amounted to nearly 3,000,000 tons, this was almost equally divided between them, and since that period the steel made by the former has greatly surpassed in amount that made by the latter.
Looking at the 1867 P.O.directory, there is no mention of a William or Frederick Siemens, but there was a Charles William Siemens, steel melter at 20 Hampton St. So this would be where the work was done. the approximate area in which where no 20 was is in red on the map below (no maps remain showing exact numbering in that opart of Hampton st, but the small building would have been somewhere in that red area
I quote:
Siemens was much engaged from 1846 in conjunction with his brother Frederick in experimental attempts, continued over a period of ten years, at the construction of the regenerative gas furnace. At length, in 1861, he proposed the application of his furnace to an “open hearth,” and during the next few years some partial attempts to carry out his process were made, and he himself had established experimental works at Birmingham in order to mature his processes, while Messrs. Martin of Sireuil, in France, having obtained licences under Siemens’ patents, gave their attention to a modification of his process, by which they succeeded in producing excellent steel. Siemens having in 1868 proved the practicability of his plans by converting at his Birmingham works some old phosphorized iron rails into serviceable steel, a company was formed, and in 1869 the Landore Siemens’ Steel Works were established at Landore in Glamorganshire, and a few years after, these had sixteen Siemens 69open hearth melting furnaces at work, giving a total output of 1,200 tons of steel per week. The number of furnaces was subsequently increased. Extensive works specially designed for carrying out the Siemens and the Siemens-Martin process were shortly afterwards erected at other places, as at Newtown, near Glasgow, Panteg in Wales, etc. In Great Britain the open hearth process gradually gained upon the Bessemer, until in 1893, when the total output of both kinds amounted to nearly 3,000,000 tons, this was almost equally divided between them, and since that period the steel made by the former has greatly surpassed in amount that made by the latter.
Looking at the 1867 P.O.directory, there is no mention of a William or Frederick Siemens, but there was a Charles William Siemens, steel melter at 20 Hampton St. So this would be where the work was done. the approximate area in which where no 20 was is in red on the map below (no maps remain showing exact numbering in that opart of Hampton st, but the small building would have been somewhere in that red area
