Sarah Guppy had the three things that were essential in the early 19th century for a woman to be taken seriously in the very male world of engineering – money, an excellent education, and social contacts. The daughter of a wealthy brass founder and sugar importer, she grew up surrounded by the prosperous new class of Bristol merchant keen not only to flaunt their new wealth, but to ‘improve’ the lot of the people of Bristol and the country in general.
Having married Samuel Guppy, a builder of agricultural machinery, she immediately immersed herself in his trade, helping to run the business and negotiating contracts but also turning her hand to the practicalities of engineering.
Samuel had fingers in many pies, from nail manufacture to the sale of tea urns, and Sarah seems to have taken an interest in it all. Success came quickly when Samuel’s interest in a new method for producing flat-headed nails led to a contract to provide copper versions for attaching...