Kirkaldy's Testing Works, the world's first independent testing house. We are a working museum & educational learning centre located in the heart of London.
99 Southwark Street London SE1
Joined September 2013
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Playing with a new supply of mild steel on our 161 year old Universal Testing Machine.
It failed at an applied force of 48,000lb, we can go to 1,000,000lb, and increased its length by 27%!!
Makes you think how we design and build things.
Victorian engineering transformed Britain into the workshop of the world.
Come and discover how No 99 Southwark Street, London SE1 played a huge role in this.
#londonmuseum #openhouse #VictorianEngineering
Beautiful period advert for a Denison & Son Wire Tester and very similar to one of our many working material testing machines.
Book a tour of the world’s oldest material testing house located in London SE1.
Discover the history behind why this motto is carved above our door.
Located at 99 Southwark Street, London SE1 since 1874 we are the only museum dedicated to destruction.
We have a few tickets left for this Saturday 20th June tour of the world’s oldest independent material testing works based in London SE1.
🎟️ link in bio via Eventbrite.
BIG Accessories for our BIG working 116 ton, 47’ 6” long, 161 year old Universal Testing Machine.
These would be attached to the carriage to aid material bending like pillars and beams etc.
Based in London SE1, book a tour of the world’s oldest material testing works.
Ever wondered what’s underneath your feet in London.
This is Southwark Street, SE1.
Book a tour to another world, the 1st ever Independent Material Testing House.
Why do we get so many 5 star reviews?
Come book a tour to the world's oldest independent material testing works based in London SE1 and discover for yourself.
Facts Not Opinions has been our motto since 1874 for a good reason.
Testing samples on our 1920 Brinell Hardness Machine.
We can test a wide choice of materials from lead which has a measurement of 5 BHN to mild steel that is 120 BHN but do you know how hard glass is?, well it has a measurement of 1,550 BHN!.
Makes you think.
Fun Fact.
The average height of a London bus is 14’ 6”.
Length of our working Universal Testing Machine, built in 1865, is 14’ 7”.
Book a tour of Kirkaldy’s Testing Works & find out why we have “Facts Not Opinions” carved above our door.
Based in London SE1 via the 381 bus.
"The Lightest & Strongest Machines in the World".
To support Premier Cycle Company's motto Kirkaldy's Testing Works carried out Pulling & Bending Stress tests on their steel "Helical Tubing" bicycle frames in 1893 which were proudly published in Premier's sales brochures.
In 1883 London was introduced to the Hydraulic Power Company, a vision to offer a cleaner more compact alternative to steam engines to power London.
Pressurised water was pumped around by a series of Pumping Stations at 700-800 pounds per square inch (55 bar).
Next tour of the world’s oldest independent material testing house based in London SE1 is Saturday 18th April @ 2:00pm.
🎟️ via Eventbrite 🔗 in our bio.
What do you keep in your safe?
David Kirkaldy kept his prized possessions in his large safe, a fine set of Kirkaldy patent micrometers, for accurate measuring, along with other calculating and measuring instruments.
Learn why we have “Facts Not Opinions” carved above our front
