So how did an idea developed in France by Nicolas-Louis Robert become the first paper machine in Hertfordshire, England?

Ledger Didot having acquired the French patent of the Nicolas-Louis Robert machine, realised it could not be progressed in France. As England was the pioneer of the Industrial Revolution and far advanced in a burgeoning world of invention, mechanics and steam. Also England and France were at war. As a Frenchman, Didot could not get an English patent or travel across the Channel, but his brother-in-law, John Gamble could.

Gamble worked for Captain James Coates of the Royal Navy who was the British Commissioner for the exchange of prisoners of war. Gamble could travel freely and in return for a portion of future profits, agreed to transport the drawings and paper samples to England. On the English side of the Channel, the plans were translated and converted into feet and inches. This formed the first English patent (no.2487) registered by John Gamble in 1801.

John Gamble required financial backing to exploit the concept and found it in the two senior partners of the Company of Bloxham and Fourdrinier; Brothers Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier, established Huguenot stationers in London. He then transported the Robert model to England to aid development. Exactly how he conveyed a model of 2 metres length, is unknown. It was transported to the engineering works of John Hall of Dartford, millwrights and engineers to the Fourdriniers, where work commenced on improving the concept. Didot was able to slip across The Channel during a gap in hostilities for the signing of the Treaty of Amiens.

Gamble and Didot supervised the work, but with no progress. Bryan Donkin, (apprenticed to John Hall in 1792) had impressed with his quiet, measured and skilful approach. He took over the project in 1802 and instantly the invention moved forward. With further investment from the Fourdriniers, a new works was constructed at Bermondsey, where Donkin was able to implement all of his ideas for improvement. The result was regarded as, “the first practical machine for making paper in history” and for which Gamble acquired patent no.2708 in April 1803.Encouraged, the Fourdriniers purchased an existing paper mill to test the machine in action. The first mechanised paper machine in the world had now been installed at Frogmore Paper Mill in 1803.

Donkin was now able to make further improvements based upon paper production observations. The process was at times fraught as Didot pressed for the inclusion of his own ideas which were typically unsuccessful.

Robert’s machine had been made from wood. Gradually Donkin had changed much of it for metal which improved precision. The new metal structure was highly satisfactory for providing stability and control of the shake, necessary for the formation of the wet paper on the wire. Fine adjustments were made possible in order that the machine could be adapted to the type of paper being made. Deckle straps running close to the wire were added to alter the width of paper that could be made on the one machine. A second variant was installed at Frogmore in 1804 which was 27ft x 4ft and a third in 1805 at Two Waters Mill, which was also owned by the Fourdriniers.

The two men lodged at Two Waters at The Bell on London Road. And it was here that Donkin had his eureka moment. His biggest advance was with the couch rolls. By putting the two couch rolls at an angle, Donkin could increase the area of contact between roller and paper, allowing increased water to be expressed and the resultant paper was both drier and stronger as a result. The top wire could be disposed of and this decreased the number of breaks in the forming paper. This was a significant step forward. It enabled the production of longer lengths of paper and reduced the number of workers per machine from four to three. Plus, he could sell machines for a reduced rate.

Mill owners were recognising the advantages of the machine over handmade paper. Between 1807 and 1810 Donkin sold thirteen machines of up to 33 feet long.

By 1809, the Fourdriniers had overstretched themselves and were not receiving payments for machines that they were due. In 1810 they were declared bankrupt. They offered the Bermondsey works for rent (1809) to Donkin and then to purchase in 1811. Bryan Donkin and Company, Engineering at Blue Anchor Lane was established.

Quite apart from Donkin’s contribution to the mechanisation of paper production, which to this day bears the name of its financiers and is known as the Fourdrinier conveyor paper machine, rather than the name of its hard working developer, Donkin went on to develop a diverse range of items from steel pens, to the tin can for food preservation and machines for printing.

Donkin also made his mark on the related industry of printing. He was a letterpress printing pioneer who invented, in conjunction with Richard Mackenzie Bacon of Norwich, the first rotary printing press in 1813. It also had the first synthetic roller and the first ink duct in the patent. The invention was not greatly successful as it tended to mark the paper when it was used to print Bibles, for which it was intended but was used used for a number of years at the Cambridge University Press. The machine appears in most 19^th century pictorial encyclopaedias.

Nevertheless the technical developments in these early years proved to be a success and the continuous paper-making machine quickly spread throughout Britain and subsequently the world. A Parliamentary Select committee in 1837 acknowledged the importance of the Fourdriniers’ contribution to the paper industry and at least their name lives on in that the vast majority of the paper machines now in use throughout the world are still known as ‘Fourdrinier’ machines.

For further reading on the life and works of Bryan Donkin, please click here.