Champion
William Champion's Zinc and Brass Works was, in the 18th century, probably the largest industrial site in Europe. Interpretation of the site can be seen in the first gallery visitors enter. Here are models of a zinc foundry and workers' housing alongside explanations of the zinc and brass making processes.
In the 18th century William Champion invented and patented a process to extract zinc for calamine ore. As zinc ore is heated the zinc comes off in a vapour and is lost to the atmosphere. What William did was to invent an enclosed vessel to capture the zinc vapour the vapour passed down a tube at the base of the condensor into a water bath where it condensed into zinc flakes.
Before William's invention copper and zinc ores were mixed then heated, to obtain the alloy of copper and zinc, brass. Because the amounts of copper and zinc could not be controlled the quality of the brass produced by this method could not be controlled. Using William's method of producing the copper and zinc could be mixed in just the amounts to obtain the quality of the brass required.
His methods enabled him to produce a much higher quality brass than his rivals. He prospered until his patent ran out, then his rivals started to use his processes and he went bankrupt.