Facts Not Opinions

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.

From 1893 the system pumped 6.5 million gallons each week which grew to 32 million gallons by 1933. But this water pressure did not satisfy Kirkaldy's needs so an intensifier was installed raising the pressure to 4,500 psi ! (310bar).

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

Kong the Eighth Wonder of the World broke free from his “Chrome Steel” chains during his 1933 Broadway debut. If they were tested by Kirkaldy’s Testing Works he may have never escaped.

Load testing Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. In 1865 David Kirkaldy commissioned a 116ton, 47’ 7” long water powered Universal Testing Machine that can apply 1,000,000lb of force. We still operate that machine today in London SE1.

Today I removed and cleaned this 100+ year old ‘device’ on our Charpy Impact Tester but what is it ? #VictorianEngineering #charpy #londonmuseum #londonhiddengems #Castrol #STP

Kirkaldy’s Testing Works reach was impressive. Another interesting customer was Duple Coachbuilders, established in 1919 they were famous for their busses and assisting the WWII war effort by building the fuselages for the Halifax bomber.

BIG machines need BIG tools, ours is 116 ton in weight, 47’ 7” long and can apply a force of 1,000,000lb and is powered by water.

@GScott42087 @RobertElms We are a working museum housing much of Kirkaldy’s testing equipment and located on the ground floor and basement of No99, we’ve been here since 1874, previously located at The Grove from 1865/66.

@RobertElms Its a museum that is housed in the former testing and experimentation works,they just kept out Side facade.

For our 2nd Note and Query, Joanna wants to know about this mysterious building on Southwark Street with the sign "Kirkaldy's Testing and Experimenting Works". What's the story and what could these experiments possibly entail? 🔎📷 If you know, give us a call on 08007312000🤔

@RichardRf020370 @RobertElms We open roughly twice a month due to the fabric of the works and one of those days we run our Victorian 47’ 7” long, 116 ton Universal Testing Machine that can apply a 1,000,000lb of force all powered by hydraulic water.

@RobertElms You can actually visit it Robert, I think it’s open as a museum 3 or 4 times a year

@RobertElms We are the world’s oldest independent material testing house founded in 1874, the works was originally powered by hydraulic water provided by London Hydraulic Power. We helped build the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Tower Bridge, the original Wembley Stadium amongst other iconic builds

A visit to Kirkaldy’s Testing Works, the temple of destruction #Echobox=1754717302" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">standard.co.uk/going-out/attr…