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Water and Wind Power

Water and Wind Power

Synopsis

Although the steam engine was in use in the mid eighteenth century it had not been fully developed. Consequently, the main alternative to powering machinery by humans or animals was to utilize the natural forces of wind and water. The Society went to work encouraging the populace to design water wheels and wind mills for things other than milling corn, such as providing the power needed to drain land. In 1759 the Society began offering prizes for improved design for windmills and tidemills, receiving numerous drawings and models, with the best being rewarded with medals or cash prizes.

RSA Archive Image 11
This drawing was submitted by Jacob Perkins and shows his method of drawing back water from water wheels, making them more efficient in times of floods or when river levels were unusually high. He was awarded the Vulcan Gold Medal in 1820.

RSA Archive Image 12 This letter, from Thomas Walker, describes his design for a windmill with horizontal rather than vertical sails, submitted in 1801.