This mill engine was constructed in 1903 by the Burnley Ironworks Company for Harle Syke Mill in Burnley, Lancashire. Increasingly reliable and efficient steam engines became Britain’s main power source in the later 19th century, driving everything from cotton mills to lawn mowers. At the heart of each factory there was a steam engine like this one. It drove 1700 power looms for weaving textiles at the same time, using a complex system of rotating shafts, pulleys and belts.