Tour of Kirkaldy's Testing Works including machine run

David Kirkaldy's Testing & Experimenting Works at 99 Southwark Street set the first international standards in materials testing; a science that has wide-reaching effects on everyday life today.

Today, this unique Victorian workshop keeps alive our direct link with Kirkaldy's innovation, at the heart of this bustling commercial district of London. Kirkaldy's Testing Works preserves Kirkaldy's unique Universal Testing Machine - the huge hydraulic powered machine he designed and had built in Leeds - in full working order in the premises he built to house it.

As well as presenting the story of the family who ran the business for almost 100 years and of the wider development of materials testing, the workshop and the Universal Testing Machine provide a unique crucible for new experimentation and collaboration - which can inspire future generations of scientists and artists alike to continue enquiring into the properties of the materials on which we build our lives.

Your tour around the Works will take about 2-hours 30-minutes including an introductory video, demonstrations of some of the smaller machines in our collection and will feature as its highlight a demonstration of the Universal Testing Machine.

At this time, we are not offering Concessions tickets or refunds due to problems with our financial security caused by the lockdown. We hope that you understand our position as a small museum fully reliant on ticket sales.

We're also now opening on some weekday evenings for shorter tours of the Museum. More info here.

Even in these strange times, we hope you'll join us in celebrating the vision of a forgotten hero of engineering science.

Find out more on our website here.

Images: ©Peter Dazeley