This private museum houses probably the finest collection of weighing artefacts in the world. Here, visitors can trace the development of weighing over 6,000 years, from its origins in Ancient Egypt during time of the early Pharaohs.

Historic Site
The museum is located at the Avery Weigh-Tronix headquarters, close to Birmingham city centre, England. The site itself is an historic one. Known for more than 200 years as Soho Foundry, it was originally established by Birmingham's three most famous industrial pioneers - Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdock - to build commercial steam engines at the start of the Industrial Revolution.

A Wealth Of Information In A Unique Museum
The Avery Historical Museum was opened in 1927, on the authority of the then managing director Sir Gilbert Vyle KBE. By then the Avery business had been in existence for more than 200 years.

Avery Historical Museum Curators

W A Benton - 1927 to 1942
L Saunders - 1942 to 1968
D Ellis - 1968 to 1981
E Parish - 1981 to 1989
H Green - 1989 to 2002 (awarded an MBE for his services to the Museum)
J Doran - 2002 to 2010

Andrew Lound - 2010 to present

Mr W A Benton was appointed the first Museum Curator, and he built up the exhibits into a formidable collection representing many weights and scale manufacturers - not just Avery.

Working models of ancient weighing machines were constructed under Mr Benton's supervision, including two self-indicating scales taken from 15th Century designs of Leonardo da Vinci.

In 1929, an offshoot to the museum was formed, the Avery Technical & Commercial Library, with one of the most extensive collections of books in existence on the history of weighing. Thanks to this invaluable library facility, the museum today has a reputation worldwide for its amazing response to enquiries on all aspects of weighing.

The Avery Historical Museum is open by appointment, and Curator Andrew Lound welcomes visitors regularly from all parts of the globe, sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience with hundreds of correspondents, historians and occasionally the TV and media too.

Says Andrew: 'The Avery Historical Museum is a member of the International Society of Scale Collectors. The society was set up in 1978 and members obtain information on old weighing machines from our large collection of product catalogues that go back to 1830.

'We are still adding to the collection with exhibits from all parts of the world. Over the last two years, several interesting scales have been acquired for the museum, such as the fine collection of beam scales from old shops dating back to last century.

'We are especially proud of our Jockey Scale - one of a pair originally installed at Newbury in 1905. Howard Green lovingly restored both scales and the other set is to be seen reinstated as a feature in the Main Grandstand at Newbury Race Course.'

There are a set of three museum books which date back to 1945 that were designed to provide a deeper knowledge of the Avery business, the Soho Foundry on which the business has been situated for over 200 years, and of the weighing industry in general. Short accounts of the books are below, as well as the documents for you to download and read.

• The Avery Business – A history of the Avery family and how they came into the business.
• Soho Foundry – An historical survey of the establishment of the Soho Foundry, and the mention of Matthew Bolton, James Watt and William Murdock and the steam engine.
• A Short History of Weighing – A brief history of the weighing industry spanning a period of 6,000 years, with many references and images taken from the Avery Historical Museum. 

Visits arranged by prior appointment - please contact:

Museum Curator: Andrew Lound

Avery Weigh-Tronix, Foundry Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands B66 2LP, England

Telephone: 00 44 (0) 845 307 0333