Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. The company began life making steel castings and quickly became famous for casting church bells.
In 1867 the company went public and gradually branched out into making hints like marine shafts, propellers and armour plate. In 1890 they made their first artillery piece and soon manufactured everything from torpedos to machine guns.
