had been developed by Lord Armstrong to control cranes in Woolwich Arsenal in the 1850s. This was all very well in big sites but smaller sites didn’t have room for a steam engine. What was needed was a way to have the power generated off site. Step forward a young engineer called Edward Ellington . At the age of 26 he set up a company to distribute hydraulic power through a network of pipes from a central steam engine. In 1871 after a successful pilot in Hull the company built a pumping station near Blackfriars Bridge , with a network of hessian wrapped cast iron pipes providing power to cranes and factories in the docks. By the 1890s the network had expanded to five pumping stations and 180 miles of pipes. They powered theatre curtains, clocks and a turntable on the stage at the Royal Opera House . Hydraulic powered lifts meant that buildings could be taller, while hydraulic powered printing presses meant newspapers and books became more affordable.