ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews successive stages in the gradual adoption of Portland cement in 19th-century Britain, from the registration of a patent by its inventor, through testing, development and promotional activity, to professional and official acceptance. It considers the steps taken to achieve regulatory approval and the development of industry-wide standards, while thus reflecting a significant transformation in building technology. A similar process is traced in the adoption of reinforced concrete several decades later, largely from overseas sources, a process complicated by the commercial tendency for proprietary exploitation. The counter-thrust to enhance professional understanding was carried through by the establishment of a specialist institution and the growth of a technical literature to support the emerging discipline of structural design in reinforced concrete. The period under examination ends with the publication of a nationally accepted Code of Practice.
