In London, Bramah worked for a Mr Allen, installing water closets (toilets) which were designed to a patent obtained by Alexander Cumming in 1775.

He found that the current model being installed in London houses had a tendency to freeze in cold weather.

Although it was Allen who improved the design by replacing the usual slide valve with a hinged flap that sealed the bottom of the bowl, Bramah obtained the patent for it in 1778,[3] and began making toilets at a workshop in Denmark Street, St Giles.

In the same year he started the Bramah Locks company at 124 Piccadilly, which is today based in Fitzrovia, London and Romford, Essex.

Partly due to the precision requirements of his locks, Bramah spent much time developing machine tools to assist manufacturing processes.

Between them they created a number of innovative machines that made the production of Bramah's locks more efficient, and were applicable to other fields of manufacture.

[5] Just before Bramah died, his workshops also employed Joseph Clement who among other things made several contributions in the field of lathe design.

The hydraulic press depends on Pascal's principle, that pressure change throughout a closed system is constant.

At the time Bramah was bringing his concepts to fruition, the field of hydraulic engineering was an almost unknown science.

Few people in history can claim to have done so much for our physical comfort - both in filling ourselves up at one end and in emptying ourselves at the other.”[7] The Brazilian Brahma beer brand is named for him.

[8] In 2006, a pub in Barnsley town centre was opened named the Joseph Bramah in his memory.