William Bridges Adams was an early developer of radial axles.
Radial axles were widely used on carriages in the late 19th century before the adoption of bogies.
The idea was tried successfully by William Adams on the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1882 with his 415 class.
Webb's radial axle used a cannon box bearing where the two axle bearings are carried in a single curved casting, the 'cannon box', which can slide sideways in a circular track.
David Joy, designer of the eponymous valve gear, described encountering these axleboxes on Webb's Precedent class.