By 1840 slate beds started to be produced in greater numbers, largely due to improvements in quarrying techniques which brought down prices. Prior to this only a few tables or individual slates had been sold in England.
On 6th September 1845, Thurston's obtained a patent to apply the vulcanising process to the rubber cushions of billiard tables. The first set of such cushions was supplied to Queen Victoria and fitted to her table at Windsor Castle on 15th October 1845. However, the vulcanising process resulted in a much slower cushion and Thurston's still had problems selling them to an unwilling public who had now become used to the speed of natural rubber.