In late mediaeval times clockwork was the latest hi-tech & allowed early mechanical adding machines, and even primitive multipliers, developed by geniuses like Leibnitz & Pascal. But no self-sequencing machines had been thought of. The Caxton printing press created a revolution in communications.
Napier invented logarithms & slide rules became the badge of an engineer or scientists through to the end of the 1970's.
By 200 years ago so many calculations were having to be done as part of the business of an industrialising world that people like Babbage wished they could 'calculate by steam' & set about designing steam powered machines that were really computers. As a model for a stored program they could look at the automatic Jacquard looms, programmed by punched cards on an endless loop. However the main thing was the Industrial Revolution which provided so many new things, and moved people from rural to urban settings.
Somerset was a very prosperous agricultural centre & 'industruialised' cloth industries made it wealth- hence our beautiful churches.
