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The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at
Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation w ...
on the east side. Its main activity was shipbuilding, but it also diversified into civil engineering, marine engines, cranes, electrical engineering and motor cars.Jim Lewis 1999, ''London's Lea Valley'', Phillimore, The company notably produced iron work for
Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
's
Royal Albert Bridge The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge which spans the River Tamar in England between Plymouth, Devon and Saltash, Cornwall. Its unique design consists of two lenticular iron trusses above the water, with conventional plate-girder ap ...
over the Tamar in the 1850s, and the world's first all-iron warship, HMS ''Warrior'', launched in 1860.


History


1837–46

The company originated in 1837 as the Ditchburn and Mare Shipbuilding Company, founded by
shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
Thomas J. Ditchburn and the engineer and
naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Occupations ...
Charles John Mare. Originally located at
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford D ...
, after a fire destroyed their yard the company moved to Orchard Place in 1838, between the East India Dock Basin and Bow Creek. There they took over the premises of the defunct shipbuilders William and Benjamin Wallis. The firm did well and within a few years occupied three sites covering an area of over . Ditchburn and Mare were among the first builders of iron ships in the area; their partnership commenced with the construction of small
paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were ...
s of between 50 and 100 tons, before progressing to cross- Channel vessels and by 1840 were building ships of more than 300 tons. The company's early customers included the
Iron Steamboat Company The Iron Steamboat Company (1881–1932) provided ferry service between Manhattan and Coney Island in New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The original fleet consisted of seven iron-hulled steamboats, each named after a conste ...
and the
Blackwall Railway Company Blackwall may refer to: Places *Blackwall, London, an area of east London, UK **Blackwall Tunnel, the main crossing of the River Thames in east London **Blackwall Yard, a former shipyard **The former shipyard at Leamouth, London of Thames Ironwor ...
, several paddle steamers being constructed for the latter, including the ''Meteor'' and the ''Prince of Wales'', which operated between Gravesend and the company's station on
Brunswick Wharf Brunswick Wharf was a railway goods yard in Buglawton, Congleton. Brunswick Wharf was used to transport sand from Congleton to the potteries and coal from the potteries to Brunswick Wharf along the Biddulph Valley Line. History Brunswick Wha ...
. In this period the company was also awarded several contracts by the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
, including HMS ''Recruit'' (a 12-gun
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...
) which was one of the first iron warships built. They also constructed the P & O Company's steamers ''Ariel'' and ''Erin'', along with the paddle steamer for
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
.


1847–56

Thomas Ditchburn retired in 1847 and the business was carried on by Charles Mare, under the name of C.J. Mare and Company. He was joined by naval architect James Ash, who later began his own shipyard at
Cubitt Town Cubitt Town is a district on the eastern side of the Isle of Dogs in London, England. This part of the former Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was redeveloped as part of the Port of London in the 1840s and 1850s by William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of L ...
. From 1847 the company grew considerably and Mare purchased land on the
Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation w ...
side of the River Lea, a ferry service being established between the two sites. Mare constructed a yard with furnaces and
rolling mill In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through one or more pairs of rolls to reduce the thickness, to make the thickness uniform, and/or to impart a desired mechanical property. The concept is simil ...
s that could construct vessels of 4,000 tons; because of the narrowness of the spit at the mouth of the River Lea, the Orchard Place site was limited to the construction of vessels of less than 1,000 tons. In 1853 the company launched the SS ''Himalaya'' for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, briefly the world's largest passenger ship before becoming a naval troopship. In 1855, the company which by now had more than 3000 employees, was threatened with closure following Mare's
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...
cy. It is thought by some that his financial difficulties arose from delays in payment for completed work or, alternatively, that the company had miscalculated the cost of building vessels for the Royal Navy. The business did not lack orders, having in hand six contracts for gunboats and the contract for Westminster Bridge (which was built in 1862).


1857–1912

The company's chief creditors moved to keep the company in operation, and two employees, Joseph Westwood and Robert Baillie were appointed works managers. The main figure in saving the company was Peter Rolt, Mare's father-in-law and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization ...
MP for Greenwich. Rolt was also a timber merchant and a descendant of the
Pett Pett is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located north-east of Hastings on the edge of Pett Level, the one-time marshes stretching along the coast of Rye Bay. The road through the villa ...
shipbuilding family. He was supported in the venture by another company director, Lord Alan Spencer-Churchill. Rolt took control of the company's assets and in 1857 transferred them to a new limited company, named the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd.. It had a capital of £100,000 in 20 shares of £5000 each, five of which were held by Rolt who was the main shareholder and also
chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
. The new company was the largest shipbuilder on the Thames, its premises described by the
Mechanics' Magazine Joseph Clinton Robertson (c.1787–1852), pseudonym Sholto Percy, was a Scottish patent agent, writer and periodical editor. He was a political radical prominent in the early days of the working-class press in London, and in the debates within th ...
in 1861 as "Leviathan Workshops". Large scale Ordnance Survey maps of the 1860s show the yard occupying a large triangular site in a right-angled bend on the east bank of Bow Creek with the railway to Thames Wharf on the third side, and with a smaller site on the west bank. The main yard had a quay 1,050 feet (320m) long. To the south-east the yard occupied the north bank of the Thames east of Bow Creek, with two slips giving direct access to the main river. Today the site is crossed by the
A1020 A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...
Lower Lea Crossing and the
Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...
south of
Canning Town station Canning Town is a London Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and London Buses station in Canning Town in London, England. It is designed as an intermodal metro and bus station, fully opening in 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension ...
. By 1863 the company had the capacity to build 25,000 tons of warships and 10,000 tons of
mail steamer Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...
s simultaneously. One of its first
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
contracts was for HMS ''Warrior'', launched in 1860, at the time the world's largest warship and the first iron-hulled armoured
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
. HMS ''Minotaur'' followed in 1863, long and 10,690 tons displacement. Work on vessels such as ''Minotaur'' was performed on the Canning Town side of the Lea, and this is where the Thames Ironworks expanded from less than in 1856 to by 1891. While the old site at Orchard Place was still the company's official address until 1909, its presence there was minimal, by the late 1860s the company having only a site there. General shipbuilding on the Thames came under great pressure due to the cost advantages of northern yards with closer supplies of coal and iron, and many yards closed following the 1866 financial crisis. Of the survivors, those like the Thames Ironworks were specialised in warships and liners. Following the success of HMS ''Warrior'' and HMS ''Minotaur'', orders were placed by navies all over the world, and vessels were built for Denmark, Greece, Portugal,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
, Spain and the Ottoman Empire. The yard also built the
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n Navy's first iron-hulled warship, the SMS ''König Wilhelm'' in 1868 and the
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
''
Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...
'' for Portugal in 1884. A multitude of mostly small warships were also built for the
Romanian Navy The Romanian Navy ( ro, Forțele Navale Române) is the navy branch of the Romanian Armed Forces; it operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flot ...
, most notably the
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...
'' Mircea''. Also notable was the tiny minelayer ''
Alexandru cel Bun Alexander the Good ( ro, Alexandru cel Bun or ''Alexandru I Mușat''; c. 1375 – 1 January 1432) was a Voivode (Lord) of Moldavia, reigning between 1400 and 1432, son of Roman I Mușat. He succeeded Iuga to the throne, and, as a ruler, ini ...
''. The Iron Works also produced for the Romanian Navy a class of three small 45-ton gunboats, a class of three medium 116-ton gunboats and a class of eight 50-ton torpedo boats. In the 1890s
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
Arnold Hills Arnold Frank Hills (12 March 1857 – 7 March 1927) was an English businessman, sportsman, philanthropist, and promoter of vegetarianism. Biography Hills was born in Denmark Hill, Surrey, son of a manufacturing chemist. Arnold Hills was also a ...
became the managing director. He had originally joined the board of directors in 1880 at the age of 23. Hills was one of the first business directors voluntarily to introduce an eight-hour day for his workers at a time when 10- and 12-hour shifts were more common in industrial work. In 1895 Hills helped to set up a football club for the Works' employees,
Thames Ironworks F.C. Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor in 1895. Thames Ironworks took over the tenancy of The Old Castle ...
and within their first two years they had entered the FA Cup and the London League. As a result of the committee's desire to employ professional players, the Thames Ironworks F.C. was wound up in June 1900 and
West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
was formed a month later. Merged with the engine builder
John Penn and Sons John Penn and Sons was an English engineering company based in London, and mainly known for its marine steam engines. History Establishment In 1799, engineer and millwright John Penn (born in Taunton, Somerset, 1770; died 6 June 1843) started a ...
in 1899 as the Thames Iron Works, Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. During its lifetime the yard produced 144 warships and numerous other vessels. In 1911 Hills petitioned Winston Churchill, then
First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
, regarding the lack of new orders. He was unsuccessful, and the yard was forced to shut in 1912. Within two years the United Kingdom was at war with the
German Empire The German Empire (), Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditar ...
, with the yard's last major ship taking part in the
Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Ad ...
. Kotri Bridge in Pakistan Sindh province was also constructed in between 1897 and 1912. The premises of the Thames Iron Works and Shipbuilding Company, Greenwich, were subsequently acquired in 1915, by the Royal Flying Corps (created in 1912) for the storage of aeroplanes.


Archaeology

Part of the company's
Limmo Peninsula The Limmo Peninsula is an area of Canning Town in the London Borough of Newham in London's East End. It lies on the east bank of Bow Creek at the mouth of the River Lea near Leamouth. Etymology Created in the 1990s, the nearby Bow Creek Ecolog ...
site was excavated during the construction of
Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...
in 2012.


Notable products

*In the 1850s the company produced iron work for I.K. Brunel's
Royal Albert Bridge The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge which spans the River Tamar in England between Plymouth, Devon and Saltash, Cornwall. Its unique design consists of two lenticular iron trusses above the water, with conventional plate-girder ap ...
over the Tamar at
Saltash Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Corn ...
. *In 1897 to 1912 the company did the Iron Works of Kotri Bridge, Sindh Province of Pakistan. * HMS ''Warrior'', launched in 1860, the world's first all-iron warship. When completed in October 1861, ''Warrior'' was the largest, fastest, most heavily armed and most heavily armoured warship in the world. *In the 1890s the yard built two of the six British-built battleships that formed the main Japanese battle line in the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1904–1905. *The launch of HMS ''Albion'' in 1898 was marred by an accident when several observers died following a bridge collapse. *The last major warship built by the yard, HMS ''Thunderer'' (22,500 tons), was launched in 1911.


Ships

* HMS ''Trident'', Royal Navy, 1845 (Ditchburn & Mare) * HMS ''Recruit'', Royal Navy, 1846, iron brig. * DS ''Rigi'', 1847. In continuous service on Lake Lucerne (Switzerland) until 1952. Since being decommissioned, she has been on display at the Swiss Transport Museum (Verkehrshaus). * PS ''Vladimir'', 1848 (C J Mare), "Russian War Steamer" * ''Argo'', 1853, first steamship to circumnavigate the world. * SS ''Himalaya'', 1853 (C J Mare), for Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, later HMS ''Himalaya'', Royal Navy. * HMS ''Warrior'', Royal Navy, 1860 * ''Yavari'' and '' Yapura'', Peruvian Navy, 1862, exported in sections for assembly on
Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, i ...
. * , Ottoman Navy, 1863 * HMS ''Minotaur'', Royal Navy, 1863 * RUS ''Pervenetz'', Imperial Russian Navy, 1863 * HMS ''Valiant'', Royal Navy, 1863 * ''Victoria'', frigate, 1865 * SNS ''Vitoria'', Spanish Navy, 1865 * HMS ''Serapis'', Royal Navy troopship, 1866 * ''Anglia'', 1866, iron paddle tug.Thames Tugs, William Watkins Limited
/ref> * SMS ''König Wilhelm'', 1869, Prussian Navy * , Ottoman Navy, 1869 * , Ottoman Navy, 1870 * HMS ''Magdala'', Royal Navy, 1870 * ''Hamidiye'', Ottoman Navy, 1872, purchased by the Royal Navy as HMS ''Superb'' * , Ottoman Navy, 1872 * , English Channel Steamship Company, 1874 * ''Mindello'', Portuguese Navy, 1875 * ''Rainha De Portugal'', Portuguese Navy, 1875 * , Portuguese Navy, 1876 * ''Fox'' 1877, iron tug * ''Canada'' 1880, Screw Tug * HMS ''Linnet'', Royal Navy, 1880 * NRP ''Afonso de Albuquerque'', Portuguese Navy, 1884 * HMS ''Benbow'', Royal Navy, 1885 * HMS ''Sans Pareil'', Royal Navy, 1887 * HMS ''Blenheim'' Royal Navy, 1890 * , Arthur Ponsonby, 1890 * HMS ''Grafton'', Royal Navy, 1892 * HMS ''Theseus'', Royal Navy, 1892 * Battleship ''IJN Fuji'', 1896 * Battleship ''Shikishima'', 1898 * HMS ''Albion'', Royal Navy, 1898 * HMS ''Cornwallis'', Royal Navy, 1901 * HMS ''Duncan'', Royal Navy, 1901 * Cromer Lifeboat Louisa Heartwell ON 495,
RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
1902 * , Royal Navy, 1904 * ''J C Madge'', RNLI, Sheringham lifeboat, 1904, * HMS ''Nautilus'', Royal Navy, 1910, later named HMS ''Grampus'' * HMS ''Thunderer'', Royal Navy, 1911


Links to West Ham United Football Club

Employees at the Thames Ironworks formed a works football team, called Thames Ironworks Football Club. This club was later renamed
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, ha ...
, whose emblem of the crossed hammers represents the large riveting hammers used in the shipbuilding trade. West Ham are also known as "The Hammers" for this reason. While the media and the general football world commonly refer to the club as The Hammers, the club's own supporters have always referred to their team as 'The Irons', which again comes from the link with Thames Ironworks. The chant 'Come on you Irons' is heard on every match day at West Ham. The shape of the 16th evolution of the club badge, launched after club moved to the Olympic Stadium in 2016, is a representation of the cross-section of the bow of HMS ''Warrior'', the first iron clad battleship, built by the Thames Ironworks in 1860.


Notes


Further reading

*


External links


Arnold Hills
– International Vegetarian Union


Grace's Guide: Chronology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thames Ironworks And Shipbuilding Company 1837 establishments in England 1912 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1912 Ironworks and steelworks in England Engineering companies of the United Kingdom Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United Kingdom History of the London Borough of Newham History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Shipbuilding in London Ships built in Leamouth Shipyards on the River Thames Port of London British companies established in 1837