Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Carillion Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018. Carillion was created in July 1999, following ...

bought the firm in 2006.

History

The firm was founded by John Mowlem in 1822, and was continued as a partnership by successive generations of the Mowlem and Burt families, including George Burt, and Sir John Mowlem Burt. The company was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902 and went public on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

in 1924.''Mowlem 1822–1972'' – Mowlem Public Relations brochure, 1972, p.3 During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

the company was one of the contractors engaged in building the Mulberry harbour units.Hartcup, p. 94 A long-standing national contractor, Mowlem developed a network of regional contracting businesses including

Rattee and Kett Rattee and Kett was a building contractor based in Cambridge History The business was founded by James Rattee in 1843. After George Kett joined the business in 1848, the partners worked together on the wood carvings for the Palace of Westminster ...

of Cambridge (bought in 1926); E. Thomas of the west country (bought in 1965) and the formation of a northern region based in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

in 1970. The network was further augmented by the acquisition of Ernest Ireland of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

(bought in 1977), and the acquisition of McTay Engineering of

Bromborough Bromborough is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, it is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south east of Bebington and to the north of East ...

, together with its shipbuilding subsidiary

McTay Marine McTay Marine was a shipbuilder in Bromborough, Merseyside from 1974 to 2016. History McTay Engineering had been set up in 1963 by James McBurney and Jim Taylor. McTay Engineering specialised in the construction of storage tanks and associated pla ...

(also bought in the late 1970s). In 1971 the company expanded overseas purchasing a 40% shareholding in an Australian contractor, Barclay Brothers, and later taking 100% ownership. The Australian business, re-branded Barclay Mowlem, expanded into all other Australian mainland states, except

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

, and into Asia. Mowlem acquired SGB Group, a supplier of scaffolding, in 1986. Mowlem also bought Unit Construction in 1986, giving the firm a substantial presence in private housebuilding - within two years, sales were up to an annual rate of 1,200. The ensuing recession led to losses of over £180m between 1991 and 1993 and banking covenants came under pressure. The housing division was sold to Beazer in 1994. Mowlem was bought by

in February 2006.

Major projects

Tower 42 looking north from Bishopsgate 2011-05-04

Major projects undertaken by or involving Mowlem included: *

Billingsgate Fish Market Billingsgate Fish Market is located in Canary Wharf in London. It is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east corner of the City of London, where the riverside market was or ...

completed in 1874''Mowlem 1822–1972'' – Mowlem Public Relations brochure, 1972, p.4 * Smithfield Fruit Market completed in 1882 *

Imperial Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust is a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pro ...

completed in 1887 * Woolwich Ferry terminals opened in 1889 *

Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the ...

and the Great Eastern Hotel completed in 1891 *

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

building completed in 1911''Mowlem 1822–1972'' – Mowlem Public Relations brochure, 1972, p.7 *

Admiralty Arch Admiralty Arch is a landmark building in London providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, which extends to the southwest, and Trafalgar Square to the northeast. Admiralty Arch, commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mo ...

completed in 1912 * Port of London Authority Building completed in 1919 *

Bush House Bush House is a Grade II listed building at the southern end of Kingsway between Aldwych and the Strand in London. It was conceived as a major new trade centre by American industrialist Irving T. Bush, and commissioned, designed, funded, a ...

completed in 1923''Mowlem 1822–1972'' – Mowlem Public Relations brochure, 1972, p.6 *

London Post Office Railway The Post Office Railway, is a narrow gauge, driverless underground railway in London that was built by the Post Office with assistance from the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, to transport mail between sorting offices. Inspired ...

completed in 1927 *

Piccadilly Circus tube station Piccadilly Circus is a London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself, with entrances at every corner. Located in Travel-card Zone 1, the station is on the Piccadilly line between Green Park and Leicester Squa ...

completed in 1928 *

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) ...

completed in 1933 * Mulberry harbour units completed in 1943 *Reconstruction works at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

in 1943 following bomb damage''Mowlem 1822–1972'' – Mowlem Public Relations brochure, 1972, p.8 *Reconstruction of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1947 also following bomb damage *

William Girling Reservoir The William Girling Reservoir is located in the London Borough of Enfield and is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supplies London with drinking water. It is named after William Girling OBE, a chairman of the Metropolitan Water Board (M ...

completed in 1951 *

Hunterston A nuclear power station Hunterston A nuclear power station is a decommissioned Magnox nuclear power station located at Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland, adjacent to Hunterston B. The ongoing decommissioning process is being managed by Nuclear Decommissioning Authorit ...

completed in 1957 *

Strand underpass The Strand underpass is a one-way road tunnel in central London connecting Waterloo Bridge to Kingsway near Holborn. Opened in 1964, it was built within the former Kingsway tramway subway, which closed in the 1950s. History The underpass is b ...

completed in 1962 * Millbank Tower completed in 1963 *Reconstruction of

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along w ...

in 1963 *Marine terminal for a joint venture of

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic ...

and Pappas Petroleum in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

completed in 1965 *New altar for

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

in 1966 *

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It re ...

completed in 1972''Mowlem 1822–1972'' – Mowlem Public Relations brochure, 1972, p.9 *

Natwest Tower Tower 42, commonly known as the NatWest Tower, is a skyscraper in the City of London. It is the fifth-tallest tower in the City of London, having been overtaken as the tallest in 2010 by the Heron Tower. It is the fifteenth- tallest in Lond ...

completed in 1979 * Mount Pleasant Airfield completed in 1986 *

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 Lo ...

completed in 1987 *

Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink (branded locally simply as Metrolink) is a tram/ light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the most extensive light rail system in the United Ki ...

completed in 1991 *Refurbishment of

Thames House Thames House is an office building in Millbank, London, on the north bank of the River Thames adjacent to Lambeth Bridge. Originally used as offices by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), it has served as the headquarters of the United Kingdom' ...

completed in 1994 *Refurbishment of the

Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...

completed in 1998 *Expansion of

James Cook University Hospital The James Cook University Hospital is a tertiary referral hospital and regional major trauma centre in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England located on the A172 (Marton Road). Having 1,046 beds, it caters for most specialities and forms par ...

completed in 2003 *

Spinnaker Tower The Spinnaker Tower is a landmark observation tower in Portsmouth, England. It is the centrepiece of the redevelopment of Portsmouth Harbour, which was supported by a National Lottery grant. The tower's design was chosen by Portsmouth reside ...

completed in 2005 *

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...

South Stand completed in 2006 * Dublin Port Tunnel completed in 2006 Mowlem was also the owner and developer of

London City Airport London City Airport is a regional airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, approximately east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial ...

completed in 1986.Mowlem sighs with relief on pounds 15.5m disposal
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', 31 October 1995

References

Sources

* * ''Mowlem 1822–1972'' – Mowlem Public Relations brochure, 1972 {{Authority control British companies established in 1822 Construction and civil engineering companies of the United Kingdom Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange 1822 establishments in England Defunct construction and civil engineering companies British companies disestablished in 2006 Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1822 2006 disestablishments in England Construction and civil engineering companies disestablished in 2006

History

Major projects

See also

References

Sources