Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
Encyclopedia
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek
Bow Creek
Bow Creek is a long tidal estuary of the River Lea and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. Below Bow Locks the creek forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Newham and Tower Hamlets, in east London....
at its confluence with the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, at Leamouth Wharf
Leamouth
Leamouth is the area to the west of the mouth of the River Lea at the River Thames at . The northern part of the area lies within a meander of the Lea; the southern part is bounded in the west by the former East India Docks, on two sides by the Lea and by the River Thames to the south...
(often referred to as Blackwall
Blackwall, London
Blackwall is an area of the East End of London, situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the north bank of the River Thames.The district around Blackwall Stairs was known as Blackwall by at least the 14th century. This presumably derives from the colour of the river wall, constructed in...
) on the west side and at Canning Town
Canning Town
Canning Town is an area of east London, England. It is part of the London Borough of Newham and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the River Thames. It is the location of Rathbone Market...
on the east side. Its main activity was shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and 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 before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
, but it also diversified into civil engineering, marine engines, cranes, electrical engineering and motor cars.
1837–46
The company originated in 1837 as the Ditchburn and Mare Shipbuilding Company, founded by shipwright Thomas J. Ditchburn and the engineer and naval architect Charles Mare. Originally located at DeptfordDeptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, after a fire destroyed their yard the company moved to Orchard Place
Orchard House Yard
Orchard House yard was at Leamouth, on the River Lea at Bow Creek. The SS Robin was built at Orchard House Yard in 1890, and is currently moored a short distance away at West India Quay in London Docklands.-External links:**-See also:...
in 1838, between the East India Dock Basin
East India Docks
The East India Docks was a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin remains.-History:...
and Bow Creek
Bow Creek
Bow Creek is a long tidal estuary of the River Lea and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. Below Bow Locks the creek forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Newham and Tower Hamlets, in east London....
. 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 14 acres (5.7 ha).
Ditchburn and Mare were among the first builders of iron ships in the area; their partnership commenced with the construction of small paddle steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
s of between 50 and 100 tons, before progressing to cross-Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
vessels and by 1840 were building ships of more than 300 tons. The company's early customers included the Iron Steamboat Company
Iron steamboat company
The Iron Steamboat Company provided ferry service between Manhattan and Coney Island in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The original fleet consisted of seven iron-hulled steamboats, each named after a constellation--the Cygnus, the Cepheus, the Cetus, the Pegasus, the Perseus, the Sirius,...
and the Blackwall Railway Company, several paddle steamers being constructed for the latter, including the Meteor and the Prince of Wales, which operated between Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
and the company's station on Brunswick Wharf.
In this period the company was also awarded several contracts by the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, including HMS Recruit
HMS Recruit (1846)
HMS Recruit was a 12-gun iron-hulled sailing brig of the Royal Navy, constructed by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company and launched in 1846....
(a 12-gun brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
) which was one of the first iron warships built. They also constructed the P & O Company
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
's steamers Ariel and Erin.
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 TownCubitt Town
Cubitt Town is an area on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is on the east of the Isle, facing Greenwich across the River Thames. To the west is Millwall, to the northwest Canary Wharf and to the north, across the Blue Bridge, Blackwall...
.
From 1847 the company grew considerably and Mare purchased land on the Canning Town
Canning Town
Canning Town is an area of east London, England. It is part of the London Borough of Newham and is situated in the area of the former London docks on the north side of the River Thames. It is the location of Rathbone Market...
side of the River Lea, a ferry service being established between the two sites.
Mare constructed a yard with furnace
Furnace
A furnace is a device used for heating. The name derives from Latin fornax, oven.In American English and Canadian English, the term furnace on its own is generally used to describe household heating systems based on a central furnace , and sometimes as a synonym for kiln, a device used in the...
s and rolling mills that could construct vessels of 4,000 tons; because of the narrowness of the spit
Spit (landform)
A spit or sandspit is a deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, and extend into the sea. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift...
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
HMS Himalaya
HMS Himalaya was ordered by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company as SS Himalaya. She was purchased by the Royal Navy in 1854 and served with them until 1920. She was sunk in 1940....
for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
, briefly the world's largest passenger ship before becoming a naval troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
.
In 1855, the company which by now had more than 3000 employees, was threatened with closure following Mare's bankruptcy. 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
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames between Westminster on the north side and Lambeth on the south side, in London, England....
(which was built in 1862).
1857–1912
The company's chief creditorCreditor
A creditor is a party that has a claim to the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property or service to the second party under the assumption that the second party will return an equivalent property or...
s 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
Peter Rolt
Peter Rolt was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician.The son of John David Rolt of and his wife Sophia née Butt, he was born in Deptford. Both of his grandfathers held senior positions in the town's Royal Dockyard. He entered business as a timber merchant and contractor...
, Mare's father-in-law and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Greenwich
Greenwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Greenwich was a parliamentary constituency in South-East London, which returned Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1997 by the first past the post system.-History:...
. Rolt was also a timber merchant and a descendant of the Pett
Pett dynasty
The so-called Pett Dynasty was a family of shipwrights who prospered in England between the 15th and 17th centuries. It was once said of the family that they were "so knit together that the Devil himself could not discover them"...
shipbuilding family.
Rolt took control of the company's assets and in 1857 transferred them to a new limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
, named the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd.. It had a capital of £100,000 in 20 share
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
s of £5000 each, five of which were held by Rolt who was the main shareholder and also chairman of the board
Chairman of the Board
The Chairman of the Board is a seat of office in an organization, especially of corporations.Chairman of the Board may also refer to:*Chairman of the Board , a 1998 film*Chairmen of the Board , a 1970s American soul music group...
.
The new company was the largest shipbuilder on the Thames, its premises described by the Mechanics' Magazine in 1861 as "Leviathan Workshops". Large scale Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
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 Lower Lea Crossing and the Docklands Light Railway
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
south of Canning Town railway station.
By 1863 the company had the capacity to build 25,000 tons of warships and 10,000 tons of mail steamer
Mail steamer
Mail steamers were steamships which carried the mail across waterways, such as across an ocean or between islands, primarily during the 19th Century and early 20th Century, when the cost of sending a letter was declining to the point an ordinary person could afford the cost of sending a letter...
s simultaneously. One of its first Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
contracts was for HMS Warrior
HMS Warrior (1860)
HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French Gloire, launched a year earlier....
, launched in 1860, at the time the world's largest warship and the first iron-hulled armoured frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
. HMS Minotaur
HMS Minotaur (1863)
HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. They were the longest single-screw warships ever built. Minotaur took nearly four years between her launching and commissioning because she was used for evaluations of her armament and different...
followed in 1863, 400 feet (121.9 m) 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 10 acres (4 ha) in 1856 to 30 acres (12.1 ha) 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 5 acres (2 ha) 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
Overend, Gurney and Company
Overend, Gurney & Company was a London wholesale discount bank, known as "the bankers' bank", which collapsed in 1866 owing about 11 million pounds, equivalent to £981 million at 2008 prices.-Early years:...
. 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
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The yard also built the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n Navy's first iron-hulled warship, the SMS König Wilhelm in 1868 and the cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
Afonso de Albuquerque
NRP Afonso de Albuquerque (1884)
NRP Afonso de Albuquerque launched in 1885 was a sloop or small unprotected cruiser of the Portuguese Navy. Her name has also been spelled Afonso D’ Albuquerque. She was named after the 16th century Portugues navigator Afonso de Albuquerque....
for Portugal in 1884.
In the 1890s philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Arnold Hills
Arnold Hills
Arnold Frank Hills was an English businessman, sportsman, philanthropist, and promoter of vegetarianism.Hills was the first President of the London Vegetarian Society and the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletic Club, and also served as President of a London Vegetarian Rambling Club...
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 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 Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town until their...
and within their first two years they had entered the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
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 F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
was formed a month later.
During its lifetime the yard produced 144 warships and numerous other vessels. In 1911 Hills petitioned Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, then First Lord of the Admiralty
Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty
The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised command over the Royal Navy.Officially known as the Commissioners for Exercising the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland &c. The Lords...
, 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
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, with the yard's last major ship taking part in the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
.
Notable products
- In the 1850s the company produced iron work for I.K. Brunel'sIsambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
Royal Albert BridgeRoyal Albert BridgeThe Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge that spans the River Tamar in the United Kingdom between Plymouth, on the Devon bank, and Saltash on the Cornish bank. Its unique design consists of two lenticular iron trusses above the water, with conventional plate-girder approach spans. This gives...
over the TamarRiver TamarThe Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...
at SaltashSaltashSaltash is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a population of 14,964. It lies in the south east of Cornwall, facing Plymouth over the River Tamar. It was in the Caradon district until March 2009 and is known as "the gateway to Cornwall". Saltash means ash tree by...
. - HMS WarriorHMS Warrior (1860)HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French Gloire, launched a year earlier....
, 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 of 1904-1905.
- The launch of HMS AlbionHMS Albion (1898)HMS Albion was a British Canopus-class predreadnought battleship.-Technical Description:HMS Albion was laid down by Thames Iron Works at Leamouth, London on 3 December 1896...
in 1898 was marred by an accident when several observers lost their lives following a bridge collapse. - The last major warship built by the yard, HMS ThundererHMS Thunderer (1911)HMS Thunderer was the third Orion class battleship built for the Royal Navy and was the last vessel to be constructed by Thames Iron Works. She was the last and largest warship ever built on the River Thames, and after her completion her builders declared bankruptcy.By a margin of £1000, she was...
(22,500 tons), was launched in 1911.
Ships
- HMS TridentHMS Trident (1845)HMS Trident was an iron paddle sloop built for the Royal Navy by Ditchburn & Mare in 1845 at Leamouth, London.She was a third class iron paddle sloop, the only ship built to her design, making her a unique class. The builder’s design was approved on 22 August 1843 and Trident was launched on 16...
, Royal Navy, 1845 (Ditchburn & Mare) - HMS RecruitHMS Recruit (1846)HMS Recruit was a 12-gun iron-hulled sailing brig of the Royal Navy, constructed by the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company and launched in 1846....
, Royal Navy, 1846, iron brig. - PS Vladimir, 1848 (C J Mare), "Russian War Steamer"
- ArgoArgo (1853)The Argo was an iron screw steamer launched in 1853, and the first steamship to intentionally circumnavigate the earth.-History:Argo was built by C.J. Mare and Company of Leamouth, London for the General Screw Steam Shipping Company and launched in 1853...
, 1853, first steamship to circumnavigate the world. - SS HimalayaHMS HimalayaHMS Himalaya was ordered by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company as SS Himalaya. She was purchased by the Royal Navy in 1854 and served with them until 1920. She was sunk in 1940....
, 1853 (C J Mare), for Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation CompanyPeninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation CompanyThe Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...
, later HMS Himalaya, Royal Navy. - HMS WarriorHMS Warrior (1860)HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French Gloire, launched a year earlier....
, Royal Navy, 1860 - YavariYavari (ship)Yavari is a ship commissioned by the Peruvian government in 1861 for use on Lake Titicaca. She is named after the Javary River in the Loreto Region of Peru, bordering the Amazonas State ....
and YapuraBAP Puno (ABH-306)BAP Puno is a Peruvian Navy hospital ship on Lake Titicaca. Until 1976 she was called Yapura.The Peruvian government ordered Yapura and her sister ship Yavari in 1861. In 1862 Thames Ironworks on the River Thames built the iron-hulled Yavari and Yapura under contract to the James Watt Foundry of...
, Peruvian Navy, 1862, exported in sections for assembly on Lake TiticacaLake TiticacaLake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...
. - TUR Mahmudieh, Turkish Navy, 1863
- HMS MinotaurHMS Minotaur (1863)HMS Minotaur was the lead ship of the armoured frigates built for the Royal Navy during the 1860s. They were the longest single-screw warships ever built. Minotaur took nearly four years between her launching and commissioning because she was used for evaluations of her armament and different...
, Royal Navy, 1863 - RUS Pervenetz, Imperial Russian Navy, 1863
- HMS ValiantHMS Valiant (1863)HMS Valiant was the second ship of the armoured frigates ordered by the Royal Navy in 1861. Her builders went bankrupt shortly after she was laid down, which significantly delayed her completion. After being launched in 1863, she waited a further five years to receive her guns due to supply issues...
, Royal Navy, 1863 - Victoria, frigate, 1865
- SNS Vitoria, Spanish Navy, 1865
- HMS SerapisHMS Serapis (1866)HMS Serapis was a Euphrates-class troopship commissioned for the transport of troops to and from India. She was launched in the Thames on 26 September 1866 from the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Leamouth, London and was the third Royal Navy ship to bear the name...
, Royal Navy troopship, 1866 - Anglia, 1866, iron paddle tug.
- SMS König Wilhelm, 1869, Prussian Navy
- TUR Avni Illah, Turkish Navy, 1869
- TUR Feth-i Bülend, Ottoman Navy, 1870
- HMS MagdalaHMS Magdala (1870)HMS Magdala was a breastwork monitor of the Royal Navy, built specifically to serve as a coastal defence ship for the harbour of Bombay in the late 1860s. She was ordered by the India Office for the Bombay Marine. The original specifications were thought to be too expensive and a cheaper design...
, Royal Navy, 1870 - TUR Memdouhied, Turkish Navy, 1872
- TUR Messudieh, Turkish Navy, 1872
- , English Channel Steamship Company, 1874
- HMS SuperbHMS Superb (1875)HMS Superb was an ironclad battleship designed by Sir Edward Reed for the Ottoman Navy, and was built in Britain by Thames Ironworks under the name of Hamidieh. She had both engines and sails....
, Royal Navy, 1875 - NRP Mindello, Portuguese Navy, 1875
- NRP Rainha De Portugal, Portuguese Navy, 1875
- NRP Vasco Da Gama, Portuguese Navy, 1876
- Fox 1877, iron tug
- Canada 1880, Screw Tug
- HMS Linnet, Royal Navy, 1880
- NRP Afonso de AlbuquerqueNRP Afonso de Albuquerque (1884)NRP Afonso de Albuquerque launched in 1885 was a sloop or small unprotected cruiser of the Portuguese Navy. Her name has also been spelled Afonso D’ Albuquerque. She was named after the 16th century Portugues navigator Afonso de Albuquerque....
, Portuguese Navy, 1884 - HMS BenbowHMS Benbow (1885)HMS Benbow was a Victorian era Admiral-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, named for Admiral John Benbow.With the exception of her armament she was a repeat of HMS Anson and HMS Camperdown. The contract for her construction was awarded to Thames Ironworks, and stipulated delivery within...
, Royal Navy, 1885 - HMS Sans PareilHMS Sans Pareil (1887)HMS Sans Pareil was a Victoria Class battleship of the British Royal Navy of the Victorian era, her only sister-ship being .In deciding upon her design configuration the Board of Admiralty took what history shows was a retrograde step by requesting the reversion from barbettes to turrets for her...
, Royal Navy, 1887 - HMS BlenheimHMS Blenheim (1890)HMS Blenheim was a Blake class first class protected cruiser that served in the Royal Navy from 1890–1926.Launched 5 July 1890, she displaced 9,150 tons and her steel hull measured 375 feet and 65 feet with turning 2 propellers giving a top speed of...
Royal Navy, 1890 - SS RobinSS RobinSS Robin is a 300-tonne steam coaster, a class of steamship licensed only for passage in coastal waters, the oldest complete example in the world, at the Royal Docks in London, England for restoration and later display from July 2011....
, Arthur Ponsonby, 1890 - HMS GraftonHMS Grafton (1892)HMS Grafton was a first class cruiser of the Edgar class. She was launched on 30 January 1892. She served in the First World War in the Gallipoli Campaign, along with her sisters Endymion, Edgar and Theseus...
, Royal Navy, 1892 - HMS TheseusHMS Theseus (1892)HMS Theseus was an Edgar-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy. The Edgars were basically smaller versions of the Blake class. Theseus was launched at Leamouth, London in 1892 and commissioned on 14 January 1896....
, Royal Navy, 1892 - Battleship IJN FujiJapanese battleship Fuji-External links:*...
, 1896 - Battleship ShikishimaJapanese battleship Shikishima|-External links:**...
, 1898 - HMS AlbionHMS Albion (1898)HMS Albion was a British Canopus-class predreadnought battleship.-Technical Description:HMS Albion was laid down by Thames Iron Works at Leamouth, London on 3 December 1896...
, Royal Navy, 1898 - HMS CornwallisHMS Cornwallis (1901)HMS Cornwallis was a Duncan-class predreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy.-Technical Description:HMS Cornwallis was laid down by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company at Leamouth, London on 19 July 1899 and launched on 13 July 1901...
, Royal Navy, 1901 - HMS DuncanHMS Duncan (1901)HMS Duncan was the lead ship of the six-ship Duncan class of Royal Navy predreadnought battleships.-Technical Description:HMS Duncan was laid down by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Leamouth, on 10 July 1899, launched on 21 March 1901, and completed in October 1903.Duncan and her five...
, Royal Navy, 1901 - Cromer Lifeboat Louisa Heartwell ON 495Cromer Lifeboat Louisa Heartwell ON 495The Louisa Heartwell ON 495 was the sixth lifeboat to be stationed at Cromer on the coast of the English county of Norfolk She was launched from the beach station and was on station from 1902 to 1932. During her period on station at Cromer the Louisa Heartwell had only two coxswains during her...
, RNLI 1902 - HMS Black PrinceHMS Black Prince (1904)HMS Black Prince was a armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1900s. During the First World War she served in the Mediterranean before joining the Grand Fleet...
, Royal Navy, 1904 - J C MadgeSheringham Lifeboat J C Madge ON 536J C Madge was a Liverpool class, non-self righting lifeboat stationed at Sheringham in the English county of Norfolk from December 1904 until June 1936 during which time she was launched on service 34 times and saved 58 lives...
, RNLI, Sheringham lifeboat, 1904, - HMS NautilusHMS Grampus (1910)HMS Grampus was a of the Royal Navy, originally named HMS Nautilus when she was commissioned on 30 March 1910 from Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Company...
, Royal Navy, 1910, later named HMS Grampus - HMS ThundererHMS Thunderer (1911)HMS Thunderer was the third Orion class battleship built for the Royal Navy and was the last vessel to be constructed by Thames Iron Works. She was the last and largest warship ever built on the River Thames, and after her completion her builders declared bankruptcy.By a margin of £1000, she was...
, Royal Navy, 1911
Links to West Ham United Football Club
The Thames Ironworks formed a works football team, called Thames Ironworks Football ClubThames 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 Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town until their...
, This club later become West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
, whose emblem of the crossed hammers represents riveting hammers used in the shipbuilding trade. West Ham are known as "The Hammers" for this reason.
While the media and the general football world refer to the club as The Hammers, the club's own supporters refer 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.
External links
- Arnold Hills — information from the International Vegetarian Union
- Port of London History — information about the Ironworks company