Shadwell and Prestons Rd., Poplar.
The Caledonian Steam Towing Company came into existence about 1841 for 'the purpose of navigating and employing vessels 'impelled by steam in the towing of ships and vessels'. and by 1848 owned 9 tugs. The office address in 1842 is given as 11, Milk Yard, Shadwell. Among Managers/Directors of the company in 1849 were David Halket and John Drysdale. The company seems to have expanded rapidly as in the 1850's they are noted as owning 17 tugs. 1852 directories show the office address as 3, Shadwell Dock Street. The 1861 Post Office Directory gives their address as 6 Wapping Wall, Shadwell, with Thomas Forsyth Watson as manager. This was in fact the residence of Watson and his family. Watson had been born in Rotherhithe about 1823 and in 1851 was living in Paradise Street, Rotherhithe and was a sea captain. in 1861 whilst living in Wapping Wall he was shown as a shipowner. By March 24th 1865 the companies address was given as Prestons Road, Poplar, on the Isle of Dogs. In 1871 Watson was shown as living in Richmond Street, Plaistow, E. London and his occupation is given as "manager, Caledonian Steam Boat Company".
On 15th November 1865 ground to the North of the East side of Orchard Place, Leamouth Road was being used as a repairing yard by the Caledonian Steam Towing Company. The yard had a river frontage of 130ft, and included a small shipbuilding slip, as well as a brick-and tile machine shop, a timber built office, store and shed, and an old ship's deckhouse used as an office.
The company went into voluntary liquidation on August 26th 1873.
Watson appears at one time to have gone into partnership with Henry Retallick Gribble and they were Engineers, Boilermakers and Brassfounders, operating at Caledonian Wharf, Blackwall. This partnership was formally dissolved in July 1876. Thomas Forsyth Watson died 11-12-1872 at Walnut Tree House, Richmond St., Plaistow, London.
[Thanks to Helen Hills, Great Grandneice of Thomas Watson for his death details]
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MATTHEW BROWNFIELD
Doctor Matthew Brownfield was born about 1833, the son of a pilot, James Brownfield and his wife Jane. The family address in 1841 is recorded as Ballast Quay, Greenwich. Matthew apparently took up tug owning as a hobby whilst serving as Head Surgeon at Poplar Hospital in East India Dock Road. The Hospital opened about 1855. Whilst carrying out his medical duties at this location it was inevitable that he would come into contact with workers from the nearby shipyards at Blackwall and on the Isle of Dogs, and he was to treat workers injured whilst building the Great Eastern and the Leviathan, amongst many other ships. As he was also the District Police surgeon he was to appear in court many times, once giving evidence in a case where Isambard Brunel was also a witness, and was also mentioned during the 'Jack the Ripper' investigations. He had been in partnership at one time with Ronald Robertson at Newby Place, Poplar, carrying on the business of Surgeons and Apothecaries. This parnership was formally dissolved by mutual consent on 22nd August 1862. At this time Matthew Brownfield resided at 3, Eastcot Place, Poplar. Matthew Brownfield appears to have never married and his address is shown repeatedly as Poplar Hospital. After his death ownership of some of his tugs is shown as either Edith Brownfield or Matthew Brownfield of Gravesend. These were his nephew and niece, children of his brother James, who became a Gravesend pilot. Edith was living with him at 171 East India Dock Road in 1901 after he had retired. He died in September 1908, the death recorded at Poplar. How closely the Doctor was involved in the day to day running of the tugs is unclear, and it was generally acknowledged that he ran some fine vessels, but he was to enter into partnership with John Mitchell, at a date as yet unknown, but probably in the late 1860's, to carry on business as "Steam Tug proprietors and floating coal stores", the business address in 1890 being given as 49, Milton Road, Gravesend.
John Mitchell had been born in Newcastle about 1827. In 1851 he was living in Hartlepool and described as a steam Tug Master. Interestingly in 1861 there appears to be a double entry for him in the census. One return shows him at 39 Brunswick Road, Gravesend, occupation engine driver steamboat. Another entry shows him aboard the tug Ranger, as Engineer, lying in Dover Roads!!! In 1871, living at 36 Albion Road Gravesend, he is described as a steam tug owner, employing 17 men and 7 boys. Both the 1881 and 1891 census returns show him resident with family and wife Isabella at 49, Milton Road, Gravesend and in the occupation of Steam Tug owner. Again this was a partnership to be dissolved by mutual consent on 11th December 1891. All debts due and owing were to be paid by John Mitchell. It is believed John Mitchell died about 1893.
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J. F. GIBB TUGS
"The Ben Line"
James Foote Gibb was a shipwright who carried out his trade at Ratcliff Dry Dock, Shadwell. It would appear that Aberdeen based shipowners had an interest in the company, and the tugs hulls were painted green, as were the Aberdeen clippers. Not a lot is known about James Gibb, although it is thought he was born in Scotland. He would appear to have entered into several partnerships over the years. Trading as W and J F Gibb, presumably with another family member, this partnership was dissolved 31st December 1867, and trading was continued at Ratcliff Dry Dock as Gibb and Hutchison. Allan Hutchison retired from the company in June 1871, this partnership being dissolved 24-6-1871, trading to continue as J F Gibb. At some stage James Glen Williamson was also a partner. He was a marine engineer, born in Scotland in 1855 and residing in Hampstead in 1881. Again this partnership was dissolved on 23rd December 1881. Gibb also had an office in City Chambers, Railway Place, Fenchurch Street, in the City of London. Gibb also owned sailing vessels including the barques Talavera Chile and Willowbank. The company finally ceased trading in May 1886. Ratcliff Dry Dock continued in existence and the engineering workshop there was destroyed by a large fire 30-8-1888. [A busy time for the authorities in east London as there was also a warehouse fire in London Dock on this day and the next day Mary Ann Nichols body was found in Whitechapel after being murdered by Jack the Ripper]
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LONDON STEAM TOWING COMPANY
A company which existed for 27 years and seems never to have owned or operated a tug! A prospectus was published in March 1856 inviting applications for shares. The company was formed to "meet the demand for steam towing vessels between London and the Downs" and proposed to have on station three tugs as speedily as possible. A capital of £32,000 was quoted and manager was Charles James Bastard, with temporary office at 3, Royal Exchange Buildings, London. In December 1865 a revised prospectus was published, quoting a captal of £200,000, a huge sum then. The directors here stated that a provisional agreement had been made to purchase the sixteen tug fleet of William Watkins for £55,000. Included was the entire goodwill of the business, with William Watkins to become a Director following purchase and remain Manager for at least five years. None of this ever appears to have happened and the company was struck off the register in 1883.
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THE SHIPOWNERS TOWING COMPANY
The Shipowners Towing Company was one of the earlier towing companies on the River Thames. It commenced operations in 1837, the tug Dragon being launched newly built for them on May 24 of that year. Originally, however, the company was named The Symington Patent Paddle Towing Company. A prospectus for this company appeared in the newspapers about 18th March 1836, advising a capital of £50,000 and naming the chairman as the Lord Mayor of London, William Taylor Copeland, MP. Directors were John Pirie, Captain Nathaniel Domett, Joseph Somes, Thomas Ward, Nathaniel Gould, Walter Urquhart, William Gunston, Robert Bowie. Company secretary was William Neely and Engineer William Symington. The office address is given as 1, King William Street, London. Other tugs originally owned included William Symington built 1835, Jane (1826), Sir Robert Hawkes (1835), Newcastle (1824), Copeland (1836), and William Gunston (1837). The tugs all employed a patented paddle wheel designed by Scottish engineer William Symington. This was to prove not very successful in operation and all tugs were gradually re-fitted with standard paddle wheels. The company was renamed The Shipowners Towing Co Ltd about 1839. Directors listed in 1840 included Alderman Sir John Pirie Bt. Shipowner, Director of the South Australia Company and Lord Mayor of London in 1842, and also Alderman William Taylor Copeland MP., son of a partner of Josiah Spode of pottery fame, one time Master of the Goldsmiths Company and Lord Mayor of London in 1835. The company also owned a coal hulk moored to the east of Gravesend at this time. In 1847 a bill was proposed in Parliament to enable the company to sue and also be sued, the second reading taking place on March 22nd. In 1848 the companies office address was given as 162 Leadenhall Street, company secretary being Alexander Willis. In 1849 the company chairman was Edwin Oswin. In November 1852 a new share issue was proposed, to enable the company to expand. Whatever the result of this proposal the company seems to have soon gone into decline and was in voluntary liquidation by 1858, many of its vessels being sold on to other Thames owners. A notice in the Bristol Mercury newspaper in April 1857 advised that the steam tugs Cock of the North, Copeland, Ajax and Commodore, all lying in East India Dock, London, were for sale by auction, which would take place in the Captains Room at Lloyds on April 16th 1857.
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THAMES STEAM TUG AND LIGHTERAGE COMPANY
Although a few records exist showing the company tugs towing small ships in the early years it was essentially a lighterage company. A prospectus was issued on July 9th 1856 showing a capital of £200,000 and advertising an issue of twenty thousand £10 shares. The Directors were Thomas Brassey, John Blake, Horatio Day, Sir S Morton Peto, William Swann and W H Tyler. Managers were Messrs Keen and Blake of Northumberland Wharf, Brentford. Company secretary Charles Eley Jnr. was also secretary of the Great Western and Brentford Railway Company. The stated aim of the company was to provide a fleet of lighters and steam tugs to take advantage of the ever increasing lighterage traffic on the Thames, and in particular to capitalize on traffic from the newly opened Victoria Dock, possible traffic from a proposed new dock at Dagenham, and that from a dock at Brentford, operated in collaboration with the GWR to take advantage of the Welsh coal trade. It is also evident from the prospectus that this was a re-financing and expansion of an existing lighterage business, presumably that of Keen and Blake of Brentford and Isleworth.
The company commenced operation on the first day of December 1856 with offices at Northumberland Wharf, Brentford, and Corn Exchange, London. In 1857 it announced it had reached an agreement with the Victoria Dock Company to service all its lighterage requirements. In December 1857 the Head office moved to 148 Fenchurch Street, London. Growth seems to have been fairly rapid and by 1881 the company employed over 300 men. By 1889 the offices had moved to 65 Fenchurch Street and company secretary was T. W. Jacob. T W Jacob was with the company many years, being both secretary and manager in 1889 and managing director by 1902.
The workforce went on strike in November 1881 over pay and conditions and similar disputes were to arise in 1889 and from October 1900 to January 1901.
In 1904 the company was in conference with various bodies, including Thames Conservancy regarding plans to build a barge repair yard on Lot’s Eyot near Brentford, a small islet which they owned. In December 1904 the company owned 340 barges and five tugs. Trading continued through various ups and downs including the two World wars and on 16th March 1959 a large notice appeared in the Times celebrating the companies centenary. By 1961 however there was a downturn in business beginning, and although employing over 400 lightermen a take-over bid of £780,000 from the Transport Development Group, announced on the 3rd October, was recommended and accepted.
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RICHARD D. ROSS
[Lloyds Steam Tug Co., Blackwall]
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DANIEL BARKER
Horselydown, Southwark.
Daniel Barker was born in Southwark about 1803. In 1841 he was living in Gainsford Street, Horselydown, an area just east of where Tower Bridge would be built years later, and his occupation is given as a Pilot. By 1851 he had married Charlotte Killick of Thelnetham, near Diss, Norfolk and was still iving at 21 Gainsford Street with Charlotte and daughters Sarah, Sophia and Susannah. By now he was described as a steam tug owner, employing 16 men. Daughter Sarah married Margate surgeon W B Atkinson on 8th June 1854. The family address was given in the wedding report as Gainsford Street and Hyde Vale, Blackheath. A move must soon have followed as in 1861 Daniel and Charlotte were living at 8 Gloucester Place, Greenwich. They were still resident here in 1881, Daniel now described as a retired shipowner. A trade journal entry for 1884 gives Daniel Barker and Company's addresses as 3 Sampson's Gardens, Wapping and 4, New London St., London EC3. Daniel Barker died in September 1887 aged about 84. Charlotte was to survive until March 1893 her age on death given as 79. Barker had an interest in at least 17 tugs over the years, and appeared to have had a close working relationship with the Spicer family.
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SPICERS
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J. MARTIN
Gravesend.
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W. SANDFORD
[Kindly compiled by Kevin Haydon]
Sandford was a familiar name on the Thames for many years. The Gravesend branch of the family were first known as fishermen and prospered when the small town became something of a resort for Londoners, running both peter boats, used for fishing, especially shrimps, and a number of fish shops. Other activities probably included supplying water to the many ships passing Gravesend and salvaging lost anchors. A big step forward came when William Sandford (c 1819-1895) establishes himself as a Trinity House pilot. He could then afford to run a small fleet of schooners and colliers – useful for would be pilots wishing to get in some sea-time. The family also invested in engineering and tugs. Tom, William and George, the three elder sons of William, worked on his boats and followed him into the pilotage. Other Sandfords of a later generation also joined Trinity House. The two younger sons, Edward and Horatio, found that they were not entirely cut out for life afloat and became engineers, Horatio starting up on the site of his former employer, next to Butchards by the Canal Basin. I think that Horatio learnt his trade at the works of John Stewart and both he and Edward worked on some of the family owned tugs.
A great deal of the early work of the engineering business was connected with the river, such as tug maintenance and repair. The lack of water around the slip from the works into the Thames not proving much of a problem for the shallow draft paddle tugs. The Sandfords naturally repaired their own tugs. They also converted the passenger steamer Alert (1855-1929) and ran it in the coal trade between 1899 and 1914 and converted the Artemis to a coal hulk for their own use. Later work included the refurbishment of Terrace Pier, heavy engineering for local cement companies, man-hole covers and other foundry products for the local authority (still to be seen around Gravesend) and work for gas companies. Charles Douglas Etheredge, who was I think the son of George Etheredge and grand-son of the founder of the pump-makers, took over the business and was a director for many years. Under different ownership, the business occupying the site more recently did some heavy engineering work in connection with the High Speed Channel Tunnel rail link. The Sandford name plate by the Canal Basin and vehicles bearing the legend “Sandford Heavy Lifting” can still be seen.
William’s daughter, Susan Sarah, married J R Starbuck. Starbuck was head of the long established ship’s chandlers at Gravesend, whose business ventures included the sailing collier Glenroy and fishing boats. Both William and his son-in-law would have known other Gravesend businessmen, such as the store owner Mr. Rackstraw, who also put money in a collier. Starbuck was the local agent for the Distressed Sailor’s Society, an important organisation when life afloat was dangerous and little help could be expected from the state.
Sandford ran the coal hulk Dart with another tug owner, Dan Mitchell. When Mitchell died at a young age I think Sandford assisted his widow in running the Mitchell tug business for a time. Elliott/Dick & Page also shared the running of a coal hulk with Sandford and I think that this led to the shared interest in the running of the three Conqueror tugs/excursion boats.
It is possible that William Sandford invested money in tugs as a member of a syndicate to test the water before making a larger commitment, but Frank Bowen starts the record with the True Briton, a wooden paddler of 80 grt, built at Poplar in 1852 for C C Nelson’s United Steam Company that was purchased by William in the 1860’s after United Steam went bust. The tug was sold on to James of Plymouth in the 1870’s and later went to Hull where it was still working in the 1890’s. Another early tug was the Restless, (94’ x 17’ and about 80 grt) built for Sandford in 1869. The Lightning of 1866 was acquired from a syndicate that included T W Elliott among its members in 1875. The Challenger of 1873 was acquired from Elliott in 1882 and was sold to John Page in the 1890’s after he had taken over the running of Elliott’s business. The later tugs, intended for seeking in the Channel or to double as passenger steamers in the summer season, were larger vessels. All were well founded and were kept busy while owned by Sandford. The strength of the Daring of 1876 survived the test of being rammed by the Belgian mail packet Parlement Belge while anchored at Dover in fog. The Flying Falcon (originally the Lord Bandon) was acquired from Clyde Shipping with the excursion business in mind and was successful enough for Sandford to order the Conquerors of 1884, 1890 and 1897, the last two having the fore and aft funnel arrangement of the Flying Falcon. The Conqueror of 1897 that passed to Dick & Page in 1903 was the last paddle-tug built for Thames owners. George Sandford and William Ives had command of the Restless before joining the pilotage. Horatio was her engineer for a time. The Restless was used extensively to handle small sailing ships carrying fruit or timber (the latter known as Onkers) and for berthing ships in the upper docks. The men Sandford appointed to command the later and larger vessels had reputations as men who could make money and in view of the Sandford connections it is perhaps no surprise that so many of them went into the pilotage themselves. Among them were the first captain of the Daring, John Simmons, one of his successors, Charles Haill, (whose many exploits are recorded elsewhere0, Walter Hayward, (who like Captain Haill had been with the Black Ball tugs, but had not I think lost money when that firm foundered), Robert Andrews (from the Woodcock) and Harry Smith. W R Couves went on to captain some of the Campbell passenger steamers. Walter Curtis, a Dick & Page man had followed Robert Andrews and Harry Smith into the Conqueror of 1897. Captain Pascoe commanded the tug for a short time at the beginning of World War One. Captain Washer then took over and under his command the tug was involved in numerous rescues and salvages.
The Ville de Calais was one of the few failures in the Sandford record. The bow of this Clarke & Stansfield vessel had been damaged by an explosion and the ship lay at Calais for some months before the owners decided to fit a temporary bow and prepare the ship for a tow back to the Thames. The Challenger, under Captain Hayward was engaged for the job, a number of other Gravesend men acting as crew of the tugs or in the case of Messrs Lukes and Mee, runners on the tow. The tow proved slow and awkward, but proceeded without great incident until off Dungeness when the Ville de Calais began to drag towards the shore. Captain Hayward was attempting to manoeuvre the tow into deeper water when the tow-rope parted and the ship ran aground before any re-connection could be made. Captain Hayward rendered what assistance he could and a life-boat brought off some of the runners, but sadly five men died. Captain Hayward went to the newly formed Ring Tugs the same year, but stayed only a short time before receiving his exempt pilot’s licence and joining Trinity House. The Challenger also left Sandfords, being sold to new owners in the North East
The small screw tug or “Tosher” Pilot of 1876 was acquired and used for miscellaneous work until sold in the 1890’s. Apart from the Pilot the only tugs owned by and run by the Sandfords were paddle tugs, so the disposal of the Conqueror of 1897 brought this particular episode to an end.
Electric 1861
Telegraph 1859 74 tons
Most of the Thames owners of the Electric had Gravesend connections. Daines and Henry Williams in the 1860’s, Doctor Brownfield in the early 1870’s and Charles Stratford and Thomas James Williams before the tug was sold to Cardiff buyers.
The Tyne tugs and Thames tugs websites record that a T G Sandford and others were owners of the Telegraph from new until1870. Frank Bowen does not mention a Sandford among the owners, but says that the principal Thames owners were George Halsey, James Hobson and Thomas Williams. James Mason, Tom Starkey (who joined from the tug Bluejacket and was the brother of Bill) and Jesse Reader (who worked for the Black Ball tugs among others – not the man who worked for Watkins) were among her masters.
Thomas James Williams (c1815-1905) was a pilot for many years, from about 1841, and as senior river pilot in 1886 was given the honour (and inscribed gold watch) of performing the official opening ceremony taking the tug into the new Tilbury Docks. In view of his long service there may have been other tugs in which he had an interest, but so far I have found no record. The first ship to enter the docks was piloted by Richard Holland and he was somewhat agrieved not to get the watch.
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ALFRED TOLHURST
Gravesend.
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