25 thoughts on “Foundry work at Ashmore-Benson, Pease”
I worked in the maintenance dept of the machine shop at Ashmores between 1965 to 1978 when it closed, worked with a man called Tommy Burns and Alan Ashmore who was the chargehand, Billy Eliott operated the lathe, big maintenance dept with plumbers, electricians, fitters, joiners, bricklayers etc
I, Glen Chapman am looking for a drawing of a 1939 Pease foundry boiler. No 193W
I have it n service (flawless) in Daysland, Alberta.
I need to remove the asbestos insulation and install a synthetic blanket. I have measurements but would like a proper drawing.
Thanks
Glen
Stockton Whessoe, previously known as Ashmore Benson and Pease, had a large machine shop in which the above picture was taken, also had what was known as the boiler yard which consisted of various construction bays, including high bays, pressure vessels etc for the oil and gas industry had been constructed to a very high standard by skilled tradesmen, and also turned out some of the best apprentices in Teesside. I enjoyed the first three years of my apprenticeship before being transferred to Darlington Whessoe, then to dock point offshore facility, then travelled the country on various projects and also abroad, Whessoe always looked after its workforce and in return its employees gave class one work skills.
The man on the drilling machine was called Jock Murray the drill was in the old shop of the boiler yard where all the plates angles were drilled ready for assembling this was in the old buildings in Bowesfield Lane. When Ashmores moved to the new site at the end of Bowesfield Lane that machine was sent there along with other machines and Jock went to work there until he retired. I remembered as I was there as an apprentice plater from 1936 to 1947 in the old works.
I joined Ashmore Benson Pease in 1952 as a Student Apprentice and did drawing office time with Syd Fawcett, a kindly supervisor, then some works time in the heavy foundry helping make moulds for blast furnace top bells and engine casings. Later moved to the new fabrication and construction building. My main interest was site management and was junior on a gas plant in Uxbridge and a blast furnace at Hartlepool during the summers from Constantine College and later Kings College. The name changed to Power Gas Corp., then to Davy United and after my time to Whessoe.
I left in 1960 to join Shell-Mex BP in London.
I wonder if you knew my father Dennis Haines. His employment followed yours so I am guessing you knew him. He passed away some 9 years ago and I know often felt a warm feeling for those times.
I served an apprenticeship as a turner at W.L & Co Ltd, starting in 1951. I do remember that on the ground floor they had an asquith radial arm drill, and on the middle floor they had a muliti-spindle drilling machine for drilling the holes in the baskets used on the centrifugal machines. The multi-drill was operated by Old Charlie who had retired from the railways about fifteen years previously. He would have been well into his seventies then.
I served my time as a Fitter/Turner at Stockton and Darlington works between 1976 and 1980. The picture illustrates an Asquith radial arm drill and the gentleman is possibly drilling tube or baffle plates for heat exchangers. Many of these machines were still in use when the Bowesfield Lane factory closed c1980. I was transferred to the Darlington works to complete my apprenticeship where I had to choose to be either a Fitter or Turner. Unions in those days did not permit Fitter/Turners in the Darlington workshops.
Was the Bowesfield Lane site near Adam St. where Charlie’s Bar (derelict) is? My cousin was born across from the foundry in 1953. His great grandmother had run the Tees Bridge Hotel but she was long gone then. I am just wondering if it was near there
The firm from Halifax which was formed by ex Asquith employees is called Hi Tech,they designed & installed the special machines for doing Power Generation Work(Turbines etc.)at Harkers Engineering,Stockton.
I”m very interested that this drill being used is an Asquith Radial Drill. As I look from my window in a higher located part of Halifax (about the same elevation as Roseberry Topping) I can see the buildings that were Asquiths” head offices with surrounding buildings being part of the construction areas. When the times became tough during Mrs Thatcher”s reign and manufacturing industry thinned out Asquiths merged with Butlers, another leading machine tool firm. Still exists at Brighouse. Another firm doing Asquith rebuilds is headed by one of the students from the former secondary school I headed here. He went through Asquiths apprentice scheme when such things still existed.
Well, you see that this is not a foundry!! Definitely a machine shop, the person who is drilling was using an Asquith radial drill, come on chaps get it right.
Stuart – the works at the top of Bowesfield Lane became part of Whessoe Heavy Engineering of Brinkburn Road, Darlington. As I understand it, around about 1968 – which ties in with you leaving the year before. Sadly, in 1978 the Bowesfield Lane works closed and were demolished shortly afterwards. I was an apprentice there at the time and I was transfered to Darlington to complete my apprenticeship. Sadly the facility at Darlington eventually went the same way. A trading estate/ business park now resides at the top of Bowesfield Lane were the old works once stood.
Harry – The Mulberry Harbour work carried out by Ashmore Benson & Pease during the war, was I think part of the Bombardon unit and involved making the Pontoon Floats for the Bailey Bridges. Two other people I know who served their time at Riley Boilers in Oxbridge and also worked on this project, were Bill Stephenson and Denis Youdale. They were both platers who later joined APB, Do you remember them ? Sadly Denis died ten years ago, but Bill is today a very sprightly octogenarian.
The man on the drilling machine was called JOCK MURRAY who worked in the costruction shop of ASHMORE BENSON & PEASE. I was serving my time as an apprentice plater from 1936 in the same part of the works which was called the old shop were all the plates, angles and flats were cut to sizes and drilled etc then were transfered to the assembly shops and constructed. During the war Jock and I worked on the assembly of BAILEY BRIDGES for the ARMY and the Mullbury Harbour which was a floating dock that would be sunk in the ocean for the war ships to be loaded with supplies. I left Ashmores in 1947 and have done various jobs out of the trade then went to work on the locos at Metro Vickers in Yarm road till 1953 stayed there for 2 years then went back to Ashmores which had transferred to the new site at the end of Bowesfield Lane. One of the first people I met after all that time was Jock Murray working on the same Asquith drilling machine which had been moved from the old site. The only difference was the machine had been adapted with multiple drills to drill five holes at a time for the Klonne Gassholders. I left Ashmores in 1967, worked for Billingham prees as a driver till 1982 and retired. I emigrated to Perth Western Australia 1986 ASHMORES closed down but I dont know if the building is still there
I worked,as a draughtsman for the Glasgow Engineering Company of Watson Laidlaw & Co. Ltd who made sugar cntrifuges and laundry machinery. Ashmore-Benson and Pease were customers of W.L & Co. and the machinery we supplied to them must have been part of a larger contract they were overseeing.
This photograph appears in a book entitled Industrialist”s Journey (Memoirs of a Northern Businessman) by Wilfred Beswick published in 1961. Wilfred Beswick was formerly Manageging Director and Chairman of the Power Gas Corporation and Ashmore Benson & Pease. The photograph is accompanied with the following description. A machine operator in the constructional Shop.
The photograph was taken in the machine shop of Ashmores in the early 50″s by Frank White who was the firm”s photographer. Ashmores also had two foundries,the heavy foundry for large blast furnace parts,etc and the mechanical foundary which produced small parts, such as engine gear boxes for the motor manufacturing industry. The photograph was taken and included in the companies monthly magazine,”Concord” which was distributed to all members of the company.
This does not look like a foundry to me. He appears to be drilling plate. There are some long pieces of metal in the background. I have tried to make out the name on the arm looks like it could be an Asquith 1940/50 vintage. The face looks familiar to me, cant put a name to him, may have worked at Metro Vics at some stage. Do we have any idea of the origin of the photo??
I think my uncle worked for Ashmore, Pease and Benson in the 1930″s or 40″s. His name was William Trousdale and he possibly was a designer or draughtsman, something to do with the boilers they produced. My father lost contact with him because of the war, so I don”t have a lot of information on him. It”s nice to see the pictures of where he worked though, very evocative.
I do not think this has anythiung to do with a Foundry, it is a drilling machine in a Machine Shop. Ashmore Benson Pease and Company had one of the most up to date Machine Shops to compliment their first class Fabrication Shop and an Engineering team to match, but I do not remember them having a Foundry. There was a Foundry down Bowefield Lane but this was not part of Asmores. I worked for Ashmore Benson Pease and Company Ltd in the fifties and sixties as an Estimating Engineer and the standard of work they accomplished was Worlds best practice in what they achieved. They pioneered the Welding of many special Alloy Steels, when producing Pressure Vessels and Blast Furnace equipment, for a World wide market. Some of this development work was done on a trial and error basis as no other company had the experience in the welding of these very special steels where the pre-heat and post-heat temperatures were crucial to getting a succesfull 100% X-rayed weld for class one vessels. Ashmore were a credit to Teesside Engineering and skilled tradesmen and it is a great pity that they no longer prosper on Teesside.
I worked in the maintenance dept of the machine shop at Ashmores between 1965 to 1978 when it closed, worked with a man called Tommy Burns and Alan Ashmore who was the chargehand, Billy Eliott operated the lathe, big maintenance dept with plumbers, electricians, fitters, joiners, bricklayers etc
I served my apprenticeship there in 1975 as a caulker/chipper when it became Whessoe , it was still all the original boiler yard and workshops.
Hello, does anyone out there know of a Lawrence Riley who worked at ABP in the 1950’s & 60’s?
Long shot I know!
I, Glen Chapman am looking for a drawing of a 1939 Pease foundry boiler. No 193W
I have it n service (flawless) in Daysland, Alberta.
I need to remove the asbestos insulation and install a synthetic blanket. I have measurements but would like a proper drawing.
Thanks
Glen
Stockton Whessoe, previously known as Ashmore Benson and Pease, had a large machine shop in which the above picture was taken, also had what was known as the boiler yard which consisted of various construction bays, including high bays, pressure vessels etc for the oil and gas industry had been constructed to a very high standard by skilled tradesmen, and also turned out some of the best apprentices in Teesside. I enjoyed the first three years of my apprenticeship before being transferred to Darlington Whessoe, then to dock point offshore facility, then travelled the country on various projects and also abroad, Whessoe always looked after its workforce and in return its employees gave class one work skills.
The man on the drilling machine was called Jock Murray the drill was in the old shop of the boiler yard where all the plates angles were drilled ready for assembling this was in the old buildings in Bowesfield Lane. When Ashmores moved to the new site at the end of Bowesfield Lane that machine was sent there along with other machines and Jock went to work there until he retired. I remembered as I was there as an apprentice plater from 1936 to 1947 in the old works.
I joined Ashmore Benson Pease in 1952 as a Student Apprentice and did drawing office time with Syd Fawcett, a kindly supervisor, then some works time in the heavy foundry helping make moulds for blast furnace top bells and engine casings. Later moved to the new fabrication and construction building. My main interest was site management and was junior on a gas plant in Uxbridge and a blast furnace at Hartlepool during the summers from Constantine College and later Kings College. The name changed to Power Gas Corp., then to Davy United and after my time to Whessoe.
I left in 1960 to join Shell-Mex BP in London.
I wonder if you knew my father Dennis Haines. His employment followed yours so I am guessing you knew him. He passed away some 9 years ago and I know often felt a warm feeling for those times.
I served an apprenticeship as a turner at W.L & Co Ltd, starting in 1951. I do remember that on the ground floor they had an asquith radial arm drill, and on the middle floor they had a muliti-spindle drilling machine for drilling the holes in the baskets used on the centrifugal machines. The multi-drill was operated by Old Charlie who had retired from the railways about fifteen years previously. He would have been well into his seventies then.
I served my time as a Fitter/Turner at Stockton and Darlington works between 1976 and 1980. The picture illustrates an Asquith radial arm drill and the gentleman is possibly drilling tube or baffle plates for heat exchangers. Many of these machines were still in use when the Bowesfield Lane factory closed c1980. I was transferred to the Darlington works to complete my apprenticeship where I had to choose to be either a Fitter or Turner. Unions in those days did not permit Fitter/Turners in the Darlington workshops.
Was the Bowesfield Lane site near Adam St. where Charlie’s Bar (derelict) is? My cousin was born across from the foundry in 1953. His great grandmother had run the Tees Bridge Hotel but she was long gone then. I am just wondering if it was near there
Did you try to Darlington by motor bike buy any chance Honda rickman
The firm from Halifax which was formed by ex Asquith employees is called Hi Tech,they designed & installed the special machines for doing Power Generation Work(Turbines etc.)at Harkers Engineering,Stockton.
I”m very interested that this drill being used is an Asquith Radial Drill. As I look from my window in a higher located part of Halifax (about the same elevation as Roseberry Topping) I can see the buildings that were Asquiths” head offices with surrounding buildings being part of the construction areas. When the times became tough during Mrs Thatcher”s reign and manufacturing industry thinned out Asquiths merged with Butlers, another leading machine tool firm. Still exists at Brighouse. Another firm doing Asquith rebuilds is headed by one of the students from the former secondary school I headed here. He went through Asquiths apprentice scheme when such things still existed.
Well, you see that this is not a foundry!! Definitely a machine shop, the person who is drilling was using an Asquith radial drill, come on chaps get it right.
Stuart – the works at the top of Bowesfield Lane became part of Whessoe Heavy Engineering of Brinkburn Road, Darlington. As I understand it, around about 1968 – which ties in with you leaving the year before. Sadly, in 1978 the Bowesfield Lane works closed and were demolished shortly afterwards. I was an apprentice there at the time and I was transfered to Darlington to complete my apprenticeship. Sadly the facility at Darlington eventually went the same way. A trading estate/ business park now resides at the top of Bowesfield Lane were the old works once stood.
Does anyone know of a Ralph E Storey who worked as a M/c Shop & Foundry Engineer for Ashmore”s between 1940 and 1953 when he emigrated to Canada?
Harry – The Mulberry Harbour work carried out by Ashmore Benson & Pease during the war, was I think part of the Bombardon unit and involved making the Pontoon Floats for the Bailey Bridges. Two other people I know who served their time at Riley Boilers in Oxbridge and also worked on this project, were Bill Stephenson and Denis Youdale. They were both platers who later joined APB, Do you remember them ? Sadly Denis died ten years ago, but Bill is today a very sprightly octogenarian.
The man on the drilling machine was called JOCK MURRAY who worked in the costruction shop of ASHMORE BENSON & PEASE. I was serving my time as an apprentice plater from 1936 in the same part of the works which was called the old shop were all the plates, angles and flats were cut to sizes and drilled etc then were transfered to the assembly shops and constructed. During the war Jock and I worked on the assembly of BAILEY BRIDGES for the ARMY and the Mullbury Harbour which was a floating dock that would be sunk in the ocean for the war ships to be loaded with supplies. I left Ashmores in 1947 and have done various jobs out of the trade then went to work on the locos at Metro Vickers in Yarm road till 1953 stayed there for 2 years then went back to Ashmores which had transferred to the new site at the end of Bowesfield Lane. One of the first people I met after all that time was Jock Murray working on the same Asquith drilling machine which had been moved from the old site. The only difference was the machine had been adapted with multiple drills to drill five holes at a time for the Klonne Gassholders. I left Ashmores in 1967, worked for Billingham prees as a driver till 1982 and retired. I emigrated to Perth Western Australia 1986 ASHMORES closed down but I dont know if the building is still there
I worked,as a draughtsman for the Glasgow Engineering Company of Watson Laidlaw & Co. Ltd who made sugar cntrifuges and laundry machinery. Ashmore-Benson and Pease were customers of W.L & Co. and the machinery we supplied to them must have been part of a larger contract they were overseeing.
This photograph appears in a book entitled Industrialist”s Journey (Memoirs of a Northern Businessman) by Wilfred Beswick published in 1961. Wilfred Beswick was formerly Manageging Director and Chairman of the Power Gas Corporation and Ashmore Benson & Pease. The photograph is accompanied with the following description. A machine operator in the constructional Shop.
The photograph was taken in the machine shop of Ashmores in the early 50″s by Frank White who was the firm”s photographer. Ashmores also had two foundries,the heavy foundry for large blast furnace parts,etc and the mechanical foundary which produced small parts, such as engine gear boxes for the motor manufacturing industry. The photograph was taken and included in the companies monthly magazine,”Concord” which was distributed to all members of the company.
This does not look like a foundry to me. He appears to be drilling plate. There are some long pieces of metal in the background. I have tried to make out the name on the arm looks like it could be an Asquith 1940/50 vintage. The face looks familiar to me, cant put a name to him, may have worked at Metro Vics at some stage. Do we have any idea of the origin of the photo??
I think my uncle worked for Ashmore, Pease and Benson in the 1930″s or 40″s. His name was William Trousdale and he possibly was a designer or draughtsman, something to do with the boilers they produced. My father lost contact with him because of the war, so I don”t have a lot of information on him. It”s nice to see the pictures of where he worked though, very evocative.
I do not think this has anythiung to do with a Foundry, it is a drilling machine in a Machine Shop. Ashmore Benson Pease and Company had one of the most up to date Machine Shops to compliment their first class Fabrication Shop and an Engineering team to match, but I do not remember them having a Foundry. There was a Foundry down Bowefield Lane but this was not part of Asmores. I worked for Ashmore Benson Pease and Company Ltd in the fifties and sixties as an Estimating Engineer and the standard of work they accomplished was Worlds best practice in what they achieved. They pioneered the Welding of many special Alloy Steels, when producing Pressure Vessels and Blast Furnace equipment, for a World wide market. Some of this development work was done on a trial and error basis as no other company had the experience in the welding of these very special steels where the pre-heat and post-heat temperatures were crucial to getting a succesfull 100% X-rayed weld for class one vessels. Ashmore were a credit to Teesside Engineering and skilled tradesmen and it is a great pity that they no longer prosper on Teesside.