Here is a photograph of the offices at Furness Shipyard, Haverton Hill (later to become Swan Hunter). Date unknown.
Photograph and details courtesy of Peter Jordison.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Here is a photograph of the offices at Furness Shipyard, Haverton Hill (later to become Swan Hunter). Date unknown.
Photograph and details courtesy of Peter Jordison.
There was a pub
I was a student trainee there from June 1965 to June 1966.
Chris Rose-Anderssen
I see the last entry for Furness Shipping is dated 1941-61 written by Bob Wilson of Five Lamps. A very good and sound history of this former fine Company.
Lord Christopher Furness gave my relation a start in life as an office boy F.W.Lewis who started life at West Hartlepool.
He must have shown great promise to work his way up via London office manager, to Chairman and Director of Furness Whithy a position he held for many years. He too was raised to the Peerage as Lord Essendon of Essendean.
His son became Hon Brian Lewis a famous racing driver in the 1920s30s along with Freddy Dixon of Middlesbrough and Malcolm Campbell and many other top drivers of there day. He succeeded his Father and became Lord Essendon 11.
No children came forth and the title lapsed unfortunately for the remaining family.
Brian also was a main agent for de Havilland aircraft in those early days of flight.
It would be good to hear of similar cases of sound careers from the North East Area who made this Country Great Britain!
J.Norman Kidd.
I worked in the basement of the pay office from 13 January 1964, just before my 17th birthday, until 3 April 1964 and loathed it. I operated the Adrema addressing machine that stamped names and payroll numbers on payslips and suchlike and it was incredibly boring. I also made and took round tea for the managers upstairs and washed up afterwards.
After a few weeks the boss asked if I wanted to train as a comptometer operator. I’d seen them working and thought it looked even more boring. If I’d been more assertive (or even assertive at all) I’d have asked if there was an alternative, e.g. learning bookkeeping and possibly becoming an accountant.
The only interesting part of the job, the only part that involved using my brain, was helping to count out the wages and put them in the envelopes on Friday afternoons. Giving them out at the gates afterwards was the only time I came into contact with the people who did the real work.
The only person whose name I remember was Arnie, who worked in the upstairs office. He’d now be about 84. I knew his younger brother, John, who’d be in his early 70s now. They lived at the bottom end of Greenwood Road in Billingham.
On 6 April 1964 I was on a train to Surrey to do basic training in the WRAC.
I worked at furnace shipyard I started in 1944 on the union welding machines welding the Bulk heads, in 1946 I started to serve my time as fitter and Turner I then went into the Royal Air Force. My father was a tower Crane driver.
Seeing the offices again after all these years is a real treat, my mum, Sheila Baker who at 84 is still alive, was one of the two telephone exchange operators, Dad was the fitting training instructor and 2 uncles Les and Maurice worked in the drawing office, brother Craig also, as for me I couldn’t wait to get out and see the world, but it was a great apprenticeship.
I remember spending my school holidays at the shipyard as my Mum Josie worked in the offices as a waitress. I remember spending time in the switchboard and the operators letting me dial number for them and plug the lines in on the old board. Would your Mum remember me do you think? My Mum was Josie Stephens, she sadly passed away last October 2016.
The labour manager was Dick Chapman a good friend in 1968.
I cannot email you direct as I cannot find an email address. Please contact Picture Stockton for my email. I do have a lot of info about Furness having worked in the drawing office for 20 years
I think this picture of the Shipyard offices has been printed the wrong way round, because when you went through the main gate, the offices were on the right. I used to work there…
You’re spot on. I remember the gatehouse on the left through the gates. I worked in the offices late 60’s/early 70’s.
Julie, you’re right that the offices were to the right of the main gate, however this picture is not of the main gates. This photo shows the gates at the west end of the offices. These gates are still in existance and can be seen on Google street view, if you can’t drive along that road.
Yes, I agree. I worked there also and what made me look it up I can’t imagine but I too remember it being the other way round.
These gates are opposite what is now the Haverton Hill Hotel and what was Pickering Street (now the pub car park). You can just make out the gate posts on this picture,( with the pub and street in the background)
https://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/churchill-at-haverton-hill-1941/
Was this entrance reserved for management and visitors only?
So if you were a normal (real) worker you would of entered the main gate and the offices would then be on the right.
The main gate was at the other end of the offices, further towards Haverton Hill. The original gates are no longer there, all that remains is a square stone kiosk building that was alongside.
The photograph shows the “”posh entrance” this was the entrance used by the directors, top management and me, The commissionaires office (Jim?) was just inside the revolving door. It was also used by guests and celebrities invited to the launching of ships. The guests where driven to the yard by Furnesses own fleet of limousines, from whatever train stations they arrived at from London etc. Not shown in the photo is the shipyard garage, the head chauffeur and garage foreman in my time was called Mr James Surtees a true gentleman. I mentioned earlier that I was allowed to enter via the posh end, this was because of my exalted position of Garage Boy 1957.
Prominent Stockton & Thornaby Shipbuilders.
Blackett’s Shipbuilding: The company was formed in 1917 by J. J. Blackett and F. V. Nettleton and operated a 6 acre site at Thornaby, intending to build in concrete ships for the Admiralty’s wartime requirements. In the event, only two vessels appear to have been built, a further eight being cancelled. (I wonder was this person a relation to Blacketts Dept store)?
CRAIG, TAYLOR and COMPANY LTD. The yard occupied a 7 acre site at Stockton and was operational from 1884 to 1930
F. J. HARKER. One ship known. (THE STELLA 1890)
HEAD WRIGHTSON LANDING CRAFT. The company was founded at Stockton as Head Ashby in 1840, and was renamed Head Wrightson in 1864 after Thomas Wrightson joined it from the Elswick works of William Armstrong. In 1915 this major engineering company contracted to build 5 of the ‘X’ lighters for naval use, 3 were powered and 2 were dumb craft. They were an early form of landing craft. (Was Head Wrightson landing craft used on D-Day)?
M. PEARSE and COMPANY, North Shore yard. In operation 1854 to 1888, Prominent company, who built 228 ships.
RICHARDSON, DUCK and Company Limited (formerly SOUTH STOCKTON IRON SHIPBUILDING COMPANY,then RICHARDSON, DUCK and COMPANY from 1853 to 1912) The South Stockton Iron Shipbuilding Company was established on the former yard of engine builders Fossick of Stockton in 1852 to build the first iron ship on the Tees. However, before ADVANCE was completed the yard was bought by Joseph Richardson and George Nixon Duck.
ROPNER and SON(S) from 1919. ROPNER SHIPBUILDING & REPAIRING CO. (STOCKTON) LTD. Purchased North Shore yard (formerly operated by Matthew Pearse & Co.) (yard later occupied by Smith’s Dock q.v.)
SMITH’S DOCK COMPANY LTD. Smith’s Dock completed 13 vessels in 1930 and 1931 on the site previously operated by Ropner and Co. until 1925
SWAN HUNTER SHIPBUILDERS Ltd. Swan Hunter took over the yard from Furness and completed 10 vessels between 1970 and 1978, the yard was then used by Smith’s Dock for two vessels (see separate list)
STOCKTON CONSTRUCTION Co. Ltd. Established to construct Tank Landing Craft (LCT’s) 1941 – 1945. The yard constructed 3 classes of landing craft.
WILLIAM TURNBULL. A Thornaby shipyard building sailing vessels in the 1800’s, including an early ‘tea clipper’.
SAMUEL WELCH. Quayside, Stockton, built 2 vessels The Hornet and Teaser.
The Furness shipyard was authorised under the wartime emergency programme and construction began in 1917 on an 85 acre site (50 acres reclaimed from tidal land) and offering 2500 feet of frontage onto the River Tees at Haverton Hill, on the north bank opposite Middlesbrough. The finished yard had twelve building berths (ranging up to 700 feet) and a fitting-out basin 1000 feet x 250 feet. It was a subsidiary within the Furness shipowning group. The first keel was laid in March 1918 while the yard itself was still under construction. The yard was taken over by Swan Hunter in 1968 and its life was extended for a further 10 years.
Personalities involved:Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness (23 April 1852 – 10 November 1912) Furness was born in West Hartlepool, Durham. He started his career as a buyer in Thomas Furness and Company, wholesale provision merchants, a firm owned by his older brother Thomas, and became a partner two years later. Stock for the business had to be brought in by ship, and Christopher found that it would be cheaper to use their own vessels, rather than hire other peoples. Consequently, on his initiative, the firm bought several steam ships from local shipbuilder William Gray & Company in 1877. In 1882 Christopher Furness and Company was formed and the business was split into two. Thomas kept the provision merchants, while Christopher took charge of the shipping fleet. After seven years as a partner in the shipbuilding firm of Edward Withy and Company, Furness merged it with his own company in 1891, to form Furness, Withy and Company. By a series of mergers, his firms become the main employers in Hartlepool, until they finally closed in the 1980s.
(Founders Son) Marmaduke Furness, 1st Viscount Furness and 2nd Baron Furness (29 October 1883 – 6 October 1940) British shipping magnate. Furness was the son of Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness and Jane Suggit. He served as Chairman of Furness Withy, the shipbuilding firm, and was also involved in the steel and iron business. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Furness in 1912, and in 1918 he was created Viscount Furness, of Grantley in the West Riding of the County of Yorkshire.
(Son’s Wife )Thelma, Viscountess Furness (23 August 1904 – 29 January 1970), born Thelma Morgan, was a mistress of King Edward VIII while he was still the Prince of Wales; she preceded Wallis Simpson (for whose sake Edward abdicated and became the Duke of Windsor) in his affections. During most of her close relationship with the Prince, she was married to another British nobleman,Marmaduke Furness, 1st Viscount Furness. That marriage ended the year before her relationship with the Prince ended. Her first name was pronounced in Spanish fashion as “TEL-ma (not Thelma).” Her niece is fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt. She was portrayed by actress Katie McGrath in Wallace &.Edward., the 2011 British romantic drama film about the love of Wallis and Edward co-written and directed by Madonna.