A fascinating PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD OF SHIPBUILDING IN THE 1860s at the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company. They cover the period 1863-69 and likely record all of the significant work undertaken in this period. The Thames Iron Works were the largest shipbuilder on the River Thames. Its shipyard was located at the mouth of Bow Creek in the east end of London. Although principally a shipbuilder it expanded into civil engineering supplying materials for Isambard Kingdom Brunel, marine engines, cranes electrical engineering and even later into motor cars. Founded in 1837 the company was struggling until in 1857 Peter Rolt, MP for Greenwich, merchant and descendant of the Pett shipbuilding family took control.

At the time of the earliest photographs in this album the huge site had the capacity to build 25,000 tons of warships and 10,000 tons of mail steamers. It is most famous for constructing HMS ‘Warrior’, the world’s first iron hulled armour-plated warship. Launched on 29 December 1860 it overnight rendered obsolete all existing warships worldwide. It was at the time the world’s largest. Following the success of HMS ‘Warrior’ and HMS ‘Minotaur’ (photographed), orders arrived from navies all over the world. The Company also built the Prussian Navy’s first iron-hulled warship the SMS ‘König Wilhelm I’ (photographed) in 1868. It is interesting to note also that the 1860s was the decade of considerable loss of shipping which opened a huge debate led by Samuel Plimsoll MP on load lines on vessels. Many of the vessels photographed already show load lines following the recommendations of Lloyd register known as ‘Lloyd’s Rule’.

The majority of the photographs feature the construction of vessels but towards the end particularly there are images of the various buildings, Yards and Docks. There are also four of ship models, a cross section, a lighthouse destined for the West Indies, a model steam engine, six of plant works and three of paintings. Below is a list of the vessels illustrated which can be readily identified:

RUS ‘Pervenetz’, Imperial Russian Navy, 1863
‘Alexandra’
HMS ‘Minotaur’, Royal Navy, 1863. This was the longest single-screw warship ever built
HMS ‘Valiant’, Royal Navy, 1863
‘Napoleon III’ 1863
‘Izzeddin’ paddle steamer 1864
‘Nyanza’ Peninsular and Oriental Company’s Paddle Wheel Steamer 1864
‘Sultan Mahmoud’ Turkish Frigate 1865
‘Charkieh’ 1865
‘Tanjore’ Peninsular and Oriental Company’s 1865
SNS ‘Vitoria’, Spanish Navy 1865
‘Earl de Grey and Ripon’ 1866
HMS ‘Waterwitch’1866. She was one of only three armoured gunboats built for the Royal Navy. Uniquely she was powered by Ruthven’s ‘hydraulic propeller’, making her the first ship to employ waterjets
‘Henry Morton’ 1866
‘Ottawa’ 1866
‘Adia’ 1866
‘Vanguard’ 1866
‘Anglia’ 1866. An iron paddle tug
‘Wilhelm I’ 1868. For a time the largest and most powerful warship in the German navy
‘Golden City’ 1866
‘Haswell’ 1866
HMS ‘Serapis’ 1866 Royal Navy troopship
‘Mauritius’ 1867
‘Kronprinz’ 1867
‘John Penn’ 1867
HMS ‘Royal Sovereign’
‘Champion of the Seas’. Held the record for the fastest day’s run in 24 hours: 465 nautical miles. It was not broken until 1984!
HMS ‘Volage’ 1869