The Millwall Iron Works, London, England, was a 19th-century industrial complex and series of companies, which developed from 1824. Formed from a series of small shipbuilding companies to address the need to build larger and larger ships, the holding company collapsed after the
Panic of 1866
The Panic of 1866 was an international financial downturn that accompanied the failure of Overend, Gurney and Company in London, and the ''corso forzoso'' abandonment of the silver standard in Italy.
In Britain, the economic impacts are held p ...
which greatly reduced shipbuilding in London. Subsequently, a recovery was made by a series of smaller companies, but by the later 19th century the location was too small for the building of ships on the scale then required. Most of its buildings, being near the apex of the peninsula in the
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...
, survived
the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
and have been made into apartment blocks in a residential estate,
Burrells Wharf
Burrells Wharf is a riverside residential estate, owned by its leaseholders, in London, England. It is situated in Docklands on the Isle of Dogs and the North bank of the River Thames (facing Deptford). The residential estate is one of 18 buildin ...
.
Background
By the early 18th century, the ''Land of Promise estate'' was in
Marshwall (now Millwall) on the north side of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
east of London, was owned by
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
haberdasher Simon Lemon. Mastmaker Robert Todd then bought the estate, leaving it to his partner Thomas Todd and his wife's cousin Elizabeth, wife of mastmaker Charles Ferguson of Poplar.
In 1824, industrialisation reached the area with the development of the chemical-processing works of the Imperial Gas Light & Coke Company.
[
]
1835–1846: Millwall Iron Works
In 1835 Scottish engineers William Fairbairn
Sir William Fairbairn, 1st Baronet of Ardwick (19 February 1789 – 18 August 1874) was a Scottish civil engineer, structural engineer and shipbuilder. In 1854 he succeeded George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson to become the third pre ...
and David Napier bought the ''Land of Promise estate'' from Charles Augustus Ferguson, the start of making Millwall an important centre of iron shipbuilding.[
In 1836, Fairbairn laid out an ironworks on a three-acre site to develop small ships, although his main works remained in ]Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. More than 100 ships, mostly under 2,000 tons, were built by Fairbairn at Millwall, including vessels for the Admiralty, the merchant marine of the Tsar of Russia
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mos ...
and of the King of Denmark.
1848–1861: John Scott Russell
But the works were not a financial success, resulting in its sale in 1848 to John Scott Russell
John Scott Russell FRSE FRS FRSA (9 May 1808, Parkhead, Glasgow – 8 June 1882, Ventnor, Isle of Wight) was a Scottish civil engineer, naval architect and shipbuilder who built '' Great Eastern'' in collaboration with Isambard Kingdom Brune ...
and partners.[ John Scott Russell built complete ships in the works, fully fitted out, which they then floated out on to the river as ready to go ships. One of their earliest commissions was the iron steamer ''Taman,'' completed in 1848 for the ]Imperial Russian government
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...
to operate from the Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
ports.[
]
''Great Eastern''
On 31 January 1858, the largest ship of that time, the designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...
, was launched from 'Napier Yard' the shipyard leased by Messrs J. Scott Russell & Co. The 211 metre (692 ft) length was too wide for the river, and the ship had to be launched sideways. This increased the cost of the project, with cost over runs resulting in the bankruptcy of John Scott Russell.[
Due to the technical difficulties of the launch, this was the last ship of such a size to be built on the Island, though other builders such as Yarrows and ]Samuda Brothers
Samuda Brothers was an engineering and ship building firm at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in London, founded by Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. The site is now occupied by Samuda Estate.
Samuda Brothers initially leased a premise ...
continued building warships on the island for another 50 years. A section of the concrete and timber sub-structure from the launch site, is preserved on site for public display at the modern Napier Avenue.
1861–1866: Millwall Iron Works, Ship Building & Graving Docks Company
Charles John Mare
Charles John Mare (1815 – 8 February 1898) was a British Conservative politician, and shipbuilder.
Family
In 1844, Mare married Mary ńee Rolt, daughter of Conservative MP for Greenwich (1852–1857) Peter Rolt, and they had at least two sons ...
took over the iron works, and employed Welsh industrialist John Hughes, who became a director of the new successor company, the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...
-listed Millwall Iron Works, Ship Building & Graving Docks Company Ltd.[
The new company redeveloped the combined of works and shipyards, which had a river frontage of .] Famous for its iron cladding of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
's ships under contract to the British Admiralty, at this point the Millwall Iron Works employed between 4,000 and 5,000 men. Conditions were good for an industrial complex of the time, with half-day Saturday working, a canteen, sports clubs and works band. Together with the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cann ...
, they were considered to be of greater national importance than the Royal Dockyard
Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial ...
s, with a production capacity for iron ships and armour greater than that of the whole of France.[
]
1866: Millwall Iron Works
After the Panic of 1866, creating an international financial downturn that accompanied the failure of 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, equivalent to £ million in . The collapse of the institution triggered a banking panic.
History Ear ...
in London, and the corso forzoso abandonment of the silver standard in Italy, the company failed. Various parts of the company were bought out of receivership, including the Millwall Iron Works now managed by John Hughes.[ The Mast House was taken over by N. J. & H. Fenner Oil & Lead Works.]
Today
By the early 20th century, iron making had ceased in Millwall, and the works continued as builder and repair of small ships, and steel fabrication unit, industrial storage sheds came to dominate the works. The site was converted to residential use as Burrells Wharf, with the last buildings added in the first decade after 2000.[
]
References
{{coord, 51, 29, 19.29, N, 0, 0, 20.39, W, display=title
Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Ironworks and steelworks in England
Millwall
Port of London
Shipyards on the River Thames
Shipbuilding in London
1866 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Millwall