![Field with power lines, Ketton, Rutland - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Field_with_power_lines%2C_Ketton%2C_Rutland_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1074132.jpg)
Thos. W. Ward Ltd was a
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, Yorkshire, steel, engineering and cement business, which began as coal and coke merchants. It expanded into recycling metal for Sheffield's steel industry, and then the supply and manufacture of machinery.
In 1894, as part of the scrap metal operation, Ward's began to set up substantial
shipbreaking
Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...
yards in different parts of England, and in Scotland and Wales. By 1953, Thos. W. Ward employed 11,500 people.
Ward's business was reorganised at the end of the 1970s, when it moved from being an engineering group with a motley assortment of subsidiaries to being principally dependent on
cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...
. In 1982, it was bought by
RTZ.
History
This business was founded by
Thomas William Ward in 1878 with the name Thos. W. Ward. Ward's provided coal and coke, and very soon recycling or scrap metal services. It added dealing in new and used machinery related to the iron, steel, coal, engineering and allied industries, and manufacturing that machinery.
[Thos. W. Ward, Limited. ''The Times'', Wednesday, 18 April 1928; pg. 23; Issue 44870]
Ward's Constructional Engineering Department manufactured and erected steel-framed buildings, bridges, collieries, steel works equipment and furnaces. The Rail Department supplied light and heavy rails, sleepers, switches and crossings, and equipped complete sidings.
De Lank Quarries
De Lank Quarries () is an active quarry and a 54-acre geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in St Breward parish, north Cornwall, England, UK. The quarry, which received its SSSI notification in 1994, takes its name from the nearby De ...
produced the
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
for
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...
and
Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Chu ...
, as well as major lighthouses and prestige buildings in London and elsewhere.
Shipbreaking
In 1894, Ward's moved into ship breaking at many different locations. On 19 May 1904, a limited liability company was formed and registered, to manage all the businesses operating under the name Thos. W. Ward.
[Thos. W. Ward Limited, Albion Works, Sheffield. ''The Times'', Monday, 19 November 1934; pg. 20; Issue 46915] By 1920, when raising further capital from the public, the prospectus claimed these notable aspects of Thos. W. Ward: "Premier shipbreaking firm in the world, largest stockholders to the iron, steel and machinery trades, constructional engineers, merchants, etc."
[Thos. W. Ward Limited. ''The Times'', Thursday, 22 January 1920; pg. 19; Issue 42314]
Portland Cement
New capital was raised from the public in 1928 to establish a new
greenfield Portland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th c ...
business at Ketton in
Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
, on 1,170 acres of freehold land, containing
oolitic limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and clays suitable for the production of the highest quality, rapid-hardening Portland cement. It was a particular project of new chairman Joseph Ward (1865–1941), brother of Thomas Ward (1853–1926).
[ ]Ketton Cement Works
Ketton Cement Works is a large cement plant and quarry based in the village of Ketton in the county of Rutland in the United Kingdom. Now owned by HeidelbergCement, the plant produces around one tenth of the UK's Portland Cement needs. Ketton wor ...
became the core activity of Ward's in the late 1970s.
After 55 years, in 1934, when the employees numbered in excess of 4,000 people, the principal businesses were:
*Construction, mechanical and electrical engineering manufacturers
*Coal coke iron steel metal and machinery factors and merchants
*Ship and works dismantlers, owners and brokers
*Wharf owners
*Machinery and plant valuers
*Nut and bolt manufacturers
*Horn handle manufacturers for cutlery
*Brick manufacturers
*Dry slag and tar macadam manufacturers
*Quarrying
Freehold Premises:
:Albion Works, Tinsley and Millhouses
Millhouses is a neighbourhood in the City of Sheffield, England. It is located in Ecclesall ward; in the south-western portion of the city on the northwest bank of the River Sheaf. Its origins lie in a small hamlet that grew around the Eccles ...
, Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
:and at Silvertown
Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, Becontree Hundred, hundred of Becontr ...
, Grays (Essex), Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. It was an impo ...
, Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Wishaw
Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed ...
, Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry ( cy, Llansawel) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The Welsh name may indicate that the church, ''llan'', is protected from the wind, ''awel''. Alternatively, ''Sawel'' may be a derivative ...
, Milford Haven
Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
, Lelant
Lelant ( kw, Lannanta) is a village in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the west side of the Hayle Estuary, about southeast of St Ives and one mile (1.6 km) west of Hayle.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' The vi ...
, Silverdale, Low Moor (Bradford), Albion (Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...
) sand quarries etc and Brickworks at Longton Longton may refer to several places:
* Longton, Kansas, United States
* Longton, Lancashire, United Kingdom
* Longton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
See also
* Longtan (disambiguation)
* Longtown (disambiguation) Longtown may refer to several plac ...
, Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
and Apedale
Apedale is a village in Staffordshire, England. The population at the 2011 census can be found under the Holditch (Ward) of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The village is home to the Apedale Community Country Park. The park is unusual for the area as it ...
[
Leasehold Premises:
:Charlton Works and Effingham Road, Sheffield
:Liverpool, Dublin, Cornish Granite Quarries (De Lank), Denny, Preston, Barrow-in-Furness, Pembroke Dock, ]Hayle
Hayle ( kw, Heyl, "estuary") is a port town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of Penzance. ...
and Scunthorpe
Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A pre ...
.[
Subsidiaries:
*Milford Haven Dock & Railway Company, Low Moor Best Yorkshire Iron, The Midland Iron Co, Pengwern and Gwydir Quarries, The Drybrook Quarries, North Lonsdale Tar Macadam.
*The Ketton Portland Cement Co (controlling interest)][
]
W. S. Laycock
This old-established business was bought in 1934. Laycock's made railway carriage and steamship fittings, underframes for locomotives and railway coaches, and automobile axles, gearboxes, propeller shafts and Laycock's own Layrub flexible drive joints.[ Two years later, ]Laycock Engineering
The Laycock Engineering Company Limited of Archer Road, Millhouses, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England was an engineering business established in 1884 by W S Laycock which made small and major components for railway rolling stock.
Laycock died in 1 ...
was sold to some investors.[The Laycock Engineering Company, Limited. ''The Times'', Wednesday, 8 January 1936; pg. 16; Issue 47266.]
1970s
By 1969, the Ward group was believed to be primarily in metal supply, particularly from ship breaking, but also producing cement, supplying roadstone, constructing rail sidings, and building new industrial works and equipping them with the necessary plant and machinery.
Division
In October 1981, Thos. W. Ward's was split into three:
*Thos. W. Ward (Raw Materials) the former iron and steel division active in processing and merchanting carbon scrap, special steel scrap, non-ferrous scrap metals and steel stockholding.
*Thos. W. Ward (Industrial Supplies)
*Thos. W. Ward (Industrial Dismantling)
Within a short time, Rio Tinto Zinc
Rio Tinto Group is an Anglo-Australian multinational company that is the world's second-largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). The company was founded in 1873 when of a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, ...
(RTZ) began to buy a substantial shareholding and the takeover was completed in early 1982. RTZ amalgamated the Ward cement operation with that of Tunnel Holdings, and named the combination RTZ Cement, which then had about one quarter of the UK cement market. The Railway Engineers department of Thos. W Ward was bought by Henry Boot
Henry Boot (1851–1931) was the founder of Henry Boot PLC.
Henry Boot was the eldest surviving son of Charles and Ann Boot. He was born on 9 December 1851 in Heeley, a small village two miles outside Sheffield. Henry's father had described him ...
. RTZ sold Thos. W. Ward (Roadstone) to Ready Mixed Concrete in June 1988.
Ship and Works' dismantlers
Works dismantled before 1926: Abbott's Works, Gateshead; Bowling Ironworks; Kelham Rolling Mills, Sheffield; Derwent Rolling Mills, Workington; Dearne & Dove Works; West Cumberland Whittington Works, Crawshay's Cyfarthfa Works, Bessemer's Works, Bolton; Mars Ironworks, Wolverhampton; Effingham Nut and Bolt Works, Sheffield. Thos W. Ward. also dismantled the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...
.
* HMS ''Akbar''
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*'' Cordoba''
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*][A review of Lloyd's Register, ''The Times'', Wednesday, 11 January 1911; pg. 21; Issue 39479]
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List of ships broken up at
Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. It was an impo ...
* HMS ''Magnificent'' (1922)
* HMS ''Dreadnought'' (1923)
* HMS ''Mars'' (1929)
* SS ''Zeeland'' (1930)
* HMS ''Tiger'' (1932)
* RMS ''Cedric'' (1932)
* (Hull only during 1937 — the superstructure was removed at Jarrow
Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...
between 1935 and 1937)
* RMS ''Majestic''/HMS ''Caledonia'' (1943)
* HMAS/M ''Otway'' (September 1945)
* HMS/M ''Uproar'' (February 1946)
* HMS/M ''Unruly'' (February 1946)
* HMS/M ''Unsparing'' (14 February 1946)
* HMS ''Revenge'' (1948)
* HMS ''Royal Sovereign'' (1948)
* (1949)
* HMS ''Rodney'' (1949)
* RMS ''Empress of Australia'' (1952)
*HMS Formidable (1953)
* RMS ''Maloja'' (1954)
* (1955)
* (1958)
* (1961)
* MV ''Britannic III'' (1961)
* HMS/M ''Thule'' (14 September 1962)
* HMS ''Concord'' (22 October 1962)
* RMS ''Mauretania'' (1965) (second vessel to carry the name for Cunard
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermu ...
)
* MT ''Haakon Hauan'' (1960)
* (1946)
* SS ''Hilary'' (1959)
*, June 1958 --> 1960/61
* HMS ''Armada'' (1965)
* HMS/M ''Alaric'' (July 1971)
* HMS/M ''Ambush'' (July 1971)
* HMS/M ''Amphion'' ecame ''Anchorite'' (July 1971)
* (1970)
* HMS ''Maidstone'' (May 1978)
* HMS Roberts(1965)
*KdF ship Robert Ley
Robert Ley (; 15 February 1890 – 25 October 1945) was a German politician and Labour Union, labour union leader during the Nazi era; Ley headed the German Labour Front from 1933 to 1945. He also held many other high positions in the Party, inc ...
(1947)
* HMS Lion(1975)
List of ships broken up at
Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry ( cy, Llansawel) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The Welsh name may indicate that the church, ''llan'', is protected from the wind, ''awel''. Alternatively, ''Sawel'' may be a derivative ...
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El Inca 1979
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Marrakech 1979
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* RFA ''Salvestor''
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* ST ''Sea Alarm''
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List of ships broken up at Grays
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* RFA ''Robert Dundas''
* RFA ''Sea Salvor''
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List of ships broken up at Preston
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List of ships broken up at
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
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* RFA ''Abbeydale''
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* TSS ''Duke of Clarence''
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* HMT ''Dongola''
List of ships broken up at
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
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List of ships broken up at
Pembroke Dock
Pembroke Dock ( cy, Doc Penfro) is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following ...
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* HMT ''Richard Bacon''
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List of ships broken up at
Milford Haven
Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
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List of ships broken up at Lelant or Hayle
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Lizzie the elephant
At the outbreak of World War I, 1,235 people were on the payroll of Thomas Ward's company and a thousand tons of scrap metal per day was being fed to the country's steel makers. However, with demand so high, and many of the horses Ward had previously used to transport his goods around Sheffield requisitioned by the military, he had an increasingly difficult time to match supply with demand. Lizzie the Elephant was brought in as a solution to the problem.
After work horses from Thomas Ward's were sent or requisitioned to the front in World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Lizzie the Elephant was drafted in from Sedgwick's Menagerie, a travelling circus run by William Sedgwick (1841–1927). The elephant was said to be able to do the work of three of Ward's horses and soon got herself the name "Tommy Ward's Elephant" as she became a familiar sight carrying or hauling goods around Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, controlled by her trainer Richard Sedgwick (1875–1931) (son of the circus ringleader William Sedgwick). Lizzie was said to have inspired other Sheffield firms to creative means with their wartime transport, and a company in the Wicker
Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...
area of the city was said to have used camels, also from Sedgwick's Menagerie, in place of their own horses.['']Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' Tuesday 18 February 2914, page 6 Unfortunately, walking around the cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
d streets of Sheffield damaged Lizzie's feet and, although she continued to work for Ward's firm for sometime after the end of the First World War, she was eventually returned to the circus.
Lizzie has gone down in Sheffield legend, and there are many stories about her adventures. She also gave her name to the popular Sheffield sayings, "done up like Tommy Ward's elephant" — meaning someone carrying too much weight — and the self-explanatory "like trying to shift Tommy Ward's elephant". A Sheffield Community Transport
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...
Optare Solo
The Optare Solo is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Optare in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketing its vehicle as having an entrance that is ...
bus was named "Lizzie Ward" after her.
References
Publications
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External links
Gracesguide.co.uk: Information on Thos W Ward yard
Liverpoolmuseums.org: Information on Thos W Ward company
Information on the elephant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Thos W
Ship breaking
Defunct companies based in Yorkshire
Sheffield
British companies established in 1873
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1982
Energy companies established in 1873
Waste management companies of the United Kingdom
1982 mergers and acquisitions
1982 disestablishments in England
British companies disestablished in 1982