Clark and Standfield

1882. Hydraulic ship lifting dock.

1939. Furness Shipbuilding Co Contractors.

1939. Furness Shipbuilding Co Contractors.

of Westminster, Engineers.

See also Clark, Standfield and Clark.

1874 Josiah Latimer Clark entered into partnership with John Standfield, who had acted as Resident Engineer on Edwin Clark’s hydraulic lift graving-dock at Hog Island, Bombay.

Messrs. Clark and Standfield devoted themselves particularly to the study and improvement of floating-docks and hydraulic canal-lifts, and invented several novelties in connection with that branch of engineering. The most important of those inventions were :-

• the gridiron depositing docks constructed for the Russian Government at Nicolaieff, on the Black Sea, and at Vladivostok
• a gridiron depositing-dock at Barrow-in-Furness
• hydraulic canal-lifts at Les Fontinettes, near St. Omer, in France, and at La Louviere, Belgium
• an 'off-shore dock,' the first of which was built at Messrs. Clark and Standfield's works at Grays, Essex, and was launched and towed to Cardiff in 1887.

An account of the Nicolaieff Dock was presented by Mr. Clark to the Institution of Naval Architects in 1876.

Further examples of floating docks constructed by Messrs. Clark and Standfield include those at Hamburg and North Shields, and the large floating docks, for Havana and Stettin, of 10,000 tons and 11,000 tons lifting power, the former of which was successfully towed over 6,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean.

1882 'Depositing Dock for Vladivostok. — Messrs. Clark and Standfield have just completed at their works at Millwall, the first portion of a large depositing dock for the Russian Government, for use at the port of Vladivostok; this first part will be able to dock and deposit vessels of about 1850 tons displacement, but the entire dock will be able to accommodate vessels of nearly 8000 tons, and it can at any time be extended so as to lift and deposit vessels of any length or breadth, and of as much as 20,000 tons dead weight. The outrigger of this dock is fitted up to be used as a floating workshop ; it will be covered by a galvanised iron roof, and provided with machinery driven from a line of shafting worked by one of the dock engines. This will enable disabled vessels to be very rapidly repaired.'

1887 'On the 18th of July, 1884, we illustrated and described the off-shore floating dock, then just commenced for the Dumfries Dry Dock Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, of Cardiff. This was constructed by Messrs. Clark and Standfield at their works at Grays, near Tilbury, and has been longstanding in their basin waiting for the site at Cardiff to be prepared ready to receive it. Owing to various stoppages and local causes the preparation of the site has occupied very much longer than it was expected to do, but as the work is now nearly completed the dock has been towed to Cardiff ready to be connected to the shore columns as soon as they are erected. .....'. The article was accompanied by two engravings.

1888 'The hydraulic canal lift at La Louviere, described on page 201 of our last volume, and at page 358 ante, together with three other lifts which are projected for the same canal, and one at Fontinettes on the Neufossé Canal in France, are all according to the patents of Messrs. Clark and Standfield, and those already constructed have practically been made from their drawings.'

1888 'Feat of Very Rapid Docking.— The new off-shore floating dock just completed at Hamburg by the Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte und Maschinenfabrik was on the 14th inst. formally tested by its designer, Mr. Standfield, on behalf of the engineers, Messrs. Standfield and Clark, of Westminster. A vessel weighing 2000 tons was docked in the remarkably short time of only thirty minutes. This is the most rapid docking feat on record, and as it occurred when all the machinery was quite new and the river covered with ice, we may expect to hear that even this rapid record will be easily beaten by regular performances. The adjustable breast and bilge shores enable the vessel to be quickly and thoroughly supported without any wedging up or cutting of timber whatever. In fact not a sound of a hammer is heard during the operation. The company owning this dock is in the fortunate position of being extremely busy, having just laid down its 372nd and 373rd keel, and having sufficient work in hand to carry it over next year.'

1891 Description of the Barrow Depositing Dock

1918 Designed a floating dock of 30,000 tons capacity, in association with Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, for the Russian Admiralty. Built by the Russian Shipbuilding Co of Nicolaieff. This was the second example destined for use on the Black Sea, the first, of about 6000 tons being constructed in 1875-8 under the supervision of Lyonel Clark.

1919 Ernest Hinkly Salmon became a partner

By 1947, Ernest Salmon was the sole director

See Also

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