Henry Castle and Sons
of Baltic Wharf, Millbank, the business of Henry Castle, originally a timber merchant but later also a ship breaker and barge owner.
1837 Henry Castle and his family returned from Australia.
According to a 1933 report, the firm started ship breaking on the Thames around this time[1].
1841 Henry Castle 30, shipowner, lived in Rotherhithe with Harriet Castle 25, Henry Castle 5 (born in Sidney, New South Wales), Sidney Castle 2.5, Abercrombie Castle 1[2]
1841 Henry moved into the King and Queen Dry Dock, Rotherhithe
1845 Henry Castle became sole occupier of Baltic Wharf and Bridge Wharf, both on the south side of the Thames close to Vauxhall Bridge; these wharfs were apparently owned by Henry's brother in law, Samuel Nash (ie there had been previous involvement of members of the Castle family in these adjoining wharfs).
1851 Henry decided to construct a wooden building on the Baltic Wharf site large enough to accommodate up to 200 working class men who wished to visit the 1851 Exhibition.
1861 Recognising that recycling of seasoned ships timbers was a market ready to be exploited, Henry Castle teamed up with William Philip Beech to address it.
1861 William P Beech 44, ship owner and ship broker, lived in Lewisham with Eliza C R Beech, 31, William Beech 10, Alice Beech 16, Mary Beech 14, Howard Beech 5, Catherine H Beech 2[3]
1861 Henry Castle 52 , ship broker, lived in Wandsworth with Harriet Castle 46, Sydney Castle 22, ship broker, Thomas Castle 9, Maria Castle 8, Septimus Castle 6[4]
From this time on the Castle family dominated the shipbreaking industry on the River Thames and their activities span the period from the final years of the sailing ships of the line right through to the introduction of the breaking up of metal ships in the early 1900s.
1864 Henry Castle, a timber merchant, ship breaker and barge owner, took his son Sidney Nash Castle into partnership [5]
Acquired premises at Long's Wharf, Woolwich, and Anchor and Hope Wharf, Charlton. Long's Wharf was subsequently known as Castle's Ship Breaking Yard.
1865 Henry Castle died
1866 The paddlewheel steamer Hermes, 6 guns, was towed to the breakers yard of Castle and Beach (sic) at Deptford[6]
1869 Dissolution of the Partnership between Sydney Nash Castle, and Abercombie Castle, and William Philip Beech, carrying on business as Admiralty Contractors, and Ship Breakers, at Charlton, in the county of Kent, under the style or firm of Henry Castle and Sons, and W. P. Beech on the 1st day of August, 1869, so far as regards the said William Philip Beech.[7]
1872 The Leases for the Baltic Wharf and Bridge Wharf sites were assigned to Sidney Nash Castle and Abercrombie Castle
1873 Thomas Palmer was manager of the Old Charlton yard; Mr A. Castle was a member of the firm of Castle and Sons[8]
1875 Beech left the Surrey Canal Wharf, Woolwich
1875 HM screw frigate Mersey was broken up at Castle and Co's yard near Charlton pier[9]
1877 Dissolution of the Partnership between Sidney Nash Castle and Abercrombie Castle, carrying on business at Baltic Wharf, Millbank, in the county of Middlesex, and at Woolwich, in the county of Kent, as Shipbreakers, Timber Merchants, Barge Builders, Barge Owners, and Lightermen, under the style or firm of Henry Castle and Sons, on the 31st day of March last, by mutual consent. All debts due to and owing by the said firm will be received and paid by the said Sidney Nash Castle[10]
1894 Business transferred to a company, Henry Castle and Sons Ltd. Sidney Nash Castle became managing director.
1897 of Baltic Wharf, advertised logs for firewood obtainable from the shipbreaking yard[11]
1902 "Castle's Ship Breaking Yard, known as Long's Wharf, adjoining the Warspite Wharf, and close to Messrs. Siemens Bros. Telegraph Works and the Woolwich Dockyard, having a frontage to the River Thames of 228 feet, a similar frontage to Harrington-road, and embracing an area of over an acre, having brick and tiled offices, dwelling house, range of four stores, &c., thereon. Let to Messrs. Henry Castle and Sons Limited on lease for 21 years from Lady Day, 1898, at the moderate rent of £350 per annum"[12]
1904 Company voluntarily wound up[13]
1906 Succeeded by Castle's Shipbreaking Co.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Times Aug. 22, 1933
- ↑ 1841 census
- ↑ 1861 census
- ↑ 1861 census
- ↑ The Times Mar. 2, 1905
- ↑ The Times Jan. 4, 1866
- ↑ London Gazette 12 Nov 1869
- ↑ The Times Mar. 31, 1873
- ↑ The Times Nov. 17, 1875
- ↑ London Gazette 14 August 1877
- ↑ The Times Feb. 16, 1897
- ↑ London Gazette 10 January 1902
- ↑ London Gazette 16 December 1904
- [1] History of Castle's