Serving on the transatlantic run between Bremen and New York included the Mowe, Adler, Schwan and Schwalbe rather small ships weighing in around 500 gross tons built for North German Lines. These were closely followed by the Hudson and Weser built for the same company. These ships weighed in at a massive 2,250 gross tons when compared to the smaller size of the previous ships.

The Guion Line received larger ocean going vessels, ranging between 3,100 to 4,300 gross tons in the 1860′s and early 1870′s these were also designed for transatlantic service. The largest of the collection where the Dakota and Montana. These two ships where launched unusually, with their boilers and engines on board. The other ships were of a smaller size and included the Manhattan, Chicago, Minnesota, Colorada, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming and the wisconsin.

The Guion Line opened their Liverpool to New York service in 1866, the Manhattan was the companies first ship weighing in at a gross tonnage of 2,866, she was 343ft long, and carried 72 first-class passengers and accommodated a further 800 passengers in second class. Even second class accommodation was praised for being above standards for early steamships. To top of the ships size the Manhattan could also take on board 1,500 tons of cargo.

Ships built for the National Line included the Ontario, Helvetia, England, Scotland and Wales all built of a similar size to those built for the Guion Line all leaving the Palmer works in the 1860s.

The intention of the two brothers was to open their company in Jarrow, which back then was only a small colliery village, to build ships made from metal rather than wood. Jarrow is also the Monastic home of our earliest English historian the Venerable Bede. The early 1900′s would see the population of this small village grow to a town with more than 40,000 residents. Palmer shipyard would be the backbone of the working community and would become the one most single source of employment in Jarrow. However, sadly in later years to come (the great depression early 1930′s) this fact would lead to an almost living death for the workforce of this now large town.

The ability to build well constructed ships soon earned Palmer worldwide recognition. By 1909 as well as having berths for the construction of ships Palmer had establish blast furnaces, iron and steel works, and a boiler and engine works on the site. The dock it-self Stretched nearly three quarters of a mile along the southern bank of the River Tyne.

I assume if you have read this far then you may have an interest in the past history of shipbuilding or the mighty industry of Sir Charles and his brother George Palmer who established their shipbuilding industry on the south banks of the River Tyne. I recommend a visit to the family website of Philip Strong he has some impressive photographs of the Palmer shipyard engineering works, machine shop, a foot print of the Palmer’s Works, 1897/1907 OS maps of the area, aerial Views of Palmer’s Shipyard, photographs of Jarrow back in the 1960′s and for those who are also keen on genealogy he walks you through his family tree and shows what can be done when you put your mind to it.

On and off for almost 9 years in the late 1800′s the Palmer Shipbuilding company went on to have the highest output of ships in Britain. During the company’s life-time of some 80yrs. Palmer shipyard would launch more than 900 ships, keeping careful details of each ship built.

Prior to the construction of the John Bowes launched on the river in June 1852, a iron paddle tug called the Northumberland launched in April 1852, was the first of his ships, small and of little consequence in an the industry that would develop into a major supplier of ships.

Charles Palmer was born in South Shield in 1822. He was born into a family of ship owners and timber merchants. He received his education in his home town for some years then attended the much esteemed Dr Bruce’s Academy in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He joined the firm of John Bowes as a managing partner in 1847. With the development of railways, coal from other areas of the country could be sent to London a lot quicker. Those parts of the country that still relied on sailing ships, like the north, were at a great disadvantage. The average sailing collier, from the Northern pits, would take a month. That was until The John Bowes was built she had a speed of eight, or nine knotts, did not need to rely on winds and could do the round trip within one week compared to a sailing collier that would take a month. Here maiden voyage was on 27th July 1852, Arriving in London on the 30th July, she was back on the River Tyne by August 3rd taking three weeks of the standard time of a sailing ship.

The ability to build well constructed ships soon earned Palmer worldwide recognition by 1909 as well as having berth for the construction of ships Palmer had establish blast furnaces, iron and steel works, a boiler and engine works on the site. The dock it-self Stretched nearly three quarters of a mile along the southern bank of the River Tyne.

During the late 1800′s the company went on to have the highest output of ships in Britain. During the company’s life-time Palmers would launch 900+ ships, keeping careful details of each ship built.

Prior to the construction of the John Bowes launched on the river in June 1852, an iron paddle tug called the Northumberland launched in April 1852, she was the first of his ships small and of little consequence, yet the industry would develop into a major supplier of ships.

The success of the ‘John Bowes’ brought more work to the Palmer yard by the building of many more steamships. Those that launched in the early 185o’s. To name a few here the ‘William Hutt’, the ‘Countess Strathmore’, ‘Sir John Easthope’, ‘Northumberland’, ‘Jarrow’, ‘Durham’, ‘Phoenix’ and the ‘Marley Hill’. In the latter half 1853 the company provided a dinner for some of the Palmer workforce. Held in the Golden Lion Hotel in South Shields this was to celebrate the first engine built at the Palmer yard. The ‘Jarrow’ previously launched in the early 1850′s was the first ship to have the machinery fitted. The ‘Jarrow’ went on to prove it’s worth many number of times delivering something like 18,000 tons of coal to London in her life time.

The first flat-iron colliers were built at the Palmer shipyard these ships had very low superstructures specially built with hinged funnels and masts which could be lowered at the appropriate time enabling them to pass under the numerous Thames bridges. This meant that coal could be shipped further up the Thames river given an almost door to door service to industry.

The ‘Westminister’ and ‘Vauxhall’ both launched in 1878. The ‘Vauxhall’ carrying something like 1,000 tons of coal made regular trips to London averaging about 60 trips a year. It should come as no surprise to learn that making that many trips between the Tyne and the Thames the ‘Vauxhall’ had her fair share of accidents. One such collision was in October 1888 the ‘Vauxhall’ collided with the ‘Prudhoe Castle’ in the mouth of the River Tyne. History tells us that the the ‘Prudhoe Castle’ although badly damaged came off best, the ‘Vauxhall’ on the other hand sunk, to be re-floated sometime later.

Blast Furnace

Blast furnaces where built at the yard in 1857, rolling mills were quick to follow. Having acquired the rights to mine ore near to Saltburn, on the North East Coastline, he set about constructing a harbour known then as Port Mulgrave, which he had built close to the mines, this was at a cost of some £30,000, this was in response to no suitable nearby port being available to safely load the ore onto his own steamships destined for his own blast furnaces in Jarrow.

The early ships made at Palmer were all built of iron, but from 1880 onward steel became the way of the future. The Albatross was the first ship built from steel, and was launched by Miss Price, daughter of the company’s general manager John Price back in January 1884. By the late 1880′s Palmer was an impressive sight. Lined up along the southern shore line was the iron ore quay, behind that lay the blast furnaces, then came the rolling mills, foundry and boiler erecting shop, behind them lay the steel works.

As I said, a very impressive line up and to top it all off a little further on could be seen a 440ft dry dock, used to repair ships, behind this could be seen the engine works and a smiths’ shop. There was also a shipbuilding yard with eight berths two jetties more workshops and a 600ft slipway which was also used to repair ships. With its own railway layout linked to the main railway system. Sir Charles Mark Palmer, and his brother George had brought great prosperity to Jarrow, by 1927 the yard was at its peak with more than a 10,000 strong workforce, and a promise of more to come. Little did anyone realize that in a few short years Palmer was to come to a stand still, and the people of Jarrow would be plunged into what must have been for them a living nightmare. Proud men and women from a by-gone age

The out break of the Crimean War (1853-1856) offered the company a chance to get into the market supplying the Admiralty with armour-plated battle-ships. One such order was for the HMS Terror, a specialized battleship that would be better described as a floating arsenal. Commissioned to do battle with the Russians to take out the base at Kronstadt in the Baltic. This ship would put Palmer in good stead with the Admiralty. HMS Terror never did see battle the war had all but ended before she could be delivered. However, with his companies reputation in place Palmer went on to receive other orders from the Admiralty.

In 1862 the HMS Defence was completed. Between 1872 and 1885 coastal defence ships HMS Cerberus and HMS Gorgon were completed, these were followed by two fast dispatch ships for the Navy, HMS Surprise and HMS Alacrity, a total of 100 warships were built at the Palmer shipyard for the Royal Navy.

The company went on to build and deliver many more ships which ranged from cruisers to gunboats. Such as merchant vessels, tramp steamers, oil tankers, sailing ships and steam colliers. For now this is where it ends on this website,

HMS Terror: launched in 1856

Footnote: Sir Charles Mark Palmer as well as running a well respected Shipyard/Steel Industry gave Jarrow its first accident, and emergency hospital. He was married three times his first marriage was to Jane Robson daughter of Ebenezer Robson who hailed out of Newcastle Upon Tyne she gave birth to four children two of the children died one in infancy, and the other in his late 40′s. Charles Mark, and Charles respectfully. The two surviving sons were named George Robson, and Alfred Molyneux Palmer.

if I come across more info on the company then I will update this short history of a mighty shipbuilding company, with the work force to go with it.

Charles Palmer and Jane - See footer

He was married three times. His first wife Jane was the daughter of Ebenezer Robson who hailed out of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Jane gave birth to four children two of the children died one in infancy, and the other in his late 40′s. Charles Mark, and Charles respectfully. The two surviving sons were named George Robson, and Alfred Molyneux Palmer.

His first wife Jane died in 1865, and was more or less the reason he built the hospital. When an injury occurred the individual / individuals had to be taken by horse and cart to the Newcastle Infirmary. The journey was so bad that many of the injured never made it, sadly dying on the way there. Charles Palmer’s wife Jane had expressed her concern many times for the workers, with this in mind he felt the building of the hospital would be an appropriate memorial to her.

The hospital was given the name Palmer Memorial Hospital it opened its doors in the December of 1870. Running cost were met from the workers contributions and a annual grant from Palmer its-self. The staff included a full time doctor, matron and nurses. The hospital was a much needed improvement. As I mentioned earlier the injured were normally taken to the Newcastle Infirmary, and injury’s at the shipyard/steel works were often happening putting the lives of both men and boys at risk.

In those days nets, hard hats and other safety features found in shipyards of the now where unheard of in those days. Sadly both men, and boys did die in accidents. One such accident saw a young boy of 14 years of age become entangled with a machine and was killed. Another incident saw a 38 year old man die when he was struck by a train as he crossed the company railway line.

Many of the workers working at the yard were Irishmen. These men had left their homeland to find work at the Jarrow yard. As the years went by a large community of Irish as well as Scott’s made there home in Jarrow, adding a valuable contribution to the town’s future and life-style.

Old Palmer's Hospital - See footer

Although intended for the workers and their families by the late 1880′s when a new extension was built on to the existing hospital known as the Jubilee Wing the hospitals facilities by this time had been extended to the other residents of the town.

Sir Charles Palmer himself died on June 4, 1907. not long after the statue of himself was erected in the grounds of the hospital in 1904. However, this did not stop the company from investing more resources into the towns hospital. A new outpatients department was opened by Sir Alfred Molyneux Palmer In the December of 1920. The collapse of the company in 1933 saw the town council take over the upkeep of the hospital. The hospital its-self had stood for over 100 years, sadly as we moved further forward in time it became unworkable, then in November 1983, the closure of the hospital was the signing of its own death warrant and at a later date the hospital was demolished. The here and now finds us with a nice new hospital standing on the site of the demolished Palmer hospital. In the distance of the below photo you can see the original house that was attached to the old Palmer Hospital. I personally think the view back in the twenties was much more appealing than the cut and dried view of this modern day building.

New Palmer Community Hospital

That’s the way the cookie crumbles some people may say. I suppose that is the price we pay for modern technological advancement. This new version of the Palmer Community Hospital was completed in 1987 and was opened by HRH The Princess Royal. The hospital is still owned by the South Tyneside Health Authority. The pic shows what the new building looks like to-day.

Note: Sir Charles Palmer is buried at Easington Parish Church, North Yorkshire. As and when I come across more info, I will update this short history of a mighty shipbuilding company and the work force that went with it.

Notes:

Charles Palmer other marriages