Sir Charles Mark Palmer and his brother George set up a shipyard at Jarrow on the south bank of the River Tyne. Jarrow lies between Hebburn and South Shields. The year was 1851 and the new company was opened on the site of an earlier yard, that had built wooden warships for the Napoleonic Wars. …
Born on November 3rd, 1822, Sir Charles Mark Palmer a successful shipyard/steel company owner not only gave Jarrow much-needed employment he was also responsible for the building of a much-needed hospital. He was married three times. His first wife Jane was the daughter of Ebenezer Robson who hailed out of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Jane gave …
Come the 1900’s Palmer workforce would be in excess of 9,000 men and boys. Charles Palmer also held major interests in the local Coal Mining industry. With this in mind, Charles wanted to ferry coal to London, from the Durham coalfields, using his own steam collier ships. This is the John Bowes, named after the …
The ‘John Bowes’ had a long lifespan. Some 81 years in which she served as a stores vessel in the Crimean War, underwent several name changes, survived many collisions and carried general cargo instead of coal. While under one of her many name changes ‘Villa Selgas’ sadly the ‘John Bowes’ sank after developing a leak …