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, …
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. …
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 coal fields, using his own steam collier ships. This is were the John Bowes, named …
The ‘John Bowes’ had a long life span. Some 81 years in which she served as a stores vessel in the Crimean War, under went 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 …
1860 was the year ‘Port Mulgrave’ was launched. This was to be the first vessel, off the assembly lines so to speak, launched from the Howdon yard, which had been acquired by Palmers the year before, (1859) on the north bank of the Tyne. This yard went on to build many more ships. The picture …
There were more than 100 ships commissioned by the Royal Navy, but this in no way diminished his shipbuilding for other sources. One such ship was the launch of H.M.S. Cruiser “York” for the Royal Navy christened and launched by the Duchess of York from Palmers Shipbuilding Yard in 1928. A short video of the …