Westwood, Baillie
Encyclopedia
Westwood, Baillie and Co was a Victorian engineering and shipbuilding company based at London Yard
in Cubitt Town
, London
.
The company was set up in 1856 by Robert Baillie and Joseph Westwood, previously managers of Ditchburn and Mares
shipyard.
Partly as a result of a fall in demand due to the financial crisis of 1866, a period of financial stress and reorganisation resulted in Westwood and Baillie acting as managers for the London Engineering & Iron Shipbuilding Company Ltd, until they regained control in 1872.
For much of its life the company produced iron and steel work for bridges. In 1887 the company made the girders for the Lansdowne Bridge
over the Indus River
, then the longest rigid girder bridge in the world. Work on a more modest scale included a railway footbridge that can still be seen at Romford railway station
, and the 1879 swing bridges over the Royal Albert Dock
.
The company was wound up in 1893 and in 1895 Baillie was declared bankrupt. Joseph Westwood continued in business at Napier Yard as Joseph Westwood and Co. There is a large monument to him in Tower Hamlets Cemetery.
London Yard was subsequently taken over by Yarrows
.
London Yard
London Yard was a shipyard in London, in use between around 1856 and 1908 by various shipbuilding companies, including Westwood, Baillie and Yarrow Shipbuilders.-Location:...
in Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town
Cubitt Town is an area on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets in London, England. It is on the east of the Isle, facing Greenwich across the River Thames. To the west is Millwall, to the northwest Canary Wharf and to the north, across the Blue Bridge, Blackwall...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The company was set up in 1856 by Robert Baillie and Joseph Westwood, previously managers of Ditchburn and Mares
Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company
The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf on the west side and at Canning Town on the east side...
shipyard.
Partly as a result of a fall in demand due to the financial crisis of 1866, a period of financial stress and reorganisation resulted in Westwood and Baillie acting as managers for the London Engineering & Iron Shipbuilding Company Ltd, until they regained control in 1872.
For much of its life the company produced iron and steel work for bridges. In 1887 the company made the girders for the Lansdowne Bridge
Lansdowne Bridge Rohri
The Lansdowne Bridge Rohri was a railway bridge in present day Pakistan.A marvel of nineteenth century engineering, the 'longest "rigid" girder bridge in the world' at that time, was begun in 1887. The Indus Valley State Railway had reached Sukkur in 1879 and the steam ferry which transported eight...
over the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
, then the longest rigid girder bridge in the world. Work on a more modest scale included a railway footbridge that can still be seen at Romford railway station
Romford railway station
Romford station is located in Romford, London Borough of Havering. It is situated between Chadwell Heath and Gidea Park. It is the western terminus of the Upminster branch line from Upminster....
, and the 1879 swing bridges over the Royal Albert Dock
Royal Albert Dock
The Royal Albert Dock is one of three docks in the Royal Group of Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands.-History:The dock was constructed to the east of the earlier Victoria Dock by the St Katharine and London dock companies and opened in 1880...
.
The company was wound up in 1893 and in 1895 Baillie was declared bankrupt. Joseph Westwood continued in business at Napier Yard as Joseph Westwood and Co. There is a large monument to him in Tower Hamlets Cemetery.
London Yard was subsequently taken over by Yarrows
Yarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...
.
Notable products
- Tug Powerful, 1857
- TapteeTapti RiverThe Tapi River ancient original name Tapi River , is a river in central India. It is one of the major rivers of peninsular India with a length of around 724 km...
Bridge (India), 1858 - HMS ResistanceHMS Resistance (1861)HMS Resistance was the second and last ship of the Defence class to be commissioned. She served in the English Channel from 1862 to 1864, and was then posted to the Mediterranean, where she was the first British ironclad to see service...
, 1861. - HMS ValiantHMS Valiant (1863)HMS Valiant was the second ship of the armoured frigates ordered by the Royal Navy in 1861. Her builders went bankrupt shortly after she was laid down, which significantly delayed her completion. After being launched in 1863, she waited a further five years to receive her guns due to supply issues...
, 1863 (completed under the ownership of Thames IronworksThames Ironworks and Shipbuilding CompanyThe Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf on the west side and at Canning Town on the east side...
) - Iron clipper Royal Edward, 1864
- Tugs Robert Bruce, 1865, Scotia, 1874 and Granville, 1876
- Jervois Swing Bridge, Port Adelaide South Australia, 1878
- Attock BridgeAttockAttock is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Attock District...
(then in India) over the Indus, 1880 - ColesbergColesbergColesberg is a town with 17,354 inhabitants in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, located on the main road from Cape Town to Johannesburg....
Bridge over the Orange RiverOrange RiverThe Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
(Northern Cape, South Africa), 1885 - Barkly Bridge over the Vaal RiverVaal RiverThe Vaal River is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source in the Drakensberg mountains in Mpumalanga, east of Johannesburg and about 30 km north of Ermelo and only about 240 km from the Indian Ocean. It then flows westwards to its conjunction...
(Northern Cape, South Africa), 1885 - Lansdowne BridgeLansdowne Bridge RohriThe Lansdowne Bridge Rohri was a railway bridge in present day Pakistan.A marvel of nineteenth century engineering, the 'longest "rigid" girder bridge in the world' at that time, was begun in 1887. The Indus Valley State Railway had reached Sukkur in 1879 and the steam ferry which transported eight...
(then in India) over the Indus, 1887-8 - Tugs Mabel, 1890 and Donovan, 1890