An interesting example of collaboration between Tyne and Wear

It’s been another rewarding month on the Sunderland Shipbuilding Archives Project. I’ve been working on the records of William Doxford & Sons Ltd and have now largely completed the cataloguing of the firm’s operational and publicity records. These include some fantastic images of the Doxfords shipyard, engine works and the vessels and machinery they built. I hope to include some of these in future blogs but as a taster here’s an image of torpedo boat destroyers being built for the Admiralty during the First World War.

 

Torpedo boat under construction by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, 1915 (TWAM ref.DS.DOX/6/8)

 

Meanwhile, Colin has been very busy as usual. He’s featured in a short video about CAM ships built in Sunderland during the Second World War, which can be seen online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3QlsQa-9YM.

He’s also finished work on the Sunderland ships plans we hold and catalogued the ships photographs of the firm, John Crown & Sons Ltd. This is one of the smaller shipyards covered by this project. While Crown wasn’t as prolific or famous as some of its local rivals such as William Doxford & Sons and Sir James Laing & Sons it did nevertheless build a number of interesting vessels.

The Crown records include a particularly nice series of photographs of the vessels built by the yard. These date from 1948, a couple of years after the shipyard was taken over by the neighbouring shipyard of Joseph L. Thompson and Sons.

One of the more interesting images is this photograph taken in 1954 showing wooden chocks being knocked away from the keel of the vessel ‘Andwi’ just prior to launch.

 

Knocking the chocks away before the launch of 'Andwi', 1954 (TWAM ref. DS.CR/4/PH/1/237/1)

 

This was a vital part of the launch process but one that’s rarely documented so clearly.

Other fascinating finds include photographs of two hopper barges ‘Wear Hopper 3’ and ‘Wear Hopper 4’ built by John Crown & Sons Ltd in 1959. Unusually, these were launched together as ‘conjoined twins’.

 

Launch of ‘Wear Hopper 3’ and ‘Wear Hopper 4’, 1959 (TWAM ref. DS.CR/4/PH/1/246/2)

 

The highlight of the Crown photographs, though, is a set of over 70 images of the ‘Rondefjell’. This vessel is very unusual in that it was launched by the shipyard in two halves in April and October 1951.

 

Launch of aft part of the ‘Rondefjell’, April 1951 (TWAM ref. DS.CR/4/PH/1/233/2/4)

 

Aft part of the 'Rondfejell' under tow after launch, April 1951 (TWAM ref. DS.CR/4/PH/1/233/2/6)

 

After launch the two halves were towed to the Middle Docks at South Shields where they were joined together in late October 1951.

 

Aft and fore sections of the 'Rondefjell' at Middle Docks, South Shields, October 1951 (DS.CR/4/PH/1/233/4/4)

 

Joining of the aft and fore sections of the 'Rondefjell', October 1951 (DS.CR/4/PH/1/233/4/10)

 

This method of construction led to the ‘Rondefjell’ being known locally as the ‘Half Crown Ship’. By building in two halves Crown’s were able to build larger vessels than would otherwise have been possible at their shipyard. At the time of construction the vessel was the longest ever built on the River Wear.

 

View of the 'Rondefjell' on sea trials, December 1951 (TWAM ref. DS.CR/4/PH/1/233/8/3)

 

The ‘Rondefjell’ is an excellent example of what can be achieved when Tyne and Wear work together, as they do through our Archives and Museums Service.

I’d like to finish this month’s blog by paying tribute to Colin for the massive contribution he has made to this project. He left Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums at the end of last week and will be sorely missed by his colleagues. His expertise has been absolutely invaluable and his unique sense of humour has brightened many recent rainy days. I hope that our work cataloguing Sunderland’s shipbuilding archives will serve as a lasting testament to his knowledge and dedication.

 

What’s Your Story? Discovering Family History – The Milburn Jug

When I heard that What’s Your Story? Discovering Family History, a Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums travelling exhibition, was coming to Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens (SMWG), I was keen to get involved. As an artist working with this venue’s  collection of Sunderland pottery, I was interested to use this opportunity to explore links between the collection and the wider community of Sunderland through my creative ceramics practice.

In a previous exhibition, Kith and Kin: New Glass and Ceramics, held at the National Glass Centre earlier in the year, I had curated a cabinet of original Sunderland pottery alongside documents from the ‘Scott archive’, a collection of paper ephemera from the Southwick Pottery (1788-1897) I had re-accessioned as part of my research. Addressing the title of the exhibition, my display aimed to highlight the family aspect of the production and consumption of Sunderland pottery, demonstrating through objects how it had often been made by several generations of the same families. I also wanted to show how it had been used to commemorate and celebrate family events like births, deaths and marriages. New ceramic work, made in collaboration with members of the Sunderland community, was also displayed in order to establish a dialogue between the past and the present, exploring how ceramic objects have and can be used to commemorate personal and wider narratives.

The Crinson Jug

The Crinson Jug with added labels.

As discussed in a previous blog, Howard Forster, a visitor to the exhibition, recognising some of the documents in my display from his own family history research, contacted me and we decided to make a new object which celebrated his family history through reference to his ancestors’ involvement in the Sunderland potteries. My blog about the Crinson Jug, led to an e-mail enquiry from Sally Hyde, a British-born, New Zealand-based occupational therapist whose fourth great-grandfather, William Milburn, had also been a master potter at Southwick Pottery. Further investigation of the ‘Scott Archive’ revealed a letter addressed to the Durham Agricultural Society dated 1845 showing that William started working at Southwick Pottery in 1788 and continued for 57 years. Milburn would have been a contemporary of William Crinson and his son, Robert, who started working at Southwick in 1788 and 1817 respectively.

For my contribution to the What’s Your Story exhibition, I decided to make a further jug to celebrate this connection as well as Sally’s quest to trace her family tree. This jug, which utilises much imagery collected by Sally on her ‘journey’ has been displayed in a desk case alongside the Crinson Jug and associated archive materials relating to the Milburns and Crinsons, including the above letter, Mark Crinson’s indenture and a letter from Robert Crinson, Mark’s nephew and William’s great grandson. The Crinson Jug has been ‘updated’, by the addition of ceramic labels printed with photographs of Howard Forster, his son and grandson. Interesting for me was the process of making the Milburn Jug which was negotiated remotely through e-mail correspondence and access to Sally’s Ancestry.com guest account. Sally has written a story about her own family history research which can be viewed on the What’s Your Story? website.

The Milburn Jug

The Milburn Jug

How an engagement with creativity, whether it results from tracing one’s family tree or crafting new objects, can help to define one’s identity and sense of self, a theme which has emerged through my recent ceramic practice, also appears to be a wider concern within academia and society. This is well illustrated by Sally’s experience of tracing her family history which seems to have helped her to cope with living far away from her family roots:

I was living in New Zealand and the whole process of creating the next generation started me thinking, and wanting to know about who had gone before. I have lived in New Zealand since 1986; I often feel the distance and a loss in so far as hearing family stories and family information, and this became more acute after the birth of my daughter. We visited my parents in the UK in 2000 and together with my mother began to investigate the past.

Similarly, an ability to empathise with her potter ancestor has helped to guide her own pursuit of making and collecting ceramics:

The knowledge of a Master Potter in my ancestry was great news to me as I have been working at an adolescent mental health unit as an Occupational Therapist for two years since my return to New Zealand in 2010. I have discovered a keen interest in pottery. My work is of a very amateur level, but I like to think that William guides me, and that my DNA assists too.

I don’t have any knowledge of what pieces of pottery William Milburn was involved in creating. I would love to have more information, but am not sure how to obtain this information or even know if it is obtainable. I have since purchased some Sunderland lustre ware pieces of pottery and would like to add more to my collection. I am especially interested in the pieces with a nautical theme which, for me, is inspired by my ancestors that follow from William Milburn who were sea farers. There is a family tendency to sail to foreign shores.

My intention with both jugs was to use relatively ephemeral information from digital photographs and scanned original documents to create enduring, dramatic material focal points or ‘micro-sites’ for commemoration and reflection. Family histories are often lost or not fully passed down the generations. These jugs are attempts to explore how ceramics can be used to preserve such fragile histories through a creative articulation of past and present. The degree to which translating Sally’s and Howard’s research into material objects has helped them to reflect upon their personal histories and how engaged they have felt in the creative process are perhaps questions I can reflect upon as part of my research.

What’s Your Story? offers an example of how museums can respond to the grassroots preoccupations of their visitors, empowering them to frame their own histories through the creation of dialogues between personal stories and items in the collection. The role the craft practitioner can play in the encouragement and mediation of this creativity, especially with reference to a collection, provides rich potential for innovative research. The combination of object making activities and museum display with digital participatory media leads to the possibility of the collection, the community and the artist being linked virtually as well as materially.

Did any of your ancestors work in the Sunderland potteries? Do you own or collect Sunderland pottery or do you know someone who does? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

Read more about the Crinson and Milburn families on the What’s Your Story? website: www.whatsyourstory.org.uk. What’s Your Story? Discovering Family History runs until the 27th August, 2012 at the Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens.

 

Christopher McHugh is an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award PhD student based at the University of Sunderland and Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens. Read more about his project at www.communityinclay.org.uk.

 

Bell-shaped studs

four bell-shaped studs of different size and design

We have been busy changing the old Daily Life gallery in the museum at Arbeia into the brand new Amazing Finds gallery, which meant we had to take all the artefacts out of the room during the building work. Some of the objects have gone back out on display, but as we have also included new objects that have not been previously been on view before, others had have to go back into storage. Amongst these items are a selection of ‘bell-shaped’ studs; a circular copper alloy stud with a concave face and a central projection. They originally had an iron shank that rarely survives on the examples in our collection. They are known to have had several uses, such as the pommel of a dagger, the hinge of a sheath to protect the blade of a tool and as box fittings.

 The excavations at Arbeia have produced 73 examples in all – one of the most common categories of copper alloy objects. This large number suggests they were probably mainly used as box fittings on the site, as each box would have used a number of them (for example, one excavated box from Hungaryhad 19 of them). Curiously, however, there are very few from Arbeia that match closely in design, as you would expect from sets used together – they vary in size, the height of the projection, the presence or absence of grooves on the skirt, and their number and position.

‘Quentin Blake: As Large As Life’ comes to the Laing

These are photos from the installation of the new exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery – Quentin Blake: As Large As Life.

The first picture has gone up! It’s one of the circus life group.

This lovely group of pictures shows people just enjoying the ordinary pleasures of daily life.

Quentin Blake’s own comments about the pictures are going up in this photo. They’ll be revealed as soon as the white backing is taken off.

Seven Stories, the national centre for children’s books in Newcastle, has lent five drawings that Quentin Blake specially drew for the centre.

The funny and delightful Planet Zog pictures are on display in the ground-floor space next to the café.

It’s painstaking work getting the installation right.

There’s lots going on for kids and young people during the exhibition – details are available here, in a leaflet and in the All About Art area on the ground floor. Drop in anytime to enjoy Quentin Blake books and make your own drawings. You can see information about the exhibits and some lovely illustrations here. Have fun exploring the exhibition!

The exhibition has been organised by Compton Verney in collaboration with the House of Illustration.

Exciting new additions to our Sunderland shipbuilding collections

I’m happy to report that work is continuing well on the ‘We Mak’em’ Shipbuilding Archives project. The records of the firm Bartram & Sons Ltd are now fully catalogued (TWAM ref. DS.BM) and can be searched using our online catalogue. The collection includes over a thousand ships plans, which have never before been accessible to the public.

Work is also progressing smoothly on the other collections in the project. I’m currently working on the operational records of William Doxford & Sons Ltd, which includes an excellent series of ships particulars books covering the years 1871-1969. Colin has recently finished cataloguing the many ships plans we hold for Joseph L. Thompson & Sons Ltd. Some of those date back to the 1880s, including this profile plan of the ‘Coogee’ (TWAM ref. DS.JLT/4/PL/1/224/9).

 

Profile plan for the 'Coogee', c1886 (TWAM ref. DS.JLT/4/PL/1/224/9)

 

A photograph of ‘Coogee’ appeared in an earlier blog and in her heyday she was one of the fastest single-screw passenger vessels of her size. She now lies shipwrecked outside Port Philip Bay, Melbourne, Australia, and is a popular destination for divers.

A few days ago, Colin also uncovered a very nice plan of the ‘Scottish Admiral’, built by William Doxford & Sons in 1878 (TWAM ref. DS.DOX/4/PL/1/104/1). I’m particularly delighted about this find because it’s the earliest plan that we hold for that shipyard.

 

General arrangement plan of the 'Scottish Admiral', c1878 (TWAM ref. DS.DOX/4/PL/1/104/1)

 

The ‘Scottish Admiral’ was built for the Australian shipowners McIlwraith McEacharn and Company to carry British migrants across to Queensland. Sadly, she sank in February 1894 after being run down while laid up in the River Medway.

Exciting though these discoveries are, they pale in comparison to a deposit of ships plans and photographs that the Archives recently received.  These items were part of an exchange of documents between Tyne & Wear Archives and Durham County Record Office. This involved the addition to our collections of over one hundred plans and photographs, which formerly belonged to the Sunderland shipbuilding firm of Austin & Pickersgill Ltd. In return we handed over more than a hundred deeds relating to the landed estates of the shipbuilder, Robert Thompson.

Transfers of this kind are quite common in the world of archives. Austin & Pickersgill originally deposited the plans and photographs in Durham back in the 1960s. At that time Sunderland was still part of County Durham and Tyne & Wear Archives didn’t even exist. The estate papers that we handed over came to us as part of a vast deposit of documents placed in our care by Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd in the 1980s. The papers relate to Robert Thompson’s property at Sockburn, County Durham. Those lands lie such a long way from Tyne & Wear that it made perfect sense for them to be ‘repatriated’ to a more suitable home.

The plans and photographs are a fantastic addition to our Sunderland shipbuilding collections. There are some great early plans of vessels built by William Pickersgill & Sons. These include a rigging plan of the ‘Mary Roberts’ (TWAM ref. DS.WP/4/PL/1/76/6), which was the subject of a blog back in March.

 

Rigging plan of the ‘Mary Roberts’, c1887 (TWAM ref. DS.WP/4/PL/1/76/6)

 

These plans are exceptional because they are among the earliest Sunderland ships plans that we hold and relate to some of the last sailing ships to be built on the Wear.

The new material also includes over a dozen plans of vessels built by the shipyard of Sir John Priestman & Co. These appear to be the only plans to have survived from that yard, making them of real historical importance. In 1944 the yard, which was based at Southwick, was taken over by William Pickersgill & Sons Ltd, which explains how the documents fell into the hands of Austin & Pickersgill.

As I mentioned the new material also includes some ships photographs. Most of these are of vessels built by William Pickersgill & Sons Ltd dating from the 1930s to the 1950s, including this excellent image of the launch of ‘Sir Archibald Page’ in September 1950 (TWAM ref. 5250).

 

Launch of ‘Sir Archibald Page’, 1950 (TWAM ref. 5250)

 

There are also a small number of much earlier images relating to ships built by other firms. Probably the best of these is this view of the cargo ship ‘Moraitis’ at sea in 1907 (TWAM ref. 5250). She was built by Sir John Priestman & Company and this appears to be our only photograph from that shipyard.

 

‘Moraitis’ at sea, 1907 (TWAM ref. 5250)

 

I’m very grateful to the staff at Durham County Record Office for agreeing to transfer these documents to us. They are an excellent complement to our other Sunderland shipbuilding archives and I’m sure that they will be very well used and enjoyed in the future.