John I. Thornycroft & Company
Encyclopedia
John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...

 firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft
John Isaac Thornycroft
Sir John Isaac Thornycroft was a British shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family.-Biography:He was born in 1843 to Mary Francis and Thomas Thornycroft....

 in the 19th century.

History

The 16-year-old Thornycroft, helped only by his younger sister, began to build his first small steam launch in 1859 in his father's back garden at Chiswick
Chiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...

 on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

. He returned from an apprenticeship in Glasgow in 1864 and began to build more steam launches.

Thornycroft first began shipbuilding at Church Wharf in Chiswick
Chiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...

 in 1866, when the plot of land which became the nucleus of the shipyard was purchased. Here, the first instance was built of what would become the torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

, the Rap for Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 in 1873. This was followed by HMS Lightning
HMS Lightning (1877)
HMS Lightning was a torpedo boat, built by John Thornycroft at Church Wharf in Chiswick for the Royal Navy, which entered service in 1876 and was the first seagoing vessel to be armed with self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. She was later renamed Torpedo Boat No...

 for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 in 1877.

In June 1904 the company decided to relocate to Woolston, Hampshire, where it acquired the shipyard owned there by Mordey, Carney & Company, and in 1908 they also set up the Hampton Launch Works on Platts Eyot
Platts Eyot
Platts Eyot is an island on the River Thames at Hampton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, on the reach between Molesey Lock and Sunbury Lock....

, an island on the Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 at Hampton, Middlesex
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...

. The former yard at Chiswick closed in August 1909. The first ship built by Thornycrofts for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 at the Woolston Yard was the Tribal-class destroyer
Tribal class destroyer (1905)
The Tribal or F class was a class of destroyer built for the Royal Navy. Twelve ships were built between 1905 and 1908 and all saw service during World War I, where they saw action in the North Sea and English Channel as part of the 6th Flotilla and Dover Patrols.-Design:The preceding River or E...

 HMS Tartar
HMS Tartar (1907)
thumb|right|300px|Engine room of the HMS Tartar. Photo caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] magazine March 1909HMS Tartar was a Tribal class destroyer of the Royal Navy launched in 1907 and sold in 1921. During the First World War she served in the North Sea and the English Channel with the 6th...

.

Thornycroft continued to build civilian vessels. Hampton built yachts including Enola (1928), Estrellita (1934) (now called Rake's Retreat), Aberdonia
Aberdonia (yacht)
The Aberdonia is a British pre-war motor yacht moored at Chelsea Harbour. Built by the Thornycroft ship yard and launched in 1935 Aberdonia has a rich history, former uses include a patrol boat, mine sweeper and is one of the Little ships of Dunkirk....

 (1935),
and Moonyeen (1937). The pre-war motor yacht Prunella may also have been built at Hampton. These four have survived and are now recorded on National Historic Ships' National Register.

Woolston built the ferry for Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 in 1930. She also survives, but as a half-submerged wreck on the shore of Lake Albert.

John Isaac Thornycroft died in June 1928, but his role as chairman of the company had been taken by his son, John Edward Thornycroft
John Edward Thornycroft
Sir John Edward Thornycroft KBE was a British mechanical and civil engineer.Thornycroft was born in Chiswick in 1872 and was the eldest son of Sir John Isaac Thornycroft, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company. He was educated at St Paul’s School in London before receiving engineering...

 in 1908. In July 1960 the latter's son, John Ward Thornycroft, in turn replaced his father as chairman.

In 1962, John I. Thornycroft and Sons was building wooden yachts in Singapore.

Thornycrofts merged in 1966 with Vosper & Co., part of the David Brown Group, to form one organisation, although the formal merger to create Vosper Thornycroft took place in June 1970. The company now trades as VT Group
VT Group
VT Group plc was a British defence and services company, formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. The Company had diversified from shipbuilding into various engineering and support services, becoming involved in many areas of provision through five main operating groups: VT Communications, VT...

.

Royal Navy classes built by Thornycroft

  • D class destroyer (1913)
    D class destroyer (1913)
    The D class as so named in 1913 was a heterogeneous group of torpedo boat destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1890s. They were all constructed to the individual designs of their builder, John I. Thornycroft & Company of Chiswick, to meet Admiralty specifications...

  • Coastal Motor Boat
    Coastal Motor Boat
    During the First World War, following a suggestion from three junior officers of the Harwich destroyer force that small motor boats carrying a torpedo might be capable of travelling over the protective minefields and attacking ships of the German Navy at anchor in their bases, the Admiralty gave...

    s
  • Thornycroft type leader
    Thornycroft type leader
    The Thornycroft type leader or Shakespeare class were a class of five destroyer leaders designed by John I. Thornycroft & Company and built by them at Woolston, Southampton for the Royal Navy towards the end of World War I. They were named after historical naval leaders. Only Shakespeare and...

  • Thornycroft M class destroyer
    Thornycroft M class destroyer
    The Thornycroft M or Mastiff class were a class of six destroyers completed for the Royal Navy during 1914-16 for World War I service. They were quite different from the Admiralty-designed ships of the Admiralty M class class, although based on a basic sketch layout provided by the Admiralty from...

  • Type IV Hunt class destroyer
  • Landing Craft Assault
    Landing Craft Assault
    The Landing Craft Assault was a British landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. During the war it was manufactured throughout...


External links

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