Assets Inventory: Sandycroft Ironworks 1855 page 2

Description

The documentation associated with the bankruptcy of George Cram, proprietor of the Sandycroft Ironworks, provides an invaluable insight into the facilities, machinery and tools that iron ship builders used in the middle of the 19th century.

George Cram has acquired the Sandycroft Ironworks from another ship builder, Mr Rigby, in 1853. The vessels Cram built there included the GOLDEN QUEEN, THE MINO, WINIFRED and the partially completed ROYAL CHARTER.

His ongoing financial difficulties came to a head in August 1854 when his creditors would no longer wait and began legal proceeding to take possession of all his business and personal assets. These creditors included his bankers, Williams & Co (Thomas Rees William and John Williams) of Chester; John Williams and Sir Stephen Glynne owners of the land; Septimus Ledward, iron merchant; and Roberts Roberts of Chester, slate merchant.

The image above shows the second page of the inventory annexed to the ‘Indenture’ or legal document which set out the rights of his creditors to take possession of all the portable goods and equipment within the ironworks.

These pages are a continuation of the tools found within the Wood Erecting Shed with its Smiths tools, then the Boiler Makers’ tools, Engine House, Lower Turning Shop and Erecting Shed.

Under the section for the Engine House a portable steam engine is noted with 500ft of piping to convey water to and from the river to the engine. This engine appears to have provided power to the lower Turning Shed containing a variety of machine for fabricating parts of the ship. Can you identify the engine house from the site plans?

What might a lathe have been used for? The shop also contained a planning machine and a vertical boring machine. What fabrication action on materials would these two latter engines have generated?

Cheshire Archives Document ref: CR69/33/17

• http://archives.cheshire.gov.uk/ (link opens in new window)