Richardsons Westgarth & Company was a leading Britishshipbuilding and marine engineering business. The Company was based in Hartlepool and was a major employer in the area.
The Company was established in 1832 by Thomas Richardson as a marine engineering concern based in Hartlepool under the name of T Richardson & Sons.[1] In 1900 it merged with Sir C. Furness Westgarth and Company of Middlesbrough and W. Allen and Company of Sunderland to form Richardsons Westgarth.[2] As part of the merger Furness Withy, a shipping business, took a controlling interest in the Company.[3]
The Company was at the forefront of the development of steam engines and diesel engines for large ships throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[4] It built engines for many ships including "SS Empire Amethyst". It acquired the firm of George Clark in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in 1938.[2] In 1962 its marine activities were merged with that of Weir Group[5] and its began focussing on engineering for power stations such as Trawsfynydd[6] and Dungerness 'B'. It ceased operations in Hartlepool in 1982.[2]
The Company then diversified into steel processing and was acquired by Klöckner, one of the world's largest steel stockholders, in 2000.[7]
A History of Thomas Richardson & Sons and Richardsons Westgarth 1832-1994, Printability Publishing, 1994, ISBN 978-0-9501306-6-8
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Photos on Graces Guide of industrial & marine engines.
Showmans road locomotives (number built/survive) Note: a lot of current showman's engines are conversions, done both during working life and in the preservation era.