Draft:G.K. Stothert & Co

G.K. Stothert & Co was a British engineering company primarily known for shipbuilding and repair founded in 1852 in Bristol, England.

History


The Bristol offshoot of Stothert and Pitt (which was at that time named Stothert, Slaughter & Co.) had been set up in St Phillips in 1837 with the hope of gaining orders from the Great Western Railway. By 1844 they had diversified into shipbuilding, producing two 105 ton iron screw steamers named Avon and Severn which were built for running between Newport and Bristol. The railway works part of the company eventually became Avonside Engine Company, and the shipbuilding part moved to Hotwells and became a separate company in 1852 under the control of George Kelson Stothert. It was officially known as the Clifton Marine Engineering and Iron Shipbuilding Works. Subsequent partnerships were formed with E.T. Fripp (1855-1859) and R.H. Marten (1859-1862) ; after that, G. K. Stothert held sole control until 1899. . When he died in 1908, the business was established as a limited company carrying his name. The business remained in operation under his name until 1933, although shipbuilding stopped in 1904.

After G. K. Stothert passed away, the obituary written by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers noted that he "...was one of the pioneers of iron shipbuilding in this country".

Location
In 1852, the company took over an existing shipyard adjacent to the Cumberland Basin that had been used by George Lunnell between 1834 and 1851. Their site consisted of slipways, Hotwells Dry Dock (now Pooles Wharf Marina) and Merchant's Dock (now filled in, although the old entrance is still visible).

Vessels
Several large vessels were built within the first few years of operation, including the Scamander, Meander and Araxes , ranging between 780 and 1156 tons and being built in 1854 and 1855 for the Moss Line of Liverpool.

The company became known for producing river and canal tugs, including a significant number for use on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. This commenced with an initial order for three in 1860 (Moss Rose, 1860, Mayflower, 1861 and Violet, 1862 ) and ended with a final order for two in 1904 (Active and Victor) which are believed to be the final vessels launched by the company.