William Beardmore & Co was an industrial giant. The company manufactured an extremely broad range of products: metal plates, guns, warships, locomotives, taxis, airships, aeroplanes and much else besides.
/ /1902 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Formed by William Beardmore [Junior] and Vickers, Sons and Maxim Ltd. William Beardmore [Junior] becomes Chairman and Managing Director, Albert Vickers and Lt. Trevor Dawson become directors. |
/ /1902 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Construction of Dalmuir Naval Shipyard (Beardmore's shipyard) begins. |
/ /1903 | Glasgow Electric Crane and Hoist Co Formed by William Beardmore & Co Ltd and Vickers. |
/ /1905 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Mossend Iron and Steel Works purchased and reconditioning begins. It was purchased from the Summerlee & Mossend Iron & Steel Co Ltd to secure supplies of ship plates and angles. |
/ /1905 | Arrol-Johnston Ltd, Underwood Weaving Mills, Paisley Purchased by William Beardmore & Co Ltd. Re-created as New Arrol Johnston Car Company. |
/ /1907 | Dalmuir Dry Dock Co Established by William Beardmore & Co Ltd alongside the Dalmuir Naval Shipyard (Beardmore's shipyard). |
/ /1907 | Caledonian Motive Power Co William Beardmore & Co Ltd buys main shareholding. |
/ /1908 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Construction of Dalmuir Naval Shipyard (Beardmore's shipyard) complete. |
/ /1908 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Mossend Iron and Steel Works re-building complete. |
/ /1913 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Manufacturing rights of Ljungstom turbine and Fottinger marine transformer acquired. |
/ /1913 | Beardmore Aero Engines Ltd Created by William Beardmore & Co Ltd. |
29/10/1914 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Trade unions officially recognised. |
/ /1915 | Speedwell Works, Coatbridge Purchased by William Beardmore & Co Ltd from Lidgerwood & Co. |
/ /1915 | Victoria Engine Works, Airdrie Purchased by William Beardmore & Co Ltd |
/ /1915 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Construction of new Mossend Steel Works begins. The new works was larger and west of the original Mossend Iron and Steel Works which was demolished. |
/ /1918 | Alley & MacLellan Purchased by William Beardmore & Co Ltd. |
/ /1919 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Starts building locomotives. |
/ /1919 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Anniesland Works and Coatbridge Works modified to build cars. |
/ /1919 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Underwood Weaving Mills starts building Taxis. |
/ /1919 | J.H. Kellys Van and Lorry works, Parkhead Purchased by William Beardmore & Co Ltd. |
/03/1919 | R34 crosses the Atlantic in 108 hours Built by William Beardmore & Co Ltd at Inchinnan Airship Constructional Station. |
/ /1920 | Galloway Motor Ltd Formed by William Beardmore & Co Ltd to sell cars built by Galloway Engineering Co. |
/ /1920 | Beardmore Motors Ltd Formed by William Beardmore & Co Ltd to sell cars. |
/ /1920 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Buys 50% of the Glasgow Iron and Steel Co, the other 50% by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson. |
/ /1921 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Airship and aeroplane divisions closed. |
/ /1922 | Glasgow Iron and Steel Co Wishaw Steel Works closed, due to William Beardmore & Co Ltd having redeveloped at Mossend to produce the new Mossend Steel Works around 1915. |
/ /1924 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Leases Bootle Docks, Liverpool from Canadian Pacific Co. |
/ /1924 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Aeroplane department re-opens. |
/ /1924 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd License to build Rhorbach all metal stressed skin aircraft taken. |
/ /1925 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Patent rights of Caprotti valve gear purchased. |
/ /1925 | Beardmore (Paisley) Ltd Formed by William Beardmore & Co Ltd to build Taxis (at Underwood Weaving Mills?). |
/ /1926 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Douglas Vickers shares purchased by Lady Invernairn (William Beardmore [Junior]'s wife, Elspeth Small Tullis), Sir Trevor Dawson resigned. |
13/06/1928 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Parkhead investment halted by management. |
/07/1928 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Mossend Steel Works closed. |
/ /1929 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Manufacturing of cars and aircraft abandoned. |
/02/1929 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Coatbridge Works closed. |
/03/1929 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Purchases Queenstown Dry Dock Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. |
31/01/1930 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd
David Colville & Sons Agreement on plate, sections and rail manufacturing. |
/03/1930 | National Shipbuilding Security Ltd Registered, and buys the Dalmuir Naval Shipyard (Beardmore's shipyard) of William Beardmore & Co Ltd. |
09/09/1930 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Locomotive works closed. |
/ /1932 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Armour pool between William Beardmore & Co Ltd, Firth Brown Ltd and the English Steel Corporation formed |
/05/1932 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Price discussed for selling the closed Mossend Steel Works. |
01/07/1932 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Sir James Lithgow appointed director. |
/03/1934 | Colvilles Ltd Mossend Steel Works bought from William Beardmore & Co Ltd. |
/10/1934 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Dalmuir engine works closed, Diesel engine production moved to Dalmuir Naval Shipyard (Beardmore's shipyard). |
26/02/1936 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Sir James Lithgow becomes chairman. |
/ /1937 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Paisley Works (Underwood Weaving Mills) closed. |
/ /1937 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Alley & MacLellan sold. |
/05/1939 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Anniesland Works and Underwood Weaving Mills sold. |
/10/1939 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Buy Germiston Works for shell and gun factory. |
/ /1944 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Germiston Works closed. |
/ /1947 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Liquidation of Beardmore Diesels Ltd and Newton Mines. |
31/12/1975 | William Beardmore & Co Ltd Ceases trading, Parkhead Forge controlled by Firth Brown. |
This line is divided into a number of portions.
This forge in Parkhead, north east Glasgow, was built around 1837 for Reoch Brothers & Co. The oldest part was on the south side of New Road by the junction with Old Edinburgh Road. In 1841 David Napier took over the Parkhead Forge.
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This works was located on the west side of the Wishaw and Coltness Railway and north of the A775. It was initially a malleable iron works. This was the first malleable iron works in Scotland to use Henry Cort's puddling process.
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This reconstruction of William Beardmore & Co's Mossend Iron and Steelworks was due to the demands of Great War and was in part supported by the Ministry of Munitions. The new works was laid out to the west of the existing works and was on a considerably greater scale. Reconstruction was around 1915.
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This shipyard was built for William Beardmore and Company specifically to build naval vessels due to his connections with Admiralty and ownership of the Parkhead Forge, construction of other ships would also be undertaken. It was on the north bank of the River Clyde by Dalmuir and north of the Newshot Island bend. The site reached from the Clyde Navigation Trust's Dredger Works, to ...
More detailsThis was the works of Alley and MacLellan. It was located on the east side of Polmadie Bridge, south of the West Coast Main Line (former Polloc and Govan Railway) opposite the Polmadie Depot.
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This weaving mill was owned by Archibald Coats and Peter Coats. The works was both north (the older part) and south of the former Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway just west of Paisley Gilmour Street's Wallneuk Junction. A railway crossed over a bridge giving access from the north to the south part of the works.
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