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| Robert was born 22 May 1850 of Joseph Lowes and Thomasin Thompson. Father Joseph Lowes was a Shipwright Foreman at the Robert Thompson & Sons shipyard, and they resided at Whickham Street, Monkwearmouth Shore. At age 15 in 1865, Robert left school and was apprenticed to his father as a shipwright. Robert married Georgiana Andrew. Upon his father's retirement in 1875, operation of the firm was turned over to Robert and his two brothers, Joseph Lowes, and Charles Elliot. Robert became a partner in the firm. In 1876 James Marr joined the firm. More ground was added to the yard, including William Pile's site, until the whole of the North Sands, where previously seven yards had been in operation, was under the control of Thompsons. Robert built his first steel vessel in May 1885. The next year more than half the yard's output was in steel, including the SS Euterpe, a luxuriously furnished passenger liner, an unusual type of vessel to be built on the Wear. They built almost three-quarters of a million tons of shipping over the twenty year period 1888-1907, and the yard headed output on the River Wear for nearly all the years 1885 to 1900, and on three occasions was in fourth place in terms of world output. In 1893 brother Joseph Lowes retired from daily participation in the firms management due to failing health. In 1894, the |
Thompsons formed a limited liability company with a capital of £125,000, and Peter Phorson and James Marr were appointed to the board. James Marr, who was general manager of the firm, had been associated with Thompsons for 17 years, and would become chairman and managing director in 1901. The workforce then numbered 1,600. In 1907, the Thompson yard produced 12 ships aggregating 48,178 tons, a record for them until the second World War.
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Robert was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Durham County in September 1890, and was on the Sunderland Town Council for a number of years. He served as chairman of the Monkwearmouth and Southwick Hospital Board, was a member of the Sunderland Infirmary Committee, and was a member of the Wear Commission for a number of years. Like the rest of his family, he was a member of the Methodist Free Church. He continued his father's interest in the Sunderland
Football Club, was it's president in 1893, and gave it substantial financial support. A few years before his death he had decided to have 'a place in the country', and had bought the old manor house at Over Dinsdale on the River Tees. He proceeded to pull it down, much to the locals' fury (!), and build in its place a 'stockbrokers' Tudor' style mansion. Some described it as a |
'monstrosity'. Built to shipyard standards, it had extra thick walls, and great care was taken that all the rooms were perfectly square, level, vertical, etc. He also built a new bridge across the Tees, and a little house beside it for the toll collector, who opened a gate and charged each person who walked across the bridge one old penny. The house had its own electric light engine and a 'engineer' to look after it, as well as a retinue of servants, headed by a butler with the rather strange name of George Tiplady Dobson. However, as soon as the house was finished, he had a stroke and was never able to enjoy his creation. He died 1 January 1908 at his new estate, Over Dinsdale Hall, near Darlington, at age 57. His recently acquired Sunderland home was Langham Tower, on Ryhope Road. He left an estate valued at £159,804 . |
Birth of Parents
Ethel Born 22 Jun 1875 Died 28 Jul 1875 Joseph Andrews Born 30 Nov 1876 Monkwearmouth Married Laurel Thompson Robert Norman Born 2 Jul 1878 Fulwell Married Helena V. Short Stanley Miller Born 1 Dec 1880 Fulwell Married Wilhelmine Vera Doxford Amelia Rachel Born 4 Dec 1884 Fulwell Married John Lynn Marr John Wyllie Born abt 1886 Fulwell Married Norah Miller
| Robert Thompson |
b: 22 May 1850 Monkwearmouth, County Durham son of Joseph Lowes and Thomasin Thompson |
| Georgiana Andrew |
b: 20 Apr 1851 Whitby, Yorkshire daughter of Thomas and Rachael Andrew |
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24 Sep 1873 Robert Thompson (23) Georgiana Andrews (22) |
Whitby Parish Church, Yorkshire County bachelor, Shipbuilder, Monkwearmouth, Father: Joseph Lowes Thompson, Shipbuilder spinster, Whitby, Father: Thomas Andrews, Jet Ornament Manufacturer by license, Wit: Richard W. Andrews, Rachel Amelia Andrews 1873 3Q Whitby 9d 669 | |
| Ethel Thompson |
b: 22 Jun 1875 daughter of Robert and Georgiana Thompson, shipbuilder Died 28 Jul 1875 |
| Joseph Andrews Thompson |
b: 30 Nov 1876 c: 27 Dec 1876 Monkwearmouth Venerable Bede 1877 1Q Sunderland 10a 709 son of Robert and Georgiana Thompson of Ravensworth Terrace, shipbuilder Died 4 Feb 1918 |
| Robert Norman Thompson |
b: 2 Jul 1878 c: 22 Jan 1879 Monkwearmouth Venerable Bede 1878 3Q Sunderland 10a 683 son of Robert and Georgiana Thompson of West House, shipbuilder Died 2 Oct 1951 |
| Stanley Miller Thompson |
b: 1 Dec 1880 c: 5 Jan 1881 Monkwearmouth Venerable Bede 1881 1Q Sunderland 10a 653 son of Robert and Georgiana Thompson of West House, Fulwell, shipbuilder Died 6 Oct 1948 |
| 1881 Census | RG11-5008 | 4 April 1881 | Fulwell, St Peters, County Durham | ||
| West House (Newcastle Road) | |||||
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Robert Thompson Georgiana (Wife) Joseph A. Robert N. Stanley M. |
Age 30 Age 29 Age 4 Age 2 Age 5 Mos |
Ship Builder Head of firm of J L Thompson & Son Employing 950 Men And Boys |
Durham Yorkshire Durham Durham Durham |
Monkwearmouth Whitby Monkwearmouth Monkwearmouth Fulwell |
22 May 1850 20 Apr 1851 30 Nov 1876 2 Jul 1878 1 Dec 1880 |
| Plus 2 servants and a Nurse | |||||
| Amelia Rachel Thompson |
b: 4 Dec 1884 c: 26 Jan 1885 Monkwearmouth Venerable Bede 1885 1Q Sunderland 10a 665 daughter of Robert and Georgiana Thompson of Fulwell, shipbuilder |
| John Wyllie Thompson |
c: 7 Sep 1886 Monkwearmouth Venerable Bede 1886 4Q Sunderland 10a 632 son of Robert and Georgiana Thompson of Fulwell, West House, shipbuilder Died 5 Jan 1948 |
| 1891 Census | RG12-4151 | 6 April 1891 | Fulwell, Columbus, County Durham | ||
| West House | |||||
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Robert Thompson Georgiana (Wife) May John W. |
Age 40 Age 39 Age 6 Age 4 |
Shipbuilder and Magistrate for County Durham |
Durham Yorkshire Durham Durham |
Monkwearmouth Whitby Fulwell Fulwell |
22 May 1850 20 Apr 1851 4 Dec 1884 abt 1886 |
| Plus 4 servants and a Nurse | |||||
| 1901 Census | RG13-4614 | 1 April 1901 | Low Dinsdale, County Durham | ||
| Dinsdale Rectory | |||||
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Robert Thompson Georgina (Wife) Joseph A. Robert N. Stanley M. |
Age 50 Age 49 Age 24 Age 22 Age 20 |
Shipbuilder Shipbuilder Shipbuilder Bookkeeper's Appr. |
Durham Yorkshire Durham Durham Durham |
Sunderland Whitby Monkwearmouth Monkwearmouth Fulwell |
22 May 1850 20 Apr 1851 30 Nov 1876 2 Jul 1878 1 Dec 1880 |
| Plus 6 servants | |||||
| 1901 Census | RG13-4054 | 1 Apr 1901 | Harrogate, Yorkshire | ||
| Oatlands College | |||||
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James Roscol John W. Thompson Plus 50 Other Pupils Plus 8 Servants |
Age 64 Age 14 |
Head Schoolmaster Pupil |
Bolton Sunderland |
Lancashire Durham |
abt 1836 7 Sep 1886 |
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| Estimated to be about 1903, possible at Dinsdale, while the house was being built. Place Cursor on a face to display person's name, click to go to their web page. |
| Robert Thompson |
1 Jan 1908 Age 57 Darlington 1908 1Q Darlington 10a 1 |
| 1 January 1908 DEATH THOMPSON - At Over Dinsdale Hall, near Darlington, on Jan. 1st 1908., aged 57 years, Robert Thompson, J. P. , eldest son of the late Joseph L. Thompson. Cortege to leave the south end of the Central Station, Sunderland, at 12 noon on Saturday. |
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| Georgiana (Andrew) Thompson | 2 June 1930 Age 79 Sunderland |
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ETHEL DAUGHTER OF R. & G. THOMPSON BORN JUNE 22ND 1875 DIED JULY 28TH 1875 ALSO THE ABOVE ROBERT THOMPSON BORN MAY 22ND 1850 DIED JANUARY 1ST 1908 AT OVER DINSDALE NEAR DARLINGTON ALSO THE ABOVE GEORGIANA THOMPSON BORN APRIL 20TH 1851 DIED JUNE 2ND 1930 AT SUNDERLAND |
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Monkwearmouth MERE KNOLLS CEMETERY PHOTOS BY T.G. WHITE |
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