James Stone
3rd great-grandfather
According to my Family Tree, James Stone is my 3 time Great-grandfather.
Lets see what we can find out about him and his family.
The first evidence I found was a copy of the 1851 census.
James Stone, a widower aged 66, with a occupation of Common Labourer, with a place of birth of Upham, Hampshire, as recorded on the 1851 census. He was living with George Burnett, and his wife Caroline. Caroline was the daughter of James Stone. They were living in Waterhouse Lane, near the junction of Regent's Park Road, Shirley, Millbrook, Hampshire, now absorbed into the City of Southampton.
Part of Hampshire & Isle of Wight LXV.NW, Revised: 1895 to 1896, Published: 1898. OS 6" Map Shirley, Waterhouse Lane
Click on the map to go to the source at the National Library of Scotland. The marker is the approximate location of their home, offset slightly to avoid obscuring map detail. Waterhouse Lane has a light blue colour was. Regent's Park Road, to the left, in light green, and Foundry Lane, to the right, East, in light yellow.
Regent's Park Road is a more recent road compared to Waterhouse Lane and Foundry Lane. Foundry Lane is something of a giveaway regarding the occupiers of that road. Open the slider below for more information.
Iron Works
Going back further in time than the OS 6" Map.
Old Hampshire Mapped - Greenwood Map of Hampshire 1826 Shirley Iron Works
Using the same colour washes for Waterhouse Lane and Foundry Land to help locate and compare with the later OS 6" Map published 1898.
There are two Iron Works, circled in red, one off Romsey Road, near Shirley Warren, and the southern one, adjacent to the river bank, near Freemantle Park, at the end of Foundry Land marked as a Iron Foundry.
There is an article in Sotonopedia about Foundry Lane which includes some of the history of the Iron Foundry. With further information at
Foundry Lane bounds Freemantle on the west side and is named from an iron foundry set up in the first decade of the 19th century. The foundry was situated on land between the modern day Lakelands Drive, Somerset Terrace and 5-47 Foundry Lane and was probably established on the site of an earlier corn mill. It was first mentioned in John Bullar’s guide book of 1809, although it is uncertain who was operating the foundry at that date. By 1818 had been acquired by the brothers Charles and Henry Tickell who had apparently taken over from a man named Plunkett. The Tickell tenure was short but notable for the production of the ‘Gas Column’ erected as a tribute to William Chamberlayne in gratitude for his gift of iron columns supporting the town’s first gas lights. The Gas Column, which has been sited at various places over the years, now stands in Houndwell Park. In 1831 the foundry was bought by the partnership of Ogle and Summers, forerunners (after numerous partnership changes) of the famous Day, Summers & Co. engineers and shipbuilders. Problems with launching ships - they had to be dragged from the works across Millbrook Road to the shore - led to the firm re-locating to Northam in c.1840. The Millbrook foundry closed down in 1854, while Day, Summers & Co. continued to prosper at its new site.
The Millbrook foundry, however, was not ideally situated for the manufacture of ships as the completed vessels had to be towed across busy roads before they could be launched. The launch of the Hampshire Independent for example held up traffic on Millbrook Road for several days. This problem was exacerbated by the construction of the Southampton-Dorchester railway in 1847. Consequently, in about 1840, the firm had moved part of its operation to the River Itchen at Northam, having purchased part of Rubie’s shipbuilding yard just below Northam Bridge. It is not clear how long the Millbrook side of the operation continued, but it appears to have ended entirely by about 1866.
A potted history extracted from articles in Graces Guide.
C. and H. Tickell - Graces Guide
C & H Tickell of Southampton
Founded by Charles Tickell and Hugh Tickell in 1810
1810 August. Announcement. 'Charles Tickell...taken the Mill Place Foundry, lately occupied by Pritchett and Perry, and situate at Millbrook....business as a Founder...Stoves, Grates, Kitchen Ranges...
Made twenty swing bridges in 1820 for the Portsmouth and Arundel Canal. The only survivor is the Poyntz Swing Bridge which has been moved onto the Chichester section of the canal.
William Alltoft Summers and Nathaniel Ogle of the Iron Foundry, Millbrook, Southampton
formerly the premises of C. and H. Tickell
1831 November. Advert for their patent steam apparatus and boilers, 'having purchased the above mentioned premises' [1]
1831 Built two steam carriages for use on the common roads. There were three-wheeled and the boilers were worked at 250 lbs. Once managed 32 mph. Did the journey from the turnpike gate at Southampton to the four-mile stone on the London road at the rate of 24.5 mph loaded with passengers.
1832 Partnership - James Johnston leaves. '....the Partnership lately subsisting between us the undersigned, as Patent Steam-Boiler-Makars, Engineers, and Iron-Founders, at Milbrook, in the County of Hants, under the firm of Nathaniel Ogle and Company, was on the 11th day of January last dissolved by mutual consent, so far as concerns the undersigned James Johnston. All debts due from and due to the said Copartnership will be paid and received by the undersigned Nathaniel Ogle and William Alltoft Summers, who will continue the said business'[2] [3][4] It is probable that the company became Summers and Ogle at this time or possibly a couple of years earlier
First steam carriage ran from Cable street, Wellclose Square to within two and a half miles of Basingstoke where the crank broke.
Improved carriage went from Southampton to Birmingham, Liverpool and London.
1832 August. Report of a journey from Southampton to Oxford [5]
1832 October. Detailed report of the journey from Southampton to Liverpool.
Became Summers and Day
Day, Summers and Co of Southampton were shipbuilders and makers of steam engines for marine use.
1834 The firm was founded by William Alltoft Summers in conjunction with Charles Arthur Day and William Baldock, under the title of Summers, Day, and Baldock at Millbrook.
Summers, Groves and Day was also established about this time
1837 they moved to Northam
By 1843 Summers and Day was a partnership of William Alltoft Summers and Charles Arthur Day at the Northam Ironworks [1]. Thomas Summers, cousin of Alltoft, joined the firm.
1845 Partnership - Groves leaves. '...the Copartnership heretofore subsisting between us the undersigned, William Alltoft Summers, John Thomas Groves, and Charles Arthur Day, all of Milbrook, in the county of Southampton, and also of Northam, in the town and county of the town of Southampton, Engineers, Millwrights, Iron Founders, and General Dealers, carrying on business under the style or firm of Summers, Groves, and Day, was this day dissolved by mutual consent (so far only as respects the said John Thomas Groves)...'[2]
Initially established a reputation as a builder of large mail steamers in the 1850s up to the 1870s when the North-east Coast and Clydeside yards took over that market.
1854 Partnership - Baldock leaves. '....the Partnership between the undersigned, William Alltoft Summers, Charles Arthur Day, and William Baldock, in the trades or businesses of Engineers, Millwrights, Ironfounders, and General Dealers, at Northam, in the parish of Saint Mary, in the town and county of the town of Southampton, and elsewhere, under the firm of Summers, Day, and Baldock, was this day dissolved by mutual consent, to take effect as on and from the 31st day of May last; and in future the said trades or businesses will be carried on by the said William Alltoft Summers and Charles Arthur Day, on their own joint account...'[3]
1864-5 Sheer legs for Woolwich Arsenal. The back stay was 144 ft long and weighed about 30 tons.[4]
At some point became C. A. Day and Co.
c.1868 Mr. Altoft Summers retired
1871 Thomas Summers became a partner with Charles Arthur Day and the firm became Day, Summers and Co; the company developed compound steam engines which became a main line of its business.
1872 100-ton sheer legs for Chatham Dockyard[5]
1870s The yard won orders from P and O for mail steamers, this was followed by similar orders from Royal Mail Line and then a series of re-engining orders. The yard then concentrated on building paddle steamers, coasters, yachts, Itchen floating chain bridges, Hythe ferries and sheerlegs.
1874 80-ton sheer legs for Aberdeen.
1880s The yard forged a good reputation for its steam yachts.
1882 150-ton sheer legs for the Russian Government[6]
1889 Obituary of Thomas Summers in 'The Engineer'. [7]
1890 Engine for River Itchen Floating Bridge 'Vessel No 8' at Woolston.
1898 Designed the steam yacht Sunflower for Mr. Walter Greene, of Nether Hall; the boats were supplied by Messrs Summers and Payne.[8]
1900s The company became of limited liability status. The yard continued making a variety of small ships: tugs, steam coasters and paddle steamers.
1905 Sheer legs for Chatham Dockyard. Tested with a load of 180 tons. Front legs 160 ft high. Back leg moved in and out by a leadscrew 11.5" diameter, 85 ft long, powered by its own steam engine.[9]
1909 60-ton floating sheer legs for a South American customer.[10]
1911 100-ton Sheer legs for Aberdeen. Powered by electrical equipment from J. J.(?) Holmes and Co of Newcastle. Delivered and tested within 5 months of date of order. This was the 89th set of sheer legs built by the firm, and the second for Aberdeen (see 1874 above).[11]
1920 Took over the contract to build British Kromhout marine oil engines from Plenty and Co. [12]
1928 The yard continued with the above building programme until 1928 when it went into liquidation. It was taken over by Thornycroft.
1966 The yard became part of Vosper Thornycroft.
1987 The company ceased trading.
Brickworks
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Shirley
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Coxford
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