de Winton

See here for an account of the life of Jeffrey de Winton

This page contains a brief history of the Caernarfon Ironworks, providers of all manner of machinery for the region's slate quarries, including the iconic vertical boiler locomotives such as Llanfair and Chaloner.

Thomas & De Winton

They also produce marine boilers and engines. The engines of the Prince Jaja were supplied to complete the hull built by William Thomas's yard in Amlwch when this ship of the Liverpool, Carnarvon and Menai Straights Steamship Company Ltd. was being built in 1890. The engines were installed in Caernarfon where the hull had been towed from Amlwch. It was berthed at the quay on the Seiont river behind the De Winton works. Many other ships had their hulls built elsewhere and were moved to Caernarfon for De Winton to fit the engines. For details see De Winton Ships and Marine Engineering

The partnership between Owen Thomas and Jeff de Winton was signed in June 1853. The business's name was Thomas and De Winton (note the big 'D' of De). The name Union Ironworks was still used. Orders from the two large slate quarries at Penrhyn and Dinorwic were crucial to the early success of the business. The Company's range of products and revenue grew quickly. Additional land had to be acquired but this was not easy with the works sandwiched between the river Seiont and the bluff and with neighbours on both sides often reluctant to sell. "The mode of business tended to be quoting for such varied, sophisticated and enterprising products that it was to stretch the resources of manpower and space to the utmost, resulting in a serious tendency to deliver late in too many cases."

Meanwhile Thomas and De Winton were engaged in ship ownership and the importation of timber as decribed in De Winton Ships and Marine Engineering. It was not unusual for the timber business to earn as much profit as the engineering activities. De Winton are most famous for producing narrow gauge vertical boilered 0-4-0 locomotives for principally the slate quarrying industry. The most famous of these because it is still operational (when not under overhaul) is Chaloner. The whole subject of locomotive development is thouroughly covered in the book about De Winton. This Wikipedia page has a list of locomotives constructed: [[1]]. They also produced a huge range of engineering items such as quarry equipment, water wheels, water balances, iron girders and the footbridge by the modern WHR station.

The Death of Owen Thomas

Owen Thomas died in the 1866 Caernarfon cholera epidemic. He was succeeded as a partner by his son Owen Thomas Junior who inherited part of his father's stake in the business. As early as 1861 he had been a junior draughtsman in the business. He eventually prospered socially becoming a magistrate and a Lt. Col. in the Militia. A further partner taken into the business was Francis Taylor who was also twenty one years old and an engineer. Taylor left the district in 1873 when his father died and he had to return to Norfolk to take on responsibility for the family estate. He was replaced as a partner by Richard Aylmer in 1874. Jeff de Winton became more and more involved in maritime matters on the Mersey and these eroded his time spent in Caernarfon and so his tight grip on engineering design and the business lessened.

De Winton Co. Ltd.

After Aylmer left the partnership in 1885 Jeff and Owen Thomas Junior became sole owners of the business but there was a gradual decline in orders. In 1891 Jeff decided to retire and a limited company was setup in 1892 - De Winton & Co. Ltd. On 12th December 1892 Jeff died. In 1894 Owen Thomas Junior, managing director of De Winton & Co. Ltd, Lt. Col., J.P. etc was declared bankrupt.

The firm De Winton and Co Ltd. was wound up in 1896. The business was purchased by Alexander Rose Stenning, an architect, who bought it to set up his son in business. The business staggered along for a few years but was finally wound up in 1904.