The Thames Iron Works and Shipbuilding Company
The Thames Iron Works and Shipbuilding Company (1837-1912) was founded at a time when most ships were built from wood. It was at the forefront of the move to use iron.
Despite changes in ownership and fluctuations in its fortunes, the company played a major role in the history of British iron shipbuilding. It produced ships for the Royal Navy (including HMS Warrior and HMS Thunderer) and many foreign navies, as well as private yachts for Queen Victoria and the Pope. It also undertook civil engineering projects, such as Blackfriars railway bridge and Hammersmith suspension bridge in London and the Kotri bridge in Pakistan. The works closed in 1912.
Archaeologists found the remains of buildings associated both with shipbuilding and the iron works, as well as parts of the slipways used for launching ships.