Shipbuilder: T Hepple & Son, Low Walker (1862 - 1872)
Shipbuilder: Hepple & Co, South Shields (1873 - 1881)
Shipbuilder: Hepple & Co, North Shields (1881 - 1893)
Shipbuilder: Hepple & Co Ltd, South Shields (1894 - 1919)
Shipbuilder: Hepples (1919) Ltd, South Shields (1919 - 1924)
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Thomas Hepple had a millwright’s business at Mitford, Northumberland and came to Coble Dene, North Shields, where he set up in partnership with Richard Landells in the early 1850s. They devoted much of their attention to the building of tug boat engines and then to tug boats themselves. In 1857 they established another shipbuilding & engineering yard at Low Walker, again focusing on tug and tug engine production. The partnership split up in 1861 and the two shipbuilders went their separate ways. Landells kept the North Shields yard and Hepple the Low Walker yard. Thomas’ son William then became the manager of the Low Walker facility. After the death of Thomas Hepple in 1872 the Low Walker yard was sold to Wigham Richardson & Co and William Hepple moved to Wapping Street, South Shields, where he continued to build tug boat engines. Some ten years later he purchased Fawcus’ slipway at North Shields to provide extra capacity and this continued for a further eight years, again almost exclusively tug boat output. The Hepple company was one of the first to construct tugs as ocean going vessels and gained many orders from the Crown Agents for the Colonies. In 1893, during a trade depression, when orders became almost non-existent, he gave up the North Shields yard to Edwards Bros and concentrated on engine building and repair work at South Shields. After a while trade improved and Hepple recognised the growing market for steam trawlers. He purchased land known as Stainton’s Foundry at South Shields and then concentrated on building up a reputation as a steam trawler builder as well as the tugs. William and his son Thomas turned the business into a Limited Liability company called Messrs Hepple & Co and they became joint Managing Directors. William Hepple died quite suddenly at the age of 63. He had been working at the shipyard as usual, but caught a chill which resulted in further complications and then death within a few days. After 1920, during yet another trade depression, the yard, with two berths of 100ft and 150ft in length, concentrated on ship repairing. The yard closed in 1923 and was sold to neighbours Brigham & Cowan in 1924. Overall, the Hepple legacy was tugs, of which they built over 220 vessels, but also steam trawlers and small craft of shallow draft. |