Florence Gallery

Completed March 1872; Official No. 67522.

Owners: 1872 Groves, Maclean & Co, West Hartlepool.

Masters: 1872 Hopkins.

Florence left Cardiff on 4 December 1872 with a cargo of patent fuel & a crew of 22 bound for Civitta Veehia & encountered a gale in the Bay of Biscay & became a complete wreck SW of the Lizard on 10 December 1872. The Shields steamer Edgar managed to rescue the crew. No lives lost.

Having lost all her boats & Florence becoming a complete wreck Captain Charles Smith of the Newcastle-on-Tyne steamship Edgarstood by for two days. When the opportunity arose the lifeboat succeeded in taking off all the crew. By public vote for the gallant rescue Charles Smith was awarded a binocular glass, value £6 6s. The men that manned the lifeboat, J. Johnson 2nd mate, J. Hay boatswain, R. Sinclair able seaman, D. Clark, A. Smith & P. Simpson, all firemen, were given 1s each.

Listed here are the ships of various companies at least partly owned by William Maclean. These include Groves, Maclean & Co., Maclean, Doughty & Co., and Maclean & Co.

In 1868 William set up his own office in Victoria Terrace in partnership with James Groves as coal and timber exporters. James had owned or had shares in six ships between 1848 and 1872. Groves, Maclean & Co., purchased their first steamer James Groves which was launched in 1871 and completed in 1872. The steamer was lost in 1875 and they purchased another steamer of the same name.

James Groves died in 1881 and in 1888 Henry Doughty joined William Maclean and Groves, Maclean & Co. became Maclean, Doughty & Co. The partnership was dissolved in 1889/1900 with Henry taking four steamers with him.  William Maclean carried on trading under Maclean & Co. until their last steamer, Duart, was sunk in 1918.

Family History:

William Maclean was born on 6 September 1832 near Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland to parents James and Ann (nee Anderson). He spent time in Edinburgh, Scarborough and London before arriving in the Hartlepool area.  In 1861 he was living at Seaton Carew and listed as a gentleman. Sometime in the early 1860’s he went to work in the offices of George Lockwood and Son, coal merchants in Stockton-on-Tees.

On 26 March 1866 William married Clara Hogg at Tynemouth and by 1871 the family were living at Scarborough Street with William listed as a coal exporter. In 1881 they were living at Wellington Street, Stranton and William was now listed as a shipowner.  1891 saw the family living at Grantully House which they had built in Westbourne Road. (The house later became a maternity hospital)  In 1909 the family had moved to Lochbuie House in Harrogate where William died on 12 July 1920 at the age of 87 leaving effects of £109,011. On his death he was described as a ‘fine old English Gentleman’.

In 1875, William was a founding member of the Hartlepool Shipowners Society whose other committee members included George Horsley and Thomas English Pyman. He also became a Trustee of Hartlepool Hospital, was involved with Cameron Hospital, founder and secretary of the Hartlepool Chamber of Commerce and one of the original bench members of the local Borough Magistrates.

William Share Maclean was born to William and Clara on 2 July 1873 at Hartlepool. He was married in 1902 at Easington to Georgina Elliot Hall. By 1909, when his father had retired, William had joined the company.

William died on 17 August 1934 leaving assets of £51,086.

James Groves was born on 14 February 1824 at Whitby to parents Robert Hugill and Esther Mary (nee Eskdale). By 1861 he was living at Albion Terrace, Hartlepool with his wife Hannah (nee Doughty) whom he married at York on 1 September 1852. By 1881 he was living at Billingham and was listed as a magistrate and Alderman of the Borough of Hartlepool.

James died on 21 December 1881 at Billingham Hall aged 57 leaving a personal estate of £16,464. James bequeathed £150, the income to be distributed at Christmas among all the fishermen who might at the time be natives of and residents in Hartlepool, and not less than fifty years of age. The charity came into operation on the death of the testator's widow in 1900, but owing to an insufficiency of assets a sum of £127 3s. 9d. only was paid, which was invested in £138 8s. 8d. consols, producing £3 9s. a year.