Norburn

On 23 August 1883 William Henry Loveridge married Minnie Oughtred at the Wesley Chapel, West Hartlepool.

William Henry Loveridge and Frederick Charles Wilson traded as iron and machinery merchants under the title of W.H. Loveridge & Co. The partnership was dissolved by mutual consent in October 1899 with both men continuing in business separately.

In October 1890 the 2297gt. steamship Azima was launched by Craig, Taylor & Co. Stockton-on-Tees for WH. Loveridge & Co. but the ship was completed in January 1891 as Ashley for the North of Ireland S.S. Co. Belfast.

In 1894 W.H. Loveridge purchased the Milton Ironworks of West Hartlepool which had been idle for many years.

In 1908 the steel-screw steamer Norburn was ordered under the ownership of the Norburn Steamship Co. Ltd. (Messrs. Smith, Hogg & Co., West Hartlepool, Managers). The vessel ran her trials on Saturday, 17th October, 1908, achieving a speed of 10.5 knots, following which she proceeded on her maiden voyage to Savona, under the command of Captain J.P. Sharp.

W.H. Loveridge also owned the North East Salvage & Shipbreaking Co. Ltd., which in the 1930s, owned a salvage vessel, the Disperser, originally built as the gunboat Bonetta, in 1871. The vessel foundered in heavy seas off Runswick Bay on February 8th, 1934. The wreck was discovered by Scarborough divers in 2009 and a short video produced - www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJx3vHUbfCQ

Official No. 127435: Code Letters HNFR.

Owners: 1908 Norburn SS Co. (W.H. Loveridge) (Smith, Herbert L Hogg & Co mgrs) West Hartlepool; 1915 C Coombes, Marshall & Co Ltd (Middlesbrough) West Hartlepool; 1929 CA Berglund, Gothenburg–renamed Ella; 1934 Red A/B Majviken, Gothenburg.

Masters: 1909 JP Sharp; 1919 J King; 1926 Stark.

In February 1912 two crew of the Norburn, Leith firemen, John Parker & Robert Spears were drowned when a small boat capsized at Sulina.