The early years

William Cresswell Gray was the younger son of the successful Hartlepool shipbuilder, Sir William Gray. He was born in his parents' home, The Cottage, Greatham, on 1^st May 1867. He was educated at Darlington, and later at Leys School, Cambridge, before joining his father’s shipbuilding firm.

The businessman

In 1889 William, and his older brother Matthew, became Company Directors of William Gray & Co Ltd. It was Matthew who would have been expected to inherit the business, but he died in 1896, followed two years later by his father, Sir William. The firm then became the responsibility of William Cresswell Gray.

In 1899 William acquired the West Hartlepool Steel and Ironworks. He bought the Moor and Malleable Works in Stockton and combined the two to form the South Durham Steel and Iron Co. Ltd.

The First World War brought a need for shipbuilding, and Gray’s opened new yards at Sunderland, Greatham, and later at Graythorpe. After the war, in 1919, William experimented with a scheme to encourage his men to work faster. He did this by promising the employees of the shipyards and the Central Marine Engine Works (CMEW) 20% of the annual profits. This meant that the more ships they built, the more they earned. The scheme worked well, but was brought to an end by the Depression, when most shipbuilding in the country stopped for several years.

His private life

In 1891 William married Kate Casebourne, also of Greatham. They went on to have four daughters and one son. The family lived in Tunstall Manor, West Hartlepool, which William had built in 1899. He also had other property in England. In 1900 he bought the Membland Estate, South Devon, and in 1904 he bought Thorpe Perrow, in Bedale, Yorkshire. William was a keen sportsman, and liked driving, shooting and yachting. He was an active supporter of Hartlepool Rovers Rugby Club.

The benefactor

William Cresswell Gray was generous with his money. When his father died in 1898

William paid off the debts of several churches in the area as a tribute. During the First World War he gave a house called Normanhurst, in West Hartlepool, to be used as a V.A.D. hospital. This building still exists as a public house, renamed the White House. He also bought Hawkstone Park in Shrewsbury, which he ran at his own expense as a convalescent home for wounded officers. He founded the Hartlepools Hospital Trust, and donated a new X-ray machine to Cameron’s Hospital. In 1918 he gave money towards the restoration of St Hilda’s church.

He presented the town with a sea-water swimming baths near Seaton Carew. In 1921 he gave a recreation ground (Grayfields) to be used by his employees. This is still in use today, but is now open to everyone. In the same year he gave his workforce a large house, Staincliffe at Seaton Carew, to be used as a convalescent home. This building still exists, and is now used as an hotel.

The Art Gallery

In 1918 William bought a house called “The Willows”, at the centre of West Hartlepool. This had belonged to his brother Matthew’s widow, Eliza. He had the house converted into a public Art Gallery, and supplied a large part of its collection. He did this in “thankoffering” for the safe return of his son, who had been captured in the war. It was this son, Captain William Gray, who performed the opening ceremony in 1920.

Public offices

William Cresswell Gray became Deputy-Lieutenant of Durham in 1906, and was made High Sheriff in 1909. He was made a baronet in June 1917, and in 1920 was made Freeman both of Hartlepool and of West Hartlepool. Among the other public offices he held were;

• Director of the North-Eastern Railway Company
• Member of Lloyd’s Register Committee
• Member of West Hartlepool Town Council
• President of the Hartlepool Operatic Society
• Justice of the Peace
• Magistrate for the North Riding and Durham

Death of William Cresswell Gray

William died on 1^st November 1924, and was buried in Bedale. After the War there had been a slump in shipbuilding, and by the time of his death Gray’s had become the only shipbuilders left in Hartlepool. His son, Captain William Gray, took over the company.

Newspaper Obituary:

‘Death of Sir WILLIAM CRESSWELL GRAY. A GREAT INDUSTRIALIST.

Sir William Cresswell Gray, Bart., the well-known North of England shipbuilder, who has been ill for some considerable time, passed away at 11.30 o’clock on Saturday night at his Yorkshire residence, Thorp Borrow, Bedale. In the past three weeks, Sir William’s condition had become very grave, and Saturday night he had a heart attack which terminated fatally. His only son, Capt. William Gray, and most of the other numbers of the late baronet’s family, were with him at the end. He was 57 years of age. The death of Sir William removes one of the “captains of industry” in the North, whose families have been associated with the industrial development of that great area. To the enterprise of the firm which his father (the first Sir William) founded, and which the late Sir William continued, a fair measure of the prosperity of the Hartlepools may be attributed. The firm of William Gray and Co. (Limited), iron and steel shipbuilders and marine engineers has meant much both in the social and public life of the two boroughs, as well as in their business growth. They have carried on a tradition of obligation and social service which has been observed by many of the great industrial magnates of the Northern Counties; and, in the record of institutions for the well-being of the people the Hartlepools, the name of the late baronet occupies an honoured place as a benefactor who not only gave of his wealth but also of his personal service.

His Early Years: The only surviving son of the first baronet, Sir William was born at Tunstall Manor (see note below), West Hartlepool, was educated at a private school at Darlington, and afterwards at the Leys School, Cambridge. His love for his old school was shown in later life by generous contributions to the Leydan Mission. He entered his father’s business direct from school, subsequently becoming a partner, and when, in 1889, it was organised as a private liability company, he became a director. He succeeded to the chairmanship on the death of his father in 1898, and his business activities were soon extended. He acquired the Hartlepool Steel and Ironworks; and to these he added in 1899 the Moor Malleable Works at Stockton-on-Tees, from which he developed the South Durham Steel and Iron Company (Limited). Developments followed at “Gray’s,” and the acquisition of the site of the new shipyard at Graythorpe, on the north hank of the Tees, and the extensions provided for furnished evidence of the prescience and enterprise of the chairman. Sir William was also concerned in the finance and management of many other Northern enterprises, and for many years occupied a seat on the board of the N.E.R. till its amalgamation with the constituents of the Eastern group. Until March this year he was on Lloyd's Register Committee, where he has been succeeded by his son.  Few men have interpreted their obligations to communal life more liberally than Sir William Gray. A period of service on West Hartlepool Town Council was followed by an invitation to accept the Mayoralty. Compelled by pressure of business to refuse the honour and also to give up work on the Town Council, he continued to serve on many of the local institutions, and the sincerity of his sympathy with every movement for the welfare of the place found generous expression in financial help.

Many Benefactors: Among other steps in this direction, he devoted £9,000 to liquidating the debt on all the churches and chapels in the Hartlepools on the death of his father, as a tribute to his parent's memory and his concern for religious interests. As fortune had blessed him, so he interpreted his stewardship, and extensive contributions were made to the funds of the College of Science, the Victoria Alms-houses, the Missions to Seamen, the Bishop of Durham’s Church Extension Scheme, and so  far afield as the York County Hospital. He gave a swimming bath to West Hartlepool at a cost of £5,000; provided an Art Gallery and Museum, greatly assisted the Hartlepool Corporation Housing Scheme, and founded the Hartlepools Hospital Trust with a gift of £3,000—a fund which has grown enormously. St, Hilda's Church restoration fund benefited by a gift of £12,000. In the long  tale of his benefactions to his native place and fellow citizens should be recorded the purchase of  “Staincliffe” at Seaton Carew, which he equipped and presented as a Convalescent Home for the employees of the firm, as “Gray’s Recreation Scheme.”

During the South African war, he did much towards equipping the Northumberland and Durham Yeomanry for service; and when the European War opened, Sir William was equally ready with financial aid in raising the 18th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry. In September 1915, Sir William acquired Hawkstone Park, near Shrewsbury, which he ran at his own expense as a convalescent home for wounded officers, while he also provided a large house at West Hartlepool for the purpose of a V.A.D. hospital.

A Good Employer: Sir William Gray’s general popularity in the Hartlepools was reinforced by his reputation as a good employer, his accessibility to his workmen, and his readiness to discuss grievances. His frank and courteous bearing, his genial manners and freedom from class prejudice, ensured a respect and esteem not always enjoyed by the great industrial leader. He was too much immersed in business to respond to the desire of the local Conservatives that he should seek Parliamentary honours, but his strong Imperialism made him a valuable counter-balance to the strong Liberal interests in the Hartlepools. Local esteem was manifested by the honorary freedom of both Hartlepool and West Hartlepool in 1920.

Sir William was married in 1891 to Miss K. Casebourne, of Greatham, and they had a family of four daughters and one son.

In 1900, Sir William Gray purchased the Membland estate in South Devon, the seat of the late Lord Revelstoke, and was made a Justice of the Peace for that county. Finding, however, that his engagements in the North occupied so much of his time he, in 1904, Became the owner of the Thorpe Perrow property at Bedale which belonged to the late Sir F. Milbank, Bart., where he had since resided. He was Magistrate for the North Riding and for County Durham, and was made Deputy Lieutenant for the latter county and served as High Sheriff three years later. “

NOTE This news report inaccurately says he was born at Tunstall Manor which is incorrect. He was born at The Cottage Greatham as it first part of the text.