FREDERICK WENN
Late timber merchant of Great Yarmouth,
and formerly sea captain,
Born 6th. March 1854,
Passed on 19th. July 1932.
"Captain of my sole, direct the course of my ship."
Frederick was born on 6th. March 1854 at Downham Market, Norfolk, 60 miles inland from Great Yarmouth, the youngest child of Elizabeth and Thomas Wenn, a corn and coal merchant. His father died when Frederick was 10 years old, and his mother managed to keep the business going, later helped by her eldest son Arthur until he died, a bachelor, aged 35 in 1888.
At 14 years and six months old, Frederick was indentured for 4 years as a Merchant Navy apprentice with the London-based shipowner George Lidgett (1831-1907), a well known shipowner and Liberal politician, and the son of a ship master from Hull who’d founded a shipping and insurance company in the City of London. Frederick sailed on the ship Himalaya which traded between England and India. In London in early 1873, Frederick, then aged 19, passed the Board of Trade exams and qualified as a second mate. He was probably at sea for the entire next decade. However, between 5th. December 1873 and 9th. March 1874, Frederick appears as a 'Distressed British Seaman' (DBS) in the log books of two steam ships, the Roman and the American. Both vessels belonged to the US Steamship Co and were registered in Southampton; the latter commanded by Edward G. Baynton known as 'Old Ted'. DBS referred to sailors who’d missed their own ship for various reasons such as sickness, or they’d jumped ship, got drunk, or ended up in jail, and were repatriated home on another ship. According to newspaper reports, in March 1874 the American was due in Barbados from Liverpool. Not much else is known about Fredericks time at sea, although as his headstone states he qualified as a captain.
There was no census record for Frederick in 1881, however, in 1883, he was at the Wesleyan Chapel in Downham Market marrying farmers daughter Mary Page Porter. As a corn merchant’s son living in the same small town, Frederick was probably acquainted with Mary and her family for most of his life. At the time of his wedding Frederick was described as being from Kings Lynn, Norfolk and records show he had timber yard at Alexandra Docks in the town. Frederick and Mary would have one child, Dorothy.
In 1882 Frederick established a company importing timber deals and batten ends, and manufacturing boxes and packing cases. In 1888 Frederick, aged 34, became a Freemason, and gave his occupation as 'Merchant'.
By 1891, the family lived at Havelock Road, Great Yarmouth and Frederick had a timber yard at South Gates Road. The yard caught fire, but the blaze was contained with only a small area of the yard destroyed.
Among the timber that Frederick supplied was that to make boxes for packing herrings, bloaters and kippers. In the early 20th. century about 1,000 boats landed 2,000 million fish at Great Yarmouth in a season, most of which was boxes or packed in barrels and exported to Norway, Russia and Germany.
In 1893, Frederick was sued for negligence under the Employer’s Liability Act when a 15 year old, named Bacon, lost his left hand in an accident. Initially, the company were fined 2s 6d, but other incidents came to light and after a lot of fact finding, including inspector’s reports to the Home Office, the lad was awarded a sum equivalent to three year’s wages, amounting to £50, and the company received recommendations about who should operate machinery, their level of training and skill, and the fitting of safety guards on machinery.
On 11th. July 1995, another of Frederick’s premises on South Quay caught fire and a large warehouse storing box-wood and deals stacked up in readiness to be sawn up, was burned to the ground. Efforts directed at saving other warehouses either side of the fire were successful.
In 1911, Frederick and his family lived in a 12 room house at 72 North Quay, Great Yarmouth called 'Melmont', which was directly opposite his North Quay yard. The yard had its own railway siding coming of the line running along the quay from the fish docks to the railway station. The gate into the factory was operated by 'Bacon the gate‑keeper', the lad who lost his hand in 1893
In 1914, Frederick as managing director had premises covered about two acres, including a site at The Docks at Milford Haven, Wales and his company employed 150 staff.
Three days before Frederick’s death, the local Yarmouth Independent newspaper wrote, “Regret to hear …owing to increasing weakness he is confined to his residence. For many years a most useful Port and Haven Commissioner, taking a very active interest in Yarmouth’s shipping and fishing trades. He never failed in attendance at the commissioner’s meetings but for some time it has been obvious that he found it physically difficult. A man of enterprise and ability, he established and built up a prosperous box-making factory … later at spacious premises on North Quay where he has employed a good deal of labour. Much sympathy is expressed to him and his devoted wife.”
Frederick died, aged 78, at his home, The Moorings on Addison Road, Gorleston-on-Sea on 19th. July 1932. At his packed funeral, the pathway to the church was lined by lifeboatmen as a final tribute to him.
Frederick is buried in Gorleston Cemetery along with his wife Mary who died, aged 78, on 20th. October 1934, and his daughter Dorothy who died, aged 70, on 22nd. March 1963.
Frederick's factory was purchased by Jewson's in 1955.
The Wenn family headstone and grave was cleaned by Op Nova in August 2023.
