A/S FRAMNÆS MEK VÆRKSTED

Kristoffer Freng Wegger

A/S Framnæs mek Værksted has its origin mainly in 3 earlier shipyards.

1.       Klavenessverven 1816-1861

2.       Lyhmanns mek Værksted 1861-1882

         Sandefjord mek Verksted 1882-1892

2.       Søebergverven 1826-1865

         Rødsverven 1865-1878

         Framnæs Skipverft 1878-1892

         Framnæs mek Værksted 1892-1898

         A/S Framnæs mek Værksted 1898-1986

Christen Christensen took over Rødsverven in 1868 and bought the other yards one by one, and he started Sandefjord Flytedokker A/S in 1884.

In 1892 he privately owned almost all of the properties that later became A/S Framnæs mek.Værksted. He had also in the meantime, bought Kamfjordverven and Stubbverven.

Mainly caused by the need to finance the convertion to steel ship building

he reorganized the yard financially to a shareholders company in 1898.

Sandefjord Flytedokker was dissolved and the two docks sold. New docks were then built by the yard.

KLAVENESSVERVEN 1816-1861

Sheriff, farmer, yard owner and ship owner Tor Åkessønn Klaveness (13/9-1767 to 31/5-1854) established in 1816 a place for keelhauling and later a ship building berth at Framnes.

The place for keelhauling was situated where the carpenter shop later was built, and the building berth north-eastly of this.

In 1832 his son Åke Klaveness took over the management of the yard  until his death in 1853, and then his father, Tor Klaveness again took over the management as the main creditor.

Åke Klaveness eldest son Henrik Klaveness took over in 1857 and he sold it later to Joseph Lyhmann in 1861.

LYHMANNS MEK.VÆRKSTED 1861-1882

SANDEFJORD MEK.VERKSTED 1882-1892.

The owner, business man and ship owner Joseph Lyhmann (18/9-1825 to 15/4-1915) built in 1861 Lyhmanns mek.Verksted approximately where A/S Framnæs mek.Værksted engine shop where located, a little more north-west of today's Skagerak Gymnas.

Here he started manufacturing mostly agricultural machinery, such  as threshing machines and chaff-cutters, plough and milling equipment.

Amongst other thing, Norway's first threshing machine. He also manufactured bicycles, may be the first built in Norway as well! Further he made steam boats of steel and including steam engines, and also steam engines and equipment for saw mills, and boiling equipment for whaling as well.

In the autumn of 1882 Lyhmann sold the industry to the engineers Hetlesæter and Solberg. The industry was renamed Sandefjord mek.Verksted.

After having done various mechanical activities, they also built many steamships made of steel, they faced a bankruptcy in 1886.

Mr. Lyhmann who was the industries main creditor took back the facility and sold it in 1889 to Capt. A.M.Aamundsen and the engineer Jacob Moe and Adolf Top.

They built and repaired steam ships, turbines, boilers, mills and saw mill machines, and repair of sealing ship and other ships that came for docking.

It didn't go so well, and in 1892 the business facility was sold to Christen Christensen.

After Mr. Lyhmann in 1882 sold the facility he lived at "Birkerød" for some time. Here he had a small shop where he made grinding- and polishing machines for knives. He keept poultry and bees, and made and sold honey separators. He also sold and bought ships.

Mr. Lyhmann ended up as a business man in Oslo , where he himself stood behind the counter. Mr. Lyhmann married twice.The second time through an advertisement in a newspaper. His last wife was 14 years younger than his eldest daughter. They had four children, the youngest, and his son Gaute was born in 1907. Mr. Lyhmann was then at an age of 82 years old.

SØEBERGVERVEN 1826-1865

RØDSVERVEN 1865-1878

FRAMNÆS SKIPSVERFT 1878-1892

FRAMNÆS MEK.VÆRKSTED 1892-1898

A/S FRAMNÆS MEK.VÆRKSTED 1898-1986

“MÅNEDSLØYTNANT”, timber merchant and ship owner Peder Søeberg (dead 1863) came to Sandefjord in 1807 to join the coast guard.

In autumn 1808 he conquered a swedish and a brittish ship outside Vallø. He purchased one of these from the government and he settled down in Sandefjord as a ship owner and business man.

In 1826 he started building ships at Søebergverven which was located north-east of the former boiler shop at A/S Framnæs mek.Værksted, with the building berth pointing north-west where the biggest floating dock used to be.

The ship yards tug M/S DAVID was the last ship launched from this building berth in 1930.

In the same year as Peder Søeberg leased this site he also bought Stubbverven.

From the middle of the1830’s he entered in a cooperation with the sail maker, business man, yard owner and ship owner Søren Lorentz Christensen (9/4-1810 to 5/5-1862), who from 1842 and onwards built a number of ships here.

In 1850 Søren Lorentz Christensen bought half of the Søebergverven from Mr. Søeberg.

Søren Lorentz Christensen became relatively early a tired man, and died at the age of 52.

The widow Otilie, born Kruge, had then already been in charge of the management of the business for some years, and she continued to do so until her son, yard owner, ship owner and whaling manager Christen Christensen (9/9-1845 to 16/11-1923), took over as manager in the year of 1868.

Later A/S Framnæs mek.Værksted started the numbering their new buildings from that date. New building no.1 was "Sleipner", built by Christen Christensen for his mother Otilie Christensen.

Christen Christensen was a very enterprising man and bought all the surrounding ship yards and properties. When Christen Christensen in 1879 moved from his private home in the town of Sandefjord (later butcher Lauritz Pedersens home) to Framnæsodden, he had become the sole owner of Rødsverven and the Langestrand area.

He laid out an apple garden in the same area as the Framnæs mek.Verksted later on had their ship building berth. The house was later on dismantled and moved to South-Georgia as the administrator residence.

In 1892 he also bought Lyhmanns mek.Verksted or Sandefjord mek.Verksted as the name was at that time, and renamed it Framnæs mek.Værksted. He owned at that time practically all properties and facilities which  Framnæs mek.Værksted owned later on.

In the meantime he had in 1884 established Sandefjord Flytedokker A/S (Sandefjord Dry Docks A/S). They owned two wooden floating docks, and had a close cooperation with the yard in general.

As it gradually became necessary to change over from building ship of wood to build ship of steel, and in that respect to do some costly investments, the shipyard in 1989 became a joint-stock company, namely A/S Framnæs mek.Værksted.

Christen Christensen was still a dominating share holder, as his descendants has been since then.

From 1899 to his death I 1923 he was a chairman of the company. He were also the leader of the yard in 55 years, besides also founder, main share holder, chairman and daily leader of the worlds largest seal hunting company, A/S Oceana, established in Sandefjord in 1887 and registered in Sandefjord in 1891.

The biggest contribution Christen Christensen did was within the whaling business, where he started whaling in the Antarctic.

PROPERTIES

A/S Framnæs mek.Værksteds landed property is mainly separated from a farm by the name of “Vestre Rød”. The eldest known name on the farm is Rud in Velløy, and the first, historical known owner was the landowner Svale Jonsson Smør. In years of 1620-30 the Vestre Rød belongs to the feudal overlord, admiral Ove Gjedde, and was later included as a speck in his son-in-law, Niels Langes big estate. When Niels Langes bankruptcy was settled, Vestre Rød in 1667 was first transferred to mayor Marcus Barenholts property and then to Vilhelm Mechelsberg.

In 1972 Vestre Rød was redeemed by Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve, and then it became county estate. In 1805 the county estate was sold to King Fredrik VI, who again in 1817sold it to a share holder company in Larvik, namely the gentlemen: county governor Michael Falk, dean J.F.Sartz, business man Matthias Sartz and the cashier at Fritsø Jernverk, Gether (also called the badgers).

In September 1835 they had to surrender the properties to department counsel Mr Villum Fredrik Treschow, who at the 11th of same month bought the claims of the county from King Fredrik VI.

His intension was to keep the wood and sell the farmland.

In that way sheriff Tor Klaveness, 4/1-1838 bought farm no.1 from Vestre Rød (the farm Vestre Rød was at that time parted in two).

Included was also a property he leased in 1816 for Klavenessverven, but not the part that Peder Søeberg leased in 1826 for Søebergverven.

Henrik Klaveness, the grandson of Tor Klaveness, took over this property by means of an auction convey of 21/2-1857, and sold it later 30/3-1861 to Joseph Lyhmann.

In 1826 Peder Søeberg bought first the Stubbverven from Jacob and Søren Hauene, and he took on lease the site to the Søebergverven the same year.

This site Joseph Lymann buyes from Michael Treschow on a convey of 9/12-1864.

By a convey of 6/6-1865 Joseph Lyhmann sold the site to Henrik Klaveness.

By a convey of 21/3-1874 Joseph Lyhmann and Henrik Klaveness sold the whole site of Søebergverven to the business man Jon Elisæus Sanne Wetlesen (father of art painter Wilhelm Wetlesen and brother-in-law of Christen Christensen).(My cousin Maren Else "Messa" Grimnes was married to the son of art painter Jon Wetlesen).

In the summer of 1872 Chisten Christensen, shopkeeper P.C.Pedersen, shopkeeper G.Wierød and Christen Lorentz Sørensen d.y. from Nordby built a steam sawmill at Svines by the lake Gogsjø .

This came in to the owner ship of sheriff Bjørndal and Ole and Anders Skorges the summer of 1916. This was named Gogsjø Dampsag.

According the convey, registered 27/11-1874 J.E.S.Wetlesen did sell his part in the Rødsverven (Søebergverven) to Gogsjø Dampsag, who on 23/4-1878 transferred this site to Christen Christensen.

31/10-1876 Christen Christensen bought from Joseph Lymann that part of Vestre Rød  that reach from Rødsverven and out to Langestrandsbekken.

By convey dated 8/1-1892 Christen Christensen bought Sandefjord mek.Verksted, former Lyhmanns mek.Verksted, and later the same year also Stubbverven.

Vestre Rød was already in the year of 1757 parted in two farms.

From 1821 to 1855 the farm no.2 was run by Hans Perssøn Holtan. In 1857 farm no.2 was sold to Martin Larsen Bettum {grandfather of Frithjof Bettum (ref.A.Jahres rederi)}. Christen Christensen bought in may 1878 from Martin Larsen a lot south of Langestrandsbekken and further out to the property of Mr.Gjelstad in south.

Christen Christensen then became the private owner of all the land A/S Framnæs mek.Værksted took over in the year of 1898, and has since then been the owner of