Although this crane and the associated docks now form part of the Gunwharf Quay shopping centre they were originally part of HMS Vernon the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch which occupied this site from the end of the First World War until 1996.
The Company supplied electric powered cranes to the Southampton Dock Authority in 1892 and developed the first bulk handling cranes in 1927.
During the second World War they built tanks and miniature submarines.