In 1294, Edward I commissioned a set of galleys from a number of English ports. One of these was at Newcastle and the accounts for it survive. The keel was 135ft long, propelled by 60 oars and a sail.

The timber derived from Heworth and Gateshead and arrived by boat from Gateshead. The wages of carpenters totalled £66, 4s, 1.75d and lasted for 41 weeks. There were 21 employees altogether including a master shipwright, his assistant, carpenters, hammer-men, 'holders-up', painters, a squad for launching the ship, berthing, rigging, smiths, sawyers and a watchmen. The fact a ship of this scale was built here may be indicative of a known shipbuilding industry at Newcastle - a town which was still small and burgeoning at this time. Archaeological excavations at the Law Courts indicate the shipyard may have been located here next to Broad Chare.

Sadly, we don't know any further about other shipbuilding yards in early Medieval Newcastle.