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Shipbuilding Archive.

The North East was the engine of the world. It powered the planet with its coal, but transported it with its ships. Though the docks are filled in, the collective memory of the hard graft and creaking hulls live on. 

The Shipbuilding Archive is an ongoing, long term project to uncover and document every known shipyard in the North East and its location. From medieval times to the 18th and 19th centuries, pinning names and stories to our to our river banks provides even greater meaning to the landscapes around us.

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47.6
95.2
142.8
190.4
238
285.6
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714
761.6
809.2
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952

SUN021

Wear

Doxford Shipyard (East)

Sunderland

Pallion

North of England Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (1882 - 1886), William Doxford, William Doxford & Sons Ltd., Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Sperling Group, Doxford & Sunderland Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd, Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd, British Shipbuilders Ltd

Created:

27 Nov 2024

Updated:

7 Jan 2026

SWI003

Wear

Michael Clark's Shipyard

Sunderland

Low Southwick

Michael Clark, William Nicholson

Created:

29 Aug 2024

Updated:

7 Jan 2026

ALN001

Aln

Alnmouth, Shipyard

Alnmouth

Alnmouth

Unknown

Created:

3 Jan 2026

Updated:

3 Jan 2026

HYL009

Wear

Low Ford Dock

Sunderland

South Hylton

William Naizby

Created:

17 Dec 2025

Updated:

17 Dec 2025

SUN011

Wear

Bartram & Sons, South Dock Shipyard

Sunderland

Sunderland

Arthur Iliff, John Mounsey (1873 - 1879), Iliff & Mounsey & Co. (1866 - 1873), Robert Foster (1873 - 1879) Robert Appleby Bartram, George Haswell (Bartram, Haswell & Co.), George Bartram, William Bartram (Bartram & Sons), Austin and Pickersgill (A&P)

Created:

22 May 2024

Updated:

17 Dec 2025

SUN028

Wear

Bridge Dock

Sunderland

Monkwearmouth

John Laing, Philip Laing (1804 - 1818), George Hall (1822 - 1862), James Hall (1822 - 1831), George Storey Moore (1862 - 1866), George Peverall (1863 - 1866), Robert Thompson & Sons (1881 - 1933), Wear Commissioners (1936)

Created:

30 Apr 2025

Updated:

26 Nov 2025

SUN026

Wear

Deptford, Mills Shipyard

Sunderland

Deptford

Sampson Mills, Peter Mills

Created:

19 Nov 2025

Updated:

19 Nov 2025

SUN018

Wear

Low Southwick Shipyard

Sunderland

Southwick

George Mills, John Mills, Davison & Stokoe

Created:

9 Oct 2024

Updated:

12 Nov 2025

SUN002

Wear

Ayres Quay, Shipyard

Sunderland

Ayres Quay

Thomas Reed, Thomas Embleton, Benjamin Heward, Nathan Horn, Thomas Cairncross, William R Abbay, Thomas Metcalf (Metcalfe)

Created:

10 Mar 2024

Updated:

22 Oct 2025

BIDD02

Wear

Melville Shipyard

Washington

North Biddick

George Melville, Robert Melville

Created:

22 Oct 2025

Updated:

22 Oct 2025

HYL005

Wear

South Hylton, West Shipyard

Sunderland

South Hylton

John Knox, J Knox & Co, McAndrew Cowan & Potts

Created:

16 Apr 2025

Updated:

24 Sept 2025

SUN012

Wear

North Sand Point Shipyard

Sunderland

Monkwearmouth

Edward Lumsden (Snr & Jnr), Rodger Lumsden, Joseph Lumsden, David Baxter

Created:

28 May 2024

Updated:

17 Sept 2025

Background photo: Readhead's Shipyard c1960 by Ronald Sanderson, copyright free from Tyne and Wear Archives

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