Hebburn, Newcastle Shipbuilding Co. Ltd Shipbuilding Yard

Newcastle shipowner Sir John Crass, Harald Merrylee and N. Hunter-Doeg formed the Newcastle Shipbuilding Co. Ltd in August 1919 to take advantage of a post war boom in the shipbuilding industry. The shiprepairing business of Huntley was purchased at Hebburn with one slip and a few workshops. Around 60,000 tons of ballast was removed before the new yard was constructed. Three berths were complete by early 1920 and the first keel was laid on 26th February 1920. The first launch took place in December 1920. A dramatic slump in the freight market from April 1921 caused the new yard to close in that year. The 2nd edition Ordnance Survey plan shows a small yard with a slipway (Huntley’s Yard), while the fourth edition plan of 1924 shows the massively expanded yard empty and abandoned. The site has now been landscaped.