Palmers Shipbuilding Works

A wood shipyard occupied a stretch of the Jarrow riverside from the 1830s. It was subsumed in Palmer's Shipyard which was founded in 1851 as a dedicated iron shipyard by the Palmer brothers. The main product of the yard was Colliers but steamers and also warships, including submarines during World War One, were built. In 1906 electric overhead trolley cranes on elliptical gantries were installed. The Jarrow yard became almost completely integrated and self sufficient - an engine works was set up in 1853 and in 1857, Palmer purchased ironstone mines at Port Mulgrave, Whitby, North Yorkshire and set up four blast furnaces next to the shipyard. The Bede Metal Co Ltd. was set up in 1862 to supply copper to the shipyard. In 1863 The Engineer commented that Palmer's "was the only works in England where every branch of manufacturing is done on the premises-from the delivery of ore at one end of the yard till it leaves the dock at the other in the form of a finished ship." In 1933 Palmers closed and was acquired by National Shipbuilders Security Ltd. In 1935 the site was demolished, though the 715 feet Hebburn dry dock was taken over by Vickers-Armstrong and continued in use as Palmers Hebburn Ltd. The layout of the works is charted on the 1st to 4th edition Ordnance Survey maps.