Newcastle, medieval galley

In 1294 Edward I commissioned galleys from various English ports and the accounts for that built at Newcastle survive. The keel was 135 feet long and the ship was to be propelled by 60 oars and a sail. The timber cost £50 8s 4d. The nails cost £22 16s 7.5d. Pitch, tar and caulking material cost £11 2s. The carpenter's wages cost £66 4s 1.75d. Work lasted 41 weeks. Some 21 men were employed, 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. Archaeological excavations on the site of the law courts suggest that the building yard lay beside the Pandon Burn. This is the only surviving account for medieval shipbuilding on the River Tyne.