A history of north east shipbuilding: being an attempt to describe and analyse the development of shipbuilding in the North East of England from earliest times to the end of 1967

Abstract

At the end of the 19th century, the United Kingdom produced four out of every five ships built in the whole world, and the North East coast of England, stretching from Blyth in the North to Whitby in the South, was responsible for two out of those five ships. A government enquiry said that the United Kingdom performance was an industrial achievement almost without parallel. Clearly the contribution by the North East was a substantial one. Together with the river Clyde, the North East of England has been the major shipbuilding area in the country and until recently one of the main areas in the whole world. Yet this supremacy did not start to emerge until about half way through the 19th century when iron began to usurp wood and steam began to usurp sail. These two technical changes turned a craft into an industry and no area was as successful in adapting to the new era as the North west coast. Its natural resources of coal and iron were exploited by a group of brilliant entrepreneurs who literally fashioned the industry. They were responsible not only for organising production; they also stimulated technical innovations. The turbine engine was developed in the region; so was the oil tanker. There are many other examples. British - and North East - supremacy lasted for 100 years. By the 1950's competition from other countries and an inability to expand meant that British - and North East - shipbuilding had to yield its place as a world leader. Today Japan is almost as dominant as the United Kingdom was at the end of the 19th century. This story of the rise and fall of a great industry is not yet finished, however. In 1968 there were strong indications that the industry was going through a period of rejuvenation and reinvigoration, ready to challenge foreign competition more strongly than it had done in the 1950's and early l960's.