Our glorious history

A NEW scheme will see Wearside youngsters researching the history of shipbuilding. Today we find out why.

SUNDERLAND was once known as the biggest shipbuilding town in the world – and now young people from the city are about to find out why.

Hendon youngsters are to research the history of shipbuilding, and its impact on Sunderland, after winning a £25,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The project, Shipwrights & Singin Hinnies, is being run by the Northumbria Coalition Against Crime, a charity which supports young people. Heather Armstrong, youth and community manager for the Coalition, said: "We see young people as the solution, not the problem.

"We work towards long-term change by challenging attitudes and behavior, educating and supporting. We have found heritage projects as a good way to encourage young people to be part of their local community."

The Coalition has run successful heritage projects in the past and Heather believes their shipbuilding project will go down well in Sunderland.

She added: "This project is an ideal opportunity for younger and older generations to mix.

"The young people will interview former shipyard workers and their families and invite them to open days and exhibitions to view their work.

"The group from Hendon will learn a lot about Sunderland’s heritage, but I’m certain older members of the community will also learn something as well.

"They will see the positive side of young people and will share in celebrating the city’s famous shipbuilding past."

The young people taking part are from Hendon Young People’s Project and will be supported by youth worker Andrew Clark.

He said: "We will show how Sunderland was once the biggest shipbuilding town in the world. At their peak the shipyards on the Wear employed tens of thousands of men and women.

"It was a family industry and often young people finished school on a Friday and started work in the yards the following Monday, working with their fathers, brothers, uncles and cousins.

"Our research will look at families whose lives were centered around shipbuilding and how traditions were passed from generation to generation.

"We will also look at the decline of the industry and the impact it had on Sunderland and the legacy it has for people who suffer from industrial injuries and diseases."

At the end of the project, the young people will produce a book, DVD and drama scenes from their research.

Keith Bartlett, Heritage Lottery fund manager for the North East, said: "This is a great example of a youth-led community scheme.

"It offers plenty of opportunities for people to get involved and make a difference to the way that local traditions and ways of life are perceived and remembered."

Funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Young Roots Programme – a scheme encouraging teenagers to become involved in their local heritage – is being used to fund the project.

Mr Clark added: "The young people would like to hear from anyone who would like share their memories of working and living in a shipbuilding community."

Anyone willing to take part in the scheme should contact Andrew on 0191 230 0808.

The shipping capital of the world

THE banks of the Wear were once "studded with small shipbuilding yards as far as the tide flowed", according to 19th-century historian William Brockie.

Indeed, space was at such a premium along the water’s edge that one yard had to carry out a roof-top launch – after a house was built in front of its slipway.

The first recorded shipbuilder on the Wear was Thomas Menville, who was granted space for building boats at Hendon by the Bishop in 1346.

But it was another 450 years before one of the greatest shipbuilding families, Scotsmen John Laing and his brother Philip, moved to Sunderland in 1793.

The pair founded what was to become one of Britain’s longest surviving shipbuilding firms, flourishing through the demands of the Napoleonic Wars from 1801 to 1815.

The John Crown Yard was opened at Monkwearmouth during this period and, by 1819, Sunderland enjoyed a reputation as the best shipbuilding business in England.

Austin and Sons was the next big-name yard to open in 1826 and, by 1834, Sunderland’s shipping output almost equalled the gross tonnage of all the other shipbuilding towns put together, according to the 1834 Lloyd’s Register.

The year 1837 saw George Bartram launch his shipbuilding firm at Hylton, while in 1838 William Pickersgill was building ships in the North Dock.

William Doxford then founded his first yard at Cox Green in 1840, later moving the operation to Pallion in 1857, where it became one of the world’s greatest yards.

Robert Thompson and his three sons built a yard a North Sands in 1846, which flourished for the next 130 years, later being named JL Thompsons.

And in 1850 the Short Brothers yard was founded by George Short at Mowbray Quay. It built wooden ships for 20 years before moving to a new site at Pallion.

Shipbuilding on the River Wear flourished for the next 100 years, although the "Hungry Thirties" left many yards lying idle for years.

The Second World War, however, saw demand for ships rapidly increase and, on March 6, 1947, three ship launches within 60 minutes were recorded.

Changes were afoot, however, and in 1954 Austin’s merged with the Pickersgill yard and sadly closed 10 years later.

Bartram’s was then taken over by Austin and Pickersgill (A&P) in 1968, again closing 10 years later. A&P became the last yard to close in 1988.