South Shields, Metcalfe's Dock

HER Number:
2343

District:
S Tyneside

Site Name:
South Shields, Metcalfe's Dock

Place:
South Shields

Map Sheet:
NZ36NE

Class:
Maritime

Site Type: Broad:
Dock and Harbour Installation

Site Type: Specific:
Dock

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
The first named reference to Metcalfe’s Dock is from 1813. In 1826, the Brandling Junction Railway required access to the riverside for a series of coal lines and bought the land on which the dock was situated for £8000. Metcalfe retained his tenancy and continued to work on the site although rail lines running to coal staiths enclosed the dock to north and south. The land remained in the ownership of successive rail companies, including the York and Newcastle Railway. In 1885, the last Metcalf retired from the business, and the yard was taken over by the Moralee family. The 1st edition Ordnance Survey plan shows the yard consisting of one graving dock with a building slip to the south. Three cranes sit on the riverside and a saw pit lies a little way to the south of the graving dock.

Easting:
3574

Northing:
6667

Grid Reference:
NZ35746667

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 2343 >> 1st edition Ordnance Survey Map, c.1855, 6 inch scale, Durham, 4 The Archaeological Practice, 2002, Shipbuilding on Tyne and Wear - Prehistory to Present. Tyne & Wear Historic Environment Record.