Monkwearmouth, Robert Thompson's Bridge Dockyard

HER Number:
2754

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Monkwearmouth, Robert Thompson's Bridge Dockyard

Place:
Monkwearmouth

Map Sheet:
NZ35NE

Class:
Maritime

Site Type: Broad:
Marine Construction Site

Site Type: Specific:
Shipyard

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
A shipyard was in existence at the base of the steeply sloping valley of the Wear immediately to the west of the site of the yet to be constructed Wearmouth Bridge by the 1820s (see Woods plan of 1817). By the middle of the century, this yard included an assymetrical graving dock, and a range of associated features. Timber yards sat to the east of the yard beyond Wearmouth bridge. In 1881 George Peverall sold the Bridge Shipyard to Robert Thompson, who owned yards at North Sands and Southwick. The graving dock has been backfilled, but the shape is evident in the grassy area to the north-west. The east and west wall of the dock remain exposed.

Easting:
3954

Northing:
5747

Grid Reference:
NZ39545747

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
1st edition Ordnance Survey Map, c.1855, 6 inch scale, Durham, 8; Wood, 1817, Plan of Sunderland, Bishopwearmouth and Monk Wearmouth; The Archaeological Practice, 2002, Shipbuilding on Tyne and Wear - Prehistory to Present; Northern Archaeological Associates, 2017, Sheepfolds, Sunderland - Archaeological Desk Based Assessment, Building Recording and Geological Assessment;