Robert Thompson's Bridge Dockyard
Robert Thompson's Bridge Dockyard
HER Number
2754
District
Sunderland
Site Name
Robert Thompson's Bridge Dockyard
Place
Monkwearmouth
Map Sheet
NZ35NE
Class
Maritime
Site Type: Broad
Marine Construction Site
Site Type: Specific
Shipyard
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Hanoverian 1714 to 1837
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.
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
439540
Northing
557470
Grid Reference
NZ439540557470
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;