Hawthorn Leslies, Hebburn

[John Arton]

The last remnant's of this once world famous yard is set to disappear.
South Tyneside council have applied for the main office building to be de-listed from England's historical building register, in order that they can demolish the much vandalized and derelict building in order to re-develop the last remaining part of the shipyard.
The owners will make a fortune on the salvage market as before it became too dangerous to enter I know that all fixtures and fittings were left intact. Entering it was just like all employers had just left for the night, the drawing boards were still there, the moulds in the lofts, the offices all had there typewriters and the directors board room was intact and plans for most of the ships built there were still in the building.
The yard established in 1880 (I think) was a model for many of todays modern shipyards where the designers used the slope of the river bank to create a flow through production line. Steel was brought in at the top of the slope, passed through the blasting and paint shop, then onto the cutting floor and from thence onto the building floor where sections of hull were fabricated before being moved out onto the slipways. All this with the use of only one gantry crane that ran the whole length of the building with its shortest lift being at the top and as it traversed the length the floor got further and further away allowing bigger structures to be fabricated.
I went on a tour of the yard in the early 70's when they were building a series of rankers (10 in total if I recall) and by that time they had erected a huge new cutting and fabrication shed alongside the dry dock where they used the latest computer guided cutting and welding techniques to build hull sections weighing several hundred tons that would be moved out of the shed on tractor hauled wheelbases, plonked into the drydock and assembled to make a ship. Believe that only one ship was ever constructed in this dock before foreign competition etc. spelt the end of U.K. shipbuilding.
The dry dock is now only used for repair work occasionally and the huge building shed is now occupied by a timber and builders merchants chain.
rgds
JA

[Captain Kong]

I noticed on todays News that on Teeside and around the NE and Workington, the Steel works are all being closed down with hundreds out of work.
They are owned by TATA of India. I guess production will now be done in India, and we give Aid to India,
Whats all that about.
Brian,

[Keith at Tregenna]

The last remnant's of this once world famous yard is set to disappear.
rgds
JA

Maybe of interest:

Tyne built ships:
http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/HawthornLeslie.html

[John Arton]

Keith
Thanks, some great stuff there
rgds
JA

[Frederick Lacey]

John and Keith, you have brought back some memories there, was in digs for a couple of weeks in Hebburn when I joined the Port Adelaide
for its maiden voyage, were in digs while we stocked the ship with stores, food, bedding and all the creature comforts, was the first ship in
Port Line I believe for all the crew to have their own cabins. Signed on first trip on 29-5-51, did 4 trips and left her in June 1953, The skippers
name was Townsend.

Fred.

[Keith at Tregenna]

More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthor...ie_and_Company

K.

[John Arton]

Brian
Steel works not shutting down, but 90 men being made redundant between Workington and Teesside.
Workington steelworks was in a difficult position at the best of time as its sole output was railway lines. There is a story going around that virtually every country in the world that has a rail system, has had at some time had rails manufactured in Workington amongst their tracks.
rgds
JA

[Doc Vernon]

Maybe of interest:

Tyne built ships:
http://www.tynebuiltships.co.uk/HawthornLeslie.html

Great site there with lots of info and Pics too!
Thanks Keith!

[happy daze john in oz]

I noticed on todays News that on Teeside and around the NE and Workington, the Steel works are all being closed down with hundreds out of work.
They are owned by TATA of India. I guess production will now be done in India, and we give Aid to India,
Whats all that about.
Brian,

thing there Brian TATA now own Land Rover group and are putting millions into it. Land rover now have put on 100 additional workers in the last year and are th eonly car company working three shifts.