Heritage Strategy - Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

stockton-on-Tees <strong>Heritage</strong> <strong>Strategy</strong>
Robert Ropner. This yard produced the third largest
tonnage in the country in the late 19th century.
In 1917 A new yard was constructed at Haverton Hill and
while the recession and industrial disputes in the mid to
late 1920s took their toll on the industry in <strong>Stockton</strong> and
Thornaby with all the yards closing by the early 1930s,
the Haverton Hill yard survived going from strength to
strength until the latter part of the 20th Century.
A grand total of almost 1500 iron and steel ships were
built in <strong>Stockton</strong> and Thornaby over a period of only 80
years. Numerous wooden ships were built in the same
area over a much longer period. Today there is no sign of
an industry that was such an important part of the
history of <strong>Stockton</strong>.
Other industries
Ropemaking associated with <strong>Stockton</strong>'s role as a
shipbuilding centre was also an important industry. The
town imported 1,178 tons of hemp in 1825. <strong>Stockton</strong>'s
Ropery Street indicates where this industry was sited.
Cotton was made for a short time at South <strong>Stockton</strong>
from a Cotton Mill established in 1839. The <strong>Stockton</strong>
Sugar Refinery was situated at a place called 'Sugar House
Open' dated from 1780. It was the only sugar refinery
between Hull and Newcastle.
Brickmaking became important from the late 17th
century when brick became the preferred building
material. Brickworks sprang up throughout the Borough,
many small and short lived. When machinery was
introduced in the mid 19th century, brickworks became
larger although by the early 20th century there were only
a handful remaining.
In 1825 William Smith opened his 'Stafford Pottery at
South <strong>Stockton</strong> (Thornaby-on-Tees) followed in 1860 by a
factory at <strong>Stockton</strong> called the North Shore Pottery. Other
potteries included the Ainsworth's white and printed
ware pottery of North <strong>Stockton</strong> and the Harwoods
Norton Pottery which specialised in the so-called
'Sunderland Ware'.
iron, steel and engineering
Until the mid 19th century ironworks had consisted of a
few small foundries producing items for shipbuilding and
agriculture. This all changed with the coming of the
railways and industry requiring large quantities of iron
and helped by the discovery of ironstone in North
Yorkshire. The first blast furnaces were built at Port
Clarence in 1854 followed closely by <strong>Stockton</strong> (The
Malleable) and Norton. More were built at Stillington,
Thornaby and Bowesfield within the next few years. The
Norton works lasted less than 25 years, but became
famous for casting the original “Big Ben” bell for the
Houses of Parliament. Many of the others lasted into the
20th century with the Malleable diversifying into pipes.
Associated with iron making, a large number of
engineering firms opened. One of these Head Wrightson
of Thornaby built bridges, piers, steel works and
eventually equipment for the atomic power industry. One
small sideline was railway locomotives, one of which
proudly stands on a roundabout in <strong>Stockton</strong>. Ashmore
Benson and Pease of <strong>Stockton</strong> concentrated on gas
works, steel works and chemical works.
ICI
31