Wood Skinner Bill Quay Shipbuilder

Above photo is of the Wood Skinner Yard in the early 1930s

Wood, Skinner & Co built ships in Bill Quay, on the eastern edge of Gateshead, for forty years. The original partners were William Wood, of Jesmond, and James Skinner, of South Shields. James Skinner had experience of shipbuilding at the former Coutts yard at Low walker and later as manager for Andrew Leslie at Hebburn. William Wood had been cashier at the yard of Schlesinger, Davis next to CS Swan & Hunter at Wallsend.

In 1883 the old Bottle Works site was cleared, with the Bottle House Chapel of 1839 being pulled down and the empty Union Chemical Works vanished. The stocks and slipways were then built on the site. The yard had a river frontage of 380 feet and six slipways by 1885. In the early 1920s the number of slipways was increased to 8 and the largest of these could take a tramp ship of 500ft in length. However, they did not build the ships’ engines, they bought them in from a variety of local companies.

At first the yard built coasters and short-sea traders, either in iron or in steel, with many of them of the quarter-deck or well-deck designs then popular. Scandinavian contracts formed a major part of the yard output for 20 years. The most important local customer was the Burnett Steamship Co Ltd of Newcastle that ordered some 30 vessels from the yard over the years.

Until 1925, when the yard failed financially, Wood-Skinners had built more than 230 ships at Bill Quay. The partially completed hull of their last ship, a collier, can be seen at the top left corner of the photo and it remained there to rust away until finally broken up in the late 1930s.

The yard was acquired by National Shipbuilders Security Ltd in 1939 and was sold at auction in April that year.

Yd No	Year	Ship Name	D / H / P
1	1885	Tilsco	D / H
2	1885	Tweed	D / H
3	1886	Pontoon Hospital	D / H / P
4	1887	Cragside	D / H
5	1887	Sodium	D / H / P
6	1888	Gabalva	D / H
8	1887	Platon	D / H
9	1888	Nicolai	D / H
10	1888	Framnes	D / H / P
11	1888	Jesmond	D / H
12	1889	County Antrim	D / H
13	1889	Transit	D / H / P
14	1889	Activ	D / H / P
15	1889	Skarpsno	D / H / P
16	1889	Tonsberg	D / H
17	1889	Angelus	D / H / P
18	1889	Boldon	D / H
19	1890	Viceroy	D / H
20	1890	Walker	D / H
21	1890	Cossack	D / H
22	1890	Kong Inge	D / H
23	1890	Kong Trygve	D / H
24	1890	Tamarind	D / H / P
25	1890	Oscarshal	D / H
26	1890	Gyda	D / H / P
27	1890	Frogner	D / H / P
28	1891	Skuld	D / H
29	1891	Kitty	D / H
30	1891	Cheviot	D / H / P
31	1891	Tynemouth	D / H / P
32	1891	Dordrecht	D / H / P
33	1891	Skinningrove	D / H / P
34	1892	Skuld	D / H
35	1892	Tjomo	D / H / P
36	1892	Helene	D / H
37	1892	Cairnavon	D / H / P
38	1892	Ragna	D / H / P
39	1892	Kilsyth	D / H
40	1892	Cairnmore	D / H / P
41	1892	Cragside	D / H / P
42	1893	Sultan	D / H
43	1893	Skeffington	D / H / P
44	1893	Holmside	D / H / P
46	1893	Wallsend	D / H / P
47	1893	James Tennant	D / H / P
49	1894	Rose	D / H / P
50	1894	Campeador	D / H
51	1894	Balboa	D / H
52	1894	Mary Toovey	D / H
53	1894	Ariel	D / H / P
54	1895	Bamburgh	D / H / P
55	1895	Marsden	D / H
56	1895	Sliedrecht	D / H / P
57	1895	Northumberland	D / H / P
58	1895	Rose	D / H
59	1896	Folsjo	D / H / P
60	1896	Breeze	D / H / P
61	1896	T W Stuart	D / H / P
62	1896	Hermes	D / H
63	1896	Rosemount	D / H / P
64	1897	St Hilda	D / H / P
65	1897	Hermod	D / H
66	1897	Helios	D / H
67	1897	Crest	D / H / P
68	1898	Paris	D / H / P
69	1898	Elswick	D / H / P
70	1898	St Mary	D / H / P
71	1898	Lovaine	D / H
72	1898	Anglia	D / H
73	1898	Mercia	D / H
74	1898	Helios	D / H / P
75	1898	Gosforth	D / H / P
76	1898	Pearl	D / H / P
77	1899	Muristan	D / H / P
78	1898	Stamfordham	D / H
79	1898	Clifton	D / H
80	1899	Crewe	D / H / P
81	1899	Gilderoy	D / H
82	1899	Alroy	D / H
83	1899	Hugin	D / H
84	1899	Hydra	D / H
85	1899	Hirundo	D / H / P
86	1900	Daphne	D / H / P
87	1900	Telefon	D / H / P
88	1900	Atlas	D / H / P
89	1900	Doris	D / H
90	1900	Paris	D / H / P
91	1900	Heworth	D / H
92	1900	Hebburn	D / H / P
93	1900	Donnacona	D / H / P
94	1900	Birtley	D / H
95	1901	Campania	D / H
96	1901	Stirling Castle	D / H
97	1901	Recorder	D / H
98	1901	Yeoman	D / H / P
99	1901	Deux Charentes	D / H / P
100	1901	La Vienne	D / H
101	1902	Tynemouth	D / H
102	1901	Ole Bull	D / H
103	1901	Romsdal	D / H
104	1901	Marsden	D / H / P
105	1902	Paris	D / H / P
106	1902	Sneppe	D / H / P
107	1902	Varna	D / H / P
108	1902	Britannia	D / H / P
109	1902	R T C Screw Keel No 3	D / H
110	1903	Gerd	D / H / P
111	1903	Coaster	D / H / P
112	1903	Helmsman	D / H / P
113	1903	Bentinck	D / H / P
114	1903	Hartley	D / H
115	1903	Lewis	D / H / P
116	1904	Carmelina	D / H / P
117	1904	Lucy Andersen	D / H / P
118	1904	Simone	D / H / P
119	1904	Jeanne	D / H / P
120	1904	Eddie	D / H
121	1904	Trader	D / H / P
122	1904	Gosforth	D / H / P
123	1904	Towneley	D / H / P
124	1904	Arrival	D / H / P
125	1905	Leafield	D / H / P
126	1905	Hjortholm	D / H / P
127	1905	Svanholm	D / H / P
128	1905	Taarnholm	D / H / P
129	1905	Eslington	D / H / P
130	1906	Helios	D / H / P
131	1906	Hellas	D / H
132	1906	Carl	D / H / P
133	1906	Ragnar	D / H / P
134	1906	Birtley	D / H / P
135	1906	Horden	D / H
136	1906	Cygnus	D / H / P
137	1906	Ariel	D / H / P
138	1906	John O Scott	D / H / P
139	1907	Vera	D / H / P
140	1907	Daisy	D / H / P
141	1907	B F	D / H / P
142	1907	Anine	D / H / P
143	1907	Hestia	D / H / P
144	1907	Delia	D / H
145	1907	Burnhope	D / H / P
146	1907	Elfrida	D / H / P
147	1908	Hebburn	D / H
148	1907	Sofie	D / H
149	1908	Flora	D / H / P
150	1908	Deux Freres	D / H / P
151	1908	S 30	D / H
152	1908	S 31	D / H
153	1908	S 32	D / H
154	1908	S 33	D / H
155	1908	S 34	D / H
156	1908	Stamboul	D / H / P
157	1909	San Miguel	D / H / P
158	1909	Kingswear	D / H / P
159	1909	Tynemouth	D / H / P
160	1909	Barmoor	D / H / P
161	1909	Belgique	D / H / P
162	1909	Steersman	D / H / P
163	1910	Blacktoft	D / H / P
164	1910	San Remo	D / H / P
165	1910	Towneley	D / H
166	1910	Marsden	D / H / P
167	1910	Kamma	D / H
168	1911	Hunnia	D / H / P
169	1911	San Andres	D / H
170	1911	San Mateo	D / H / P
171	1911	Medlock	D / H / P
172	1911	Irk	D / H / P
173	1911	Bangor	D / H / P
174	1911	South Shields	D / H / P
175	1912	Campeiro	D / H / P
176	1912	Salonica	D / H / P
177	1912	San Jose	D / H / P
178	1912	Betty	D / H / P
179	1912	Fulgens	D / H / P
180	1912	Combe	D / H / P
181	1913	Michael Whitaker	D / H / P
182	1913	Salamanca	D / H / P
183	1913	Sevilla	D / H
184	1913	Ascain	D / H
185	1913	Petridge	D / H
186	1913	Dredger No 2	D / H
187	1914	Springwell	D / H / P
188	1914	Edwin Hunter	D / H / P
189	1914	Sardinia	D / H
190	1914	Salerno	D / H
191	1914	Grinkle	D / H
192	1915	Keynes	D / H / P
193	1915	Boucau	D / H
194	1915	Tayo II	D / H
195	1917	Unnamed hopper	D / H
196	1916	Horden	D / H / P
197	1917	Tynemouth	D / H / P
198	1916	Guethary	D / H / P
199	1917	Bidart	D / H
200	1917	Flamma	D / H / P
201	1915	Scarab	D / H / P
202	1916	Tarantula	D / H / P
203	1918	Lucient	D / H / P
204	1917	Burnhope	D / H / P
205	1917	Wallsend	D / H
206	1918	Lord Rhondda	D / H / P
207	1918	Lady Rhondda	D / H / P
210	1918	War Balloon	D / H
211	1918	War Javelin	D / H
212	1918	War Down	D / H / P
213	1919	War Summit	D / H
214	1920	Norefos	D / H / P
215	1920	Ramfos	D / H / P
216	1919	Orion	D / H / P
217	1920	Venus	D / H / P
218	1920	Gaslight	D / H / P
219	1920	San Jose	D / H
220	1920	Whitemantle	D / H / P
221	1921	Sevilla	D / H / P
	1922	B H C High Ferry No 2	D / H / P
222	1922	Segovia	D / H / P
223	1922	Sandysike	D / H / P
225	1923	Rotha	D / H / P
226	1921	Ethylene	D / H / P
227	1923	Harvest Queen	D / H
230	1923	Birtley	D / H / P
231	1923	Towneley	D / H
232	1924	Marsden	D / H / P
233	1924	Ashley	D / H / P
234	1924	Hebburn	D / H / P
235	1924	Letchworth	D / H / P
236	1924	Thornhope	D / H
237	1925	Usworth	D / H
----	------	---------------------------	----------