TYNE BUILT SHIPS
A history of Tyne shipbuilders and the ships that they built

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Above: Select the required shipbuilder by using initial letter of the surname eg: Armstrong, Palmer or Readhead.
KEY BELOW: D / H / P (D means basic dimensions are shown; H means a history is given; P means one or more photographs are available)
Below: (TT) indicates that the link will open up in a new window belonging to our sister web site Tyne Tugs


Shipbuilder: Clelands Graving Dock & Slipway Co Ltd, Willington Quay (1876 - 1932)

Above: A section from the Ordnance Survey map for 1897

William Cleland established his yard at the Willington Slipways in 1866 (see the above map and the site between the Tharsis Copper Works and the Tyne Iron Shipbuilding yard). This yard had previously been operated by a number of shipbuilders before he moved there. William Cleland had Clyde origins and was initially a manager for T & W Smith of North Shields. In the 1860s he left Smiths and moved to the yard of Palmer Brothers at Willington Quay. However after Palmers became a limited company in 1865 he left to begin business for himself. The business was incorporated as a limited liability company in 1872. Following William Cleland's death in 1876, the company concentrated mainly on repair work until the mid 1930s.

The following ships were built by the company:

Yd No Year Ship Name D / H / P
1894 Mary D / H
3 1898 Majestic (TT) D / H / P
4 1899 Lilydale D / H
5 1900 Dilston Castle D / H
6 1900 Kielder Castle D / H