27.7.16

Blyth Shipyard Closure 1966

The workmen of Blyth Shipyard were on annual leave on the 3rd August 1966 when the editor of the Blyth News was invited to go along to the yard to be briefed on a news item. With all the 1400 workforce away on their holidays what he was actually told was momentous. The shipyard was to close.

Of the 245,000 shares in the Blyth Dock and Shipbuilding Company 242,000 were owned by Moller Trust Ltd of Hong Kong. And the formal redundancy notices the men received soon after, while on annual leave, were postmarked Hong Kong.

Shipyards in 1950s
The loss of heavy industry at that time, which also included some of the town’s coal mines, has often been cited as the start of a demise in Blyth’s fortunes. But were the closures inevitable or was this the product of a foreign management indifferent to the plight of the town?

Eddie Milne was the town’s MP from 1960 to 1974. He spoke on the subject at a House of Commons debate on the 20th Oct 1966 with the Labour Secretary of State for the Board of Trade, Roy Mason:

“The first Ark Royal was built at Blyth, but it is with the present that we are mainly concerned tonight. In the first week in August of this year, the yard was on annual holiday and the editor of the local paper, the Blyth News, on 3rd August, was telephoned and asked to go along to the yard for what was described as an item of news. A receiver had moved in that morning and taken over the running of the yard. Needless to say the town was stunned. Workers on holiday received the news from newspaper reports, and many returned from their holidays to receive the news in envelopes marked Hong Kong.
There is not the time to describe the feeling of desolation that is experienced at a time like this. As anybody in the House will appreciate, it is a matter of great sadness to watch a great industry die. The method of announcing the closure was criminal. No other word could fit the act. Men who had given a lifetime of service to the Blyth Company, in good times and bad, were entitled to treatment better than this.”

Milne accepted that the shipyard was “on a razor’s edge for years” financially. A fleet of ships had recently had their value written down by half and Lloyds Bank had recently loaned the company £539,000. But he asked that the interests of this company be examined by the Board of Trade. The creditors to the Blyth Dock and Shipbuilding Company, he said, were actually companies owned by Moller Ltd. A stormy creditors meeting in September had been chaired by Mr Tucker who had several financial interests in Moller companies. He had savagely criticized the management and workforce despite having only visited the yard on one occasion.

Milne also spoke of the quality of innovative work the yard was producing, diversifying into industrialised house building, factory structures and bridges. The Government had been stressing the further need for shipping to be built. There were mechanisms available to support the industry, for example the new Local Employment Act. He was stating that he thought the Secretary of State should intervene.

Roy Mason replied:

“I assure hon. Members, and my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth in particular, that the Government are not indifferent to the situation created by the closure of the shipyard in Blyth. We appreciate the worry and distress this closure has brought to those employed in the yard and to their families and the importance of ensuring that there should be alternative employment for those put out of work by the closure.
However, I cannot accept the simple proposition that the shipyard should be kept open at all costs. The company appears to have failed because, like many other firms in the industry, it had to take orders at fixed prices at a time when costs, including the cost of labour, were rising. Ships constructed have proved to be unprofitable and the yard had for some time been operating at a loss.
The experience of this yard is not unique in the industry. It was this and similar problems which led us to set up the Geddes Committee.
But things are not as black as this might suggest. The great shipbuilding concentration on the Tyne is not too far away, and skilled shipbuilding labour is scarce there. Alternative employment should be available on the Tyne for many of the Blyth shipbuilding workers. Indeed, of the 470 employees of the Blyth shipyard who have so far been declared redundant, over 80 per cent. have already found alternative employment, and many of them on the Tyne.”

The site is today known as Wimbourne Quay. Shipbuilding had begun on this site in 1811 and various firms owned the yard down the decades. It became the Blyth Shipbuilding and Dock Company Ltd on 2nd March 1883. By 1900 it had taken over the Blyth Dry Dock Company and was able to carry out work on the largest of shipping, including the Ark Royal in 1914. In 1947 the yard was purchased by Mollers (Hong Kong) Ltd. It had four berths and five dry docks.


An eyewitness to the final days of the yard has written about his experiences on bedlington.co.uk website. It is quite a humorous and personal piece. It is worth reading in full. He goes under the handle of Eggy1948. He started the shipyard at age 16 and finished in May 1966 at the same age. He wasn’t hopeful for the yard’s future. There was obviously a feeling among the men that all was not well. He writes:

“No wonder the Japanese could build ships cheaper than us. They did not have to paint the whole town whatever colour the latest ship was being done in. Almost every house in Blyth had a door/shed the same colour as the latest ship… The Japanese blacksmiths did not have to make wrought iron gates for the foreman’s driveways or basketball hoops and fittings for every gable end in Blyth… All charged to the cost of the ship.”

Professor Norman McCord reflected on the findings of the 1992 Royal Commission in the book the “Northern Counties from AD 1000” when he wrote:

“At the beginning of the twentieth century, British shipyards had built 55 per cent of the world’s new tonnage; in 1960 the figure was only 15 per cent and continued to drop. Northern yards did not even hold their share of the shrunken British total, despite some success stories… Shipbuilding expansion overseas would in any event have posed problems for British yards; the catastrophic scale of decline reflected failures by both management and labour.”

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10.7.16

Blyth Quayside's Heritage



Interactive map of Quayside Heritage Trail (may take a few seconds to load on some devices) or click here for stand-alone larger map

Plessey Wagonway

Plessey Road now occupies the course of an old wagonway which brought coals six miles from inland collieries to the quay. The collieries at Plessey were opened in 1663 to take advantage of a rich seam of coal that outcrops at this location. The pits were shallow as the technology was not yet developed to ventilate and pump water from deep and extensive mines. There was eventually eighteen of these shallow pits in the area. The horse-drawn wooden wagonway was opened in 1709 and closed in 1813 when the pits had been exhausted. The course of the wagonway influenced the irregular development of streets in Blyth as the 19th century progressed.

Market Street

The Ordnance Survey mapping from the late 1850 shows what is now called Plessey Road to be Market Street. Writing in 1862 John Wallace states: "The town in 1800 was chiefly on the south side of the Wagon Hill, now Market Street." By the time of the second edition Ordnance Survey (c1897) mapping the market had been established at its present site on the developing area around Waterloo Street.

Breweries (site of)

From the late 17th and early 18th centuries breweries have been in existence at these sites. They supplied drink to the local population and ship's crews using the harbour. A lease from 1725 shows the brewing to be a small-scale enterprise. However later in the century a new brewery was built and a lease of 1798 mentions twenty-three public houses tied to the brewery for the purchase of beer, twelve of them in Blyth. Wartime restrictions forced the brewery's closure in 1916 and the building was partly demolished. Often leases on the Ridley properties in Blyth contained a clause which stated that if a house became licensed as a public house the beer had to be purchased from Ridley's brewery. Of course, Ridley Street in the heart of the quayside are is named after this family who are now peers of the realm with a seat at nearby Blagdon Hall. The present Lord Ridley is an influential author and newspaper columnist.



Willie Carr's Forge (site of)

Reputedly the strongest man in England during the latter 18th and early 19th centuries, Willie's feats of strength are the stuff of legend, even today. He was a blacksmith and the sites and monument records list this place as the site of his workshop, although with little documentary evidence to support the claim. However, the 1st edition OS mapping from the 1850s does show a blacksmiths workshop to be in existence here.

Dun Cow Inn (site of)

This was the site of a public house which was shown to be in existence on a map from as far back as 1813. It was still there on the mapping of 1969, although photos show it to be a modernish building. It must have been rebuilt at some stage. It was in the early and mid 19th century known as the Brown Cow. In the 1827 trade directory John Northover is the proprietor and in 1854 Mary Moffat. Wallace in his "History of Blyth" (1862) mentions that the Black Bull, on nearby Sussex Street was "the great house of retort for Lynn captains". Lynn, a seaport, on the Norfolk coast was the major trading-partner destination with the port of Blyth.

Rope Walks (site of)

These were low buildings 400 yards long and six yards wide where ropes for shipping was made. They were known as rope walks from the walking to-and-fro of the workers in twisting the fibres together in making the rope. They were sighted on what is now Park View and Ridley Avenue. The earliest recording is from 1762. The buildings were both still in existence on the 1897 OS mapping although by then marked as disused.



Rocket Brigade House

It was built in the latter part of the 19th century. It was one of many built around the coast at this time, but this is now a rare, fairly-intact survival. It ceased to function in 1959. It was built by the Volunteer Life Brigade. The lower floor was a storage space for a cart, rockets and various other items of equipment needed. The upper floor acted as a look out and facilities for the volunteers. There was originally an exterior stone stair to the first floor. The function was to save lives from shipwrecks close to shore by means of rocket apparatus and breeches buoy.







Custom House

Custom Officers, who collect taxes on goods entering and leaving the port, have been in place at Blyth since at least 1673. The records of custom officers date back to 1723, a time when smuggling was rife and much documented in some of the later histories, but they were not necessarily working out of a permanent building. This neo-classical building dates from 1890, although it is now a care home with seven beds. It replaced a custom house only a few steps away on what is now the offices of Blyth Workspace. This was built in the late 18th century according to the sites and monuments database. A trade directory of 1827 gives this description: "The Custom House at this place is under the control of the Establishment at Newcastle, and is superintended by the following officers, viz. Mr. Wm. Coppin, principal coast officer ; Mr. Michael Martin, tide surveyor and two boatmen. Upwards of 1,000 vessels are cleared annually at this port, or creek, and about 14 keels, and two steam boats are constantly employed in the river."



Chandler's Warehouse

A building from the turn of the century it was "designed to impress" and is of some importance due to the preserved shop frontage. Ship's chandlers sold all manner of supplies to shipping and were an important part of the working life of a port. An 1855 directory lists three different proprietors of chandlers in the quayside area.


Pilot's Watch House (site of)

A maritime pilot is a mariner who manoeuvres shipping through dangerous stretches of water. In this case the undeveloped river entrance. 1855 Directory: "The Pilot Office is situated at the Ferry Boat Landing, Robert Oliver, master. Ten persons are listed as pilots in this directory. Pilots are frequently mentioned in the records from 18th century onwards. There are also many old graves in the local churchyard with monuments listing the occupants as pilots.

High Lighthouse

The lighthouse was built in 1788. When it was first constructed the shoreline was only a few yards away from the lighthouse.  It served as a navigation aid. Ships lined up the lighthouse with a beacon, later the Low Light, a few yards closer to the river, which gave them a course to enter the river channel. The lighthouse was heightened as necessary as the harbour developed in 1888 and again in 1900. It was finally deactivated in 1985.



Salt Pans

Salt manufacture, from evaporating sea water in large pans, was the first and largest industry in Blyth from medieval times. The industry became heavily taxed during the 18th and early 19th century and went into sharp decline. There had been eight salt pans at various places along both the North and South banks of the river. By 1876 the industry was extinct. The early pans were made of lead and quite small (2 feet diameter and 3 inched deep). The size eventually grew with lead being replaced by iron. Four tons of iron were recovered from a pan broken up in 1744. This particular salt manufactory was still in existence on the OS mapping of the 1850s among the now busy and bustling quayside.

Bath Terrace

The middle section of this terrace is from the late 18th century. Number 11 was converted into a bath house in the 19th century and still contains the porch with the lettering "BATHS". Clare Hickman on buildingconservation.com writes:"In 18th-century Britain the health craze of the day resulted in the creation of plunge pools and cold baths in houses and gardens across the land. These containers filled with cold water could be located within the main house or within a purpose-built structure set in the landscape, such as a grotto." These grand houses, in brick, were home to some of the most prominent of Blyth residents including many shipowners and John Carr owner of Cowpen Colliery and many other pits.



Wapping

A street name on the 19th century mapping. A first though may be that this was named from the place of a port of a trading partner of Blyth, but historians believe it is a shortened version of "wapentake" - a danish meeting place - and this site could be an ancient settlement.

St Cuthberts Church Hall

Built in 1925 on the site of a Church of England chapel-of-ease to the main parish church at Earsdon, several miles to the South. This was built in 1751 by the landowners, the Ridley family, to serve the ever increasing population. Nothing remains of this old church except the keystone that is visible with the date 1751 was from the entrance to the original church. "A chalice, first used in the old church in 1754, is still on exhibition in the new church", according to St Cuthbert's website.



Shipbuilding Yard

A yard was shown at this site on the early 19th century mapping. It was on of several shipbuilding sites on the Blyth. Shipbuilding began on the river in the mid 18th century and continued until 1966 on both a large and small scale. This was a relatively small yard. The main site was just slightly upstream past the River Cafe.

St Cuthbert's Churchyard

The burial place of many prominent Blyth residents and home to some ornate and listed grave stones. Unfortunately there is much weathering on many of the stones. Look out for "William Watts of South Blyth Pilot taken to the Mercy of God being drowned (with three other Pilots) while employed in the duty of his Calling on the 14th day of January 1805 he left a widow & five children to bewail his loss Weep for yourselves, for me lament no more I'm safely landed on a peaceful shore My Home's in Him whose word proclaimeth this - I am the Way to everlasting Bliss". There were many tragedies on 14th January in the first two decades of 19th century and it became known as Blyth's unluckiest day, with boats being kept on shore. for a long time afterwards.

Former Police Station

The building of 1896, on Bridge Street, by county architect John Cresswell, recently came to the end of its life as a police station. Described by Pevsner, in his monumental "Buildings of England" series in the 1950s, as probably the best building in Blyth. It is in red brick, Italianate Gothic style with lots of carved detail and marble columns. It incorporates a magistrates’ court and Sergeant's flat which were decommissioned some time ago.



Harbour Commissioner's Offices

This was built in 1913. The boardroom is decorated with wood panelling and Dutch tiles from the SS Walmer Castle which was broken up at Blyth in 1932. The Harbour Commission had come into existence in 1882. The previous Harbour and Dock Company were not able to raise the necessary funding to expand and develop the port, which was much needed to cope with the increasing trade. The Harbour Commission as a public body had access to a wider range of public capital and set about a programme of developing the port to what it is today.