William Doxford & Sons
Encyclopedia
William Doxford & Sons Ltd, often referred to simply as Doxford, was a British
shipbuilding company.
, Sunderland
, on the River Wear
in Northeast England
. The Company was managed by William Doxford's four sons following his death in 1882. It was renamed Doxford & Sunderland Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd in 1961 and Doxford & Sunderland Ltd in 1966. It was acquired by Court Line
in 1972 at which time it was renamed Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd.
During the 1970s a new all-weather Pallion
yard was built which could build two ships of up to 30,000 tons deadweight side-by-side: the steel came in at one end, and the completed ship left from the other with engines installed and sometimes with the machinery running.
Court Line collapsed in 1974 and the Company was taken into public ownership. It was privatised in 1986 when it was merged with Austin & Pickersgill to form North East Shipbuilders. However within two years of the merger the Doxford Pallion
yard had been closed down.
shipbuilder; it was also a manufacturer of marine diesel engines, the last of which was produced in 1980. An example is preserved in the Regional Museums Store at Beamish Museum
.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
shipbuilding company.
History
The Company was established by William Doxford in 1840. From 1870 it was based in PallionPallion
Pallion is a suburb, civil parish and electoral ward of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England. Most of the buildings in the area were built during the Victorian Era and consist of large terraced houses built for wealthy shipbuilders, but also smaller one storey cottages in other areas...
, Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
, on the River Wear
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
in Northeast England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Company was managed by William Doxford's four sons following his death in 1882. It was renamed Doxford & Sunderland Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd in 1961 and Doxford & Sunderland Ltd in 1966. It was acquired by Court Line
Court Line
Court Line was a prominent British holiday charter airline during the early 1970s based at Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. It also provided bus services in Luton and surrounding areas....
in 1972 at which time it was renamed Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd.
During the 1970s a new all-weather Pallion
Pallion
Pallion is a suburb, civil parish and electoral ward of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England. Most of the buildings in the area were built during the Victorian Era and consist of large terraced houses built for wealthy shipbuilders, but also smaller one storey cottages in other areas...
yard was built which could build two ships of up to 30,000 tons deadweight side-by-side: the steel came in at one end, and the completed ship left from the other with engines installed and sometimes with the machinery running.
Court Line collapsed in 1974 and the Company was taken into public ownership. It was privatised in 1986 when it was merged with Austin & Pickersgill to form North East Shipbuilders. However within two years of the merger the Doxford Pallion
Pallion
Pallion is a suburb, civil parish and electoral ward of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, England. Most of the buildings in the area were built during the Victorian Era and consist of large terraced houses built for wealthy shipbuilders, but also smaller one storey cottages in other areas...
yard had been closed down.
Operations
Doxford was a major BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
shipbuilder; it was also a manufacturer of marine diesel engines, the last of which was produced in 1980. An example is preserved in the Regional Museums Store at Beamish Museum
Beamish Museum
Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open-air museum located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early...
.
See also
- List of shipbuilders and shipyards
External links
- http://www.doxford-engine.com/index.html Doxford engines