William Doxford and Sons OUTSTANDING SHIP AND ENGINE BUILDERS ON THE RIVER WEAR
William Doxford, born in 1812, registered his first ship with Lloyd’s in 1837, and three years later moved upriver to Coxgreen. In 1841, along with other Wearside shipbuilders, he was declared bankrupt and returned to work as a shipwright, but founded his second shipyard in 1845 at Southwick, with William Crown. They built 17 ships together, of between 215 and 571grt, mainly for local shipowners. The partnership was dissolved in 1851, and for the next six years William ran a timber business while also acting as a shipbroker, and financed other shipbuilders.
In 1857 he took a lease at Pallion and brought his two eldest sons into partnership. Up to 1863 the yard’s output was less than three ships a year, with the vessels being between 292 and 889grt. His eldest son, Theodore, then moved production to iron and started a formal yard list, on which no.1 was Golden Sunset, launched in 1864. Production quickly doubled and average capacity grew to 600grt. These were sailing ships, but Adalia (1864), their first ship above 1,000grt, was also powered by steam.
Doxford moved to a larger yard in 1870 to build steamships as well, was produced. (1880), at 3,613grt, was then their largest ship. The engines helped to enhance Doxford’s reputation, with the yard seen now as a ‘one-stop shop’.
