Shipbuilding Industry in Stockton
Shipbuilding had long been an industry on the Tees even before the emergence of the Iron and Steel Industry in the 1800's. However, the ships of this time were constructed of wood and it wasn't until the Iron and Steel Industry came to the fore that shipbuilding really took off on the Tees.
By the end of the 1800's, six shipbuilding companies had established themselves on the Tees with the North East producing 42% of the world's merchant shipping. Teesside became one of the world's foremost shipbuilding centres in the early 1900's when the company Smiths Dock set up shop in 1908.
