1830 The first shipment of coal was made from the new Port Darlington
As the coal export industry grew it became apparent that the early staiths were insufficient to sustain the expanding enterprise and it was decided a dock would be better suited to the town’s needs.
1838 The Middlesbrough Owners – a group of businessmen responsible for the development of the town – proposed constructing a dock on their estate to the east of the coal staiths. The new dock was laid out by William Cubitt
1842 The dock opened on 12 May 1842; it had greater capacity than the earlier coal staiths. Vessels could now be loaded afloat at all times of the tide.
1849 Ownership of Middlesbrough Dock transferred to the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company.
The development of the dock and improvements to the river facilities played a central role in the rapid expansion of Middlesbrough in the decades following the discovery of significant ironstone deposits in the Cleveland Hills that underpinned the development of the major iron (and later, steel) industry along the Tees.
1880s Docks extended
Handling equipment by Spencer and Co.
The expansion of Middlesbrough Dock made the original staiths at the Port of Middlesbrough redundant. George Watson then became the tenant of the railway company serving the quay, which for a while was known as Watson’s Wharf.
1889 Mr T. Roddam Dent entered into partnership with Mr Watson.
1897 On the death of Mr Watson, Dent took control of the wharf
1911 Mr T. Roddam Dent purchased Craggs’ Shipyard for the extension of his business and formed the Company of Messrs T Roddam Dent & Son Limited. The shipyard was dismantled and replaced with a new 520-feet long quay, new cranes and additional warehouse accommodation.
1947 Dent's purchased the neighbouring wharf upriver from Richardson, Westgarth and Co. Ltd to provide a fifth berth. Carried out construction at the site so that cranes could run from No.3/4 Berths to No.5 Berth. The whole of the wharf was also strengthened and dredged.
1960s With ships getting larger, the depth of the channel leading to Middlesbrough Dock was starting to restrict operations. As heavy industry was already moving downstream it seemed a logical decision to establish a new dock further down river to serve these growing industries. The port authority officially opened a new facility Tees Dock in Redcar on 4 October 1963.
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- Middlesbrough Dock is not operational today but can still be seen on the area of the river immediately adjacent to Middlesbrough Football Club’s Riverside Stadium.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Port of Middlesbrough