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A Town of Coal and Ships |
by Gordon Smith |
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When Britannia ruled the waves in the shape of Queen Victoria, a decent number of the ships ploughing them had been built in Blyth.
Shipbuilding in the town can be traced back to the mid 18th century. The Blyth shipyard (around where the Euroseas dry docks now stand) specialised in transport, particularly colliers, diversifying in the early 19th century to turn out convict ships.
It also built the Williams, which Captain William Smith used during his exploration of the Antarctic in 1818 and 1820. During the First World War, Blyth built the first ever aircraft carrier, the Ark Royal, and in World War Two, converted the first merchant vessel to a flat top aircraft carrier. This was the Hanover. |
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The earliest record of coal mining in the town is in Cowpen in 1315, the pit belonging to the convent in Tynemouth. In 1690, things got serious when the Blyth Coal Company was formed, bringing with it the famous Plessey waggonway.
By the 18th century, the Ridley family dominated the coal trade, owning all the Plessey collieries and Blyth’s only shipping quay. |
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Competition came in the form of what would become the Cowpen Coal Company. It opened the first deep mine there in 1794. Isabella followed in the mid 18th century, and by Jubilee year, the company had pits at Bebside, Newsham, New Delaval, Cambois and Crofton Mill, making Blyth one of the leading coal shipping ports in the country.
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