Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum'

Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum'
[ Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum' ]

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Remember when we had shipyards??????

Posted by Norman Dunn on 3/3/2026, 10:31 am

Young people will never have seen our River Tyne so busy as it was on this aerial photo. Happy days when school leavers applied for jobs in Palmers & Leslies yards.I remember the rows of Buses on Wagonway Rd outside Palmers taking workers home to Jarrow, Shields, Marsden etc etc.

Aerial-of-Palmers-Leslies-aswell

Re: Remember when we had shipyards??????

Posted by Stan Wears on 3/3/2026, 11:41 am, in reply to "Remember when we had shipyards??????"

Wow! Some photo. Just look at the industries.

Re: Remember when we had shipyards??????

Posted by Peter on 3/3/2026, 12:11 pm, in reply to "Re: Remember when we had shipyards??????"

Excellent photo. Its a shame that Hebburn is in the main just one big housing estate now, when you think of the industries that it has lost.

We lost these Employers not long ago

Posted by Norman on 3/3/2026, 12:25 pm, in reply to "Re: Remember when we had shipyards??????"

Over not very many years, Hebburn has also lost Reyrolles who employed over 12000 locals so a massive loss, then the Bushing Co, the Pyrotenax Co, the Bitumastic Co,then Whites engineering, RW Transmissions Gear Works, Baker Perkins then next door the Tube Works on J&H border, Monkton Coke works, Frazers Steel stockholders.
I often say to my family 'where are todays school leavers going to find a Job?'

Re: We lost these Employers not long ago

Posted by Mac Hardy on 3/3/2026, 12:35 pm, in reply to "We lost these Employers not long ago"

Yet another great picture, served my apprenticeship in Hawthorne Leslies and then sailed from there as an Electrical Officer in the Merchant Navy, returned as a Manager years later. A great yard building great ships !

Re: We lost these Employers not long ago

Posted by AJG on 3/3/2026, 6:01 pm, in reply to "We lost these Employers not long ago"

It's amazing that there used to be so much industry in Hebburn. I remember as a young child looking out of the kitchen window of my nana's flat in Hardie Court. You could see all the way down to the river and dozens of tall cranes working on the ships.

This photo was posted to the Pictorial Hebburn Facebook group. It was taken in Wallsend by Ian Hobson and I think it is such a haunting image. It says so much.

Re: We lost these Employers not long ago

Posted by Maria Ratheram on 3/3/2026, 6:42 pm, in reply to "Re: We lost these Employers not long ago"

When Cuthbert st was demolished my mam and dad went to Hardie court school St flats so nice inside kitchen was upstairs facing towards the shipyards in the distance. As I read Hardie court it came back to me the name.

Re: We lost these Employers not long ago

Posted by Maria Ratheram on 3/3/2026, 9:14 pm, in reply to "Re: We lost these Employers not long ago"

Got it wrong told it was Bevon court. Hardie court sounded familiar. In laws lived Wilson court .

Re: We lost these Employers not long ago

Posted by AJG on 3/3/2026, 10:41 pm, in reply to "Re: We lost these Employers not long ago"

It's always good to hear people's memories of the School Street Flats. I was just young when my nana used to live there. I wrote a piece on the flats for my blog a little while ago. Here it is if you would like to read it.

Link: School Street Flats

School St Flats

Posted by Norman on 4/3/2026, 8:23 am, in reply to "Re: We lost these Employers not long ago"

Another excellent write up from your memory Andrew. 10 out of 10.

Re: School St Flats

Posted by Maria Ratheram on 4/3/2026, 9:56 am, in reply to "School St Flats"

Thank you Andrew.That brings back some memories flats going down Argyle St were on both sides mam and dad's flat were on the side where lines for metro went passed.Once in the flat a down stairs bedroom a good size hall a toilet then up the stairs a kitchen and main bedroom facing Argyle St along the landing bathroom toilet far end sitting room a lot better than now some new builds they should have stayed up a lot longer.

Does anyone ever ask this?

Posted by Norman on 4/3/2026, 10:23 am, in reply to "Re: School St Flats"

This kind of thing has happened in Jarrow & Hebburn for years.
New buildings inc Council Offices on Campbell Park Rd, The Swimming Pool near Redhouse Garage & Flats built in the 60s, then not many years later they are all demolished.
What other kind of business could survive so many mistakes?
We had a Community Centre on Argyle St and within a short time its gone, just like the school st flats & the Flats in Glen St eg Reyrolle Court.
Is this how other Councils do things?

Re: Does anyone ever ask this?

Posted by Jackie W on 4/3/2026, 1:21 pm, in reply to "Does anyone ever ask this?"

I was quite shocked when the community centre on Argyle Street was demolished. I played squash and various other activities there when it was first built.

Re: Does anyone ever ask this?

Posted by Peter on 4/3/2026, 5:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Does anyone ever ask this?"

It was a far better facility than the Hebburn hub. This council just want to seem to make Hebburn a big housing estate.

Re: Does anyone ever ask this?

Posted by Norman Dunn on 4/3/2026, 6:22 pm, in reply to "Re: Does anyone ever ask this?"

There was a building next to the Protestant Conservative Club Victoria Rd west that is no longer there, replaced by grass & trees. Are these examples of really BAD decisions by the Council?
Jarrow & S Shields people will have examples from their patch aswell.

Re: Does anyone ever ask this?

Posted by Peter on 4/3/2026, 5:47 pm, in reply to "Does anyone ever ask this?"

Totally agree Norman. You could add the Father Walsh day centre on Hedgeley Road in Hebburnand the Queens Road day centre in Jarrow to that list. They both looked fairly newish when demolished.

Re: Remember when we had shipyards??????

Posted by ricky on 4/3/2026, 2:03 pm, in reply to "Re: Remember when we had shipyards??????"

What a great photo Norman. I was watching a documentary just the other day on youtube about the shipyards on the Tyne especially Swan Hunters.Very interesting.

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[ Norman Dunn's 'Hebburn and our Neighbours Forum' ]

Rules! No bad language or derogatory remarks or we will delete. Anyone sharing our content on Face Book must credit 'Hebburn and our Neighbours'.