South Shields waterfront below Lawe Top

This watercolour shows, i the distance at right, the site of one of the earliest shipbuilding areas on the Tyne. The location below the Lawe Top at South Shields, close to the river mouth, was used by wooden shipbuilder Robert Wallis in the eighteenth century, by pioneer iron shipbuilder Thomas Marshall, and also by Readhead and Softley. This was John Readhead’s first shipyard site, before relocating to the West Docks.

In the foreground, fishermen are repairing their nets while behind them two fishing luggers are tied to a buoy BK102 is from Berwick upon Tweed and KY81 is from Fife. The KY stands for Kirkcaldy, but the boat could be from any of the ports along the Fife coast. To the left is a Tyne foyboat, easily identified by the chequered paint scheme. Behind the foyboat the stern of the Royal Naval Reserve training ship Castor can be seen. Casytr became the RNR training ship at North Shields in April 1862.