Denton, Gray & Co. In 1839 John Punshon Denton established a shipyard in
Middleton, Hartlepool to build and repair
wooden-hulled sailing ships. In 1863 Denton entered into a
partnership with William Gray, a successful businessman with a chain of stores in Hartlepool, to form
Denton, Gray and Company. The shipyard was modernised and extended, and began to build iron-hulled ships. Their first ship was launched on 23 January 1864. before being dissolved in September 1866, when the companies returned to their original ownership and names. and the company soon became West Hartlepool's largest producer of iron
clipper barques,
sailing ships and
steamers. Now employing some 2,000 men, the company recorded the highest output of any British shipyard six times between 1878 and 1900. recruiting the engineer Thomas Mudd from T. Richardson and Sons to set up the business. On 1 January 1889 Gray's became a
private limited company, with William Gray as
chairman, and his sons Matthew and William, and son-in-law George Henry Baines, as
directors. and 30 standard "War-class" cargo ships for the
Shipping Controller.
King George V and
Queen Mary visited the shipyard as part of a morale-boosting visit to the area, The outbreak of World War II saw a revival in activity with 72 ships built and 1,750 ships repaired between 1939 and 1945. Post-war, British ship production went into general decline with the emergence of Japanese and German shipbuilders. Gray's built an average of only 7.5 ships per year, along with a number of tankers, between 1945 and 1959. In 1959 the only orders on the books were for two
ore carriers. The last ship built by Gray's was launched in 1961. Repair work continued into 1962, until the company finally went into
voluntary liquidation. ==See also==