Low Ford Dock

A tidal dock is shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey plan of 1855 on the southern bank of the River wear to the north of South Hylton. The dock was at the northern end of Pottery Lane (the Low Ford Pottery lay a little way down the lane) and appears to have been walled. A saw pit and two cranes sat on the dockside and two groups of buildings, a row to the south and a more substantial block to the east, flanked the facility. There is no evidence to suggest that the dock was used for repairing or constructing ships. It is possible that in part it served the requirements of the Low Ford Pottery to the south and also transhipped and cut timber. The presence of the Humane Society’s House at the eastern end of the southern row of structures shown on the 1855 survey may suggest that livestock were passed through the dock. The dock was still in use at the end of the 19th century but had gone out of use by 1921.