Brick field, west of Pottery Lane, South Hylton.

Low Ford Pottery, also known as Dawson's Pottery, it worked from c.1794 to 1864 {2}. The Low Ford Pottery was acquired by John Dawson in the 1790s. The works contained a watermill and other mills for the grinding and preparation of flints and lead for use in the manufacture of pots, as well as pottery itself, which produced "brownware", "creamware" and tiles. In 1798 it was sold or let by Longstaff, Lightfoot & Goldsmith. In 1836 new buildings were erected in the dene leading down to the river, and using new machinery and Devon clay, the pottery gained a reputation as the finest on the Wear. However, with the death of John Dawson in 1848, at the age of 88, the management of the firm fell into disarray and both the earthenware and tile producing plants were sold and eventually closed in the 1860s. The works reopened for a short while as South Hylton Bottle Works, but were out of use, this time permanently, by 1877. The Low Ford Pottery had been of considerable local significance, both as part of an important industry and as a major Wearside employer. Now only the name "Pottery Lane" survives to mark the site of Dawson's Pottery {3}. Manufacturer from 1799-1863 was J Dawson (earthenware manufacturers)
Brickfield 1868
Source: Davison, P J, 1986. Brickworks of the North East, 153, 157 site 23

Saw Mills marked on the 1st edition OS 6" map. The number and precise location of these mills is unclear.

Low Ford Dock, with crane and saw pit {1}. A tidal dock is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey of 1855 on the southern bank of the River wear to the north of the settlement of South Hylton. The dock lies at the northern end of Pottery Lane (the Low Ford Pottery lay a little way down the lane). By this time the dock appears to have been walled; the plan of the dock includes a sharp inturn. A saw pit and two cranes lie on the dockside and two groups of buildings; a row to the south and a more substantial block to the east, flank the facility. Despite the presence of the saw pit and the cranes, there is no evidence to suggest that the dock was in use for either 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 nineteenth century but had gone out of use by the time of the Third Edition Survey in 1921. Map Evidence: On the First Edition Twenty Five Inches to One Mile Ordnance Survey 1857, Sheet VII.16, the dock forms a discrete area of land at the northern end of Pottery Lane. It would appear to be walled (whether in stone or timber), given the right-angled inturn in the riverside towards the north of the facility. A row of buildings flanks the south eastern edge of the dock (including a house belonging to the Humane Society) and a more substantial block of structures lies to the west. On the dock, itself, are a sawpit and two fixed cranes. On the Second Edition Twenty Five Inches to One Mile Ordnance Survey 1896, the dock is still in use, although Low Ford Pottery, which lay to the south along Pottery Lane, has now closed. The plan of the dock has altered slightly and now includes a projecting central area. The buildings to the south-east of the facility remain, although those to the west have by this time been demolished. The sawpit has also gone. Two cranes remain on the dockside, although in different positions to the cranes shown on the First Edition Survey. On the Third Edition Ordnance Survey 1921, Sheet VII.SE although the layout of the dock remains the same as on the Second Edition Survey, it is now described as disused {3}.

Sandstone Quarry, marked as Old on the 1st edition OS mapping, so was out of use by 1857.

Shipyards shown on the 1st edition OS mapping with cranes and saw pits within these yards {1}. Probably three yards in a line along the northern bank of the River Wear on the northern edge of the settlement of North Hylton. The yards show few internal features other than the saw pits and cranes. No smithies are marked. By 1896 the yards have closed {3}.

Boat Yard. The site is very indistinct on the 1st edition OS mapping - as such the limits could not be defined.

A Sandstone Quarry, with Crane.

Shipbuilding Yards, with a wagonway, four cranes and three saw pits {1}. Five timber shipbuilding yards are shown on the First Edition Survey on the west bank of the River Wear at Nab End opposite South Hylton. When the yards were founded is uncertain. As can be seen on the survey, the yards were typical of timber shipyards on the Wear, containing few facilities other than saw pits and cranes along with a few scattered structures, probably smithies and stores. A waggonway also ran along the edge of the steep heugh at the rear of the yards and may well have supplied some raw materials required by the yards. The Nab End yards had ceased to function by the time that the Second Edition Survey had been produced in 1898. By then the shipyards have gone. The area at the bottom of the heugh along the riverside is empty other than for a few scattered structures and rows of buildings at the northern edge of the site {3}.

Brickworks, on The Heugh, North Hylton. This is possibly associated with the adjacent shipyard, (SMR 2638) as it's wagonway seemed to run up to the brickfield.