Claxheugh was home to Mowbrays Quay, and one of the first shipyards photographed on the Wear.

The first known builder here was John Mowbray, who constructed ships in a small nook at the mouth of Neddy Gill in 1832. He constructed at least 2 ships here, but at most 4 with these registered under his name at Sunderland. The first was a snow named Mary Hudson, built for a Matthew Hudson of North Shields. It was a snow with a weight of 261nrt. There is very little reference as to his origins and career, but we know he lived at Ford Lodge, near South Hylton station, before his death as his son remained in the home. This will have meant a brisk commute over Claxheugh Rock, passed Claxheugh Cottage onto the riverside. It was he who gave the name which remained for the next half century or so, and evidently he constructed some form of quay on the line of the river.

The last ship constructed by Mowbray was in 1838. After this, it appears a John Hodgson built at least 1 ship here in 1839. This was another snow for the Gateshead & Tyne Shipping Co. I imagine there was some relation to Benjamin Hodgson, who was a shipbuilder at North Hylton from 1849. His family were known to be exceptional carpenters, so it would certainly make sense (https://www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/shipbuilding-archive/hyl004/hodgson-%26-gardner-shipyard). It's not known why only one ship was produced here - perhaps a short term lease upon the death of Mowbray?

Though there may have been builders through the 1840s, the next confirmed builder in the lineage was in 1850 when it was taken over by George Short. He was born in 1814 and was the son of a ships carpenter in South Hylton. He founded Short Brothers Ltd. In his earlier years he lived at the Gales Yard (the son of John Mowbray's yard at Hylton), and went on to be apprenticed at John Johnson's yard at Bishopwearmouth. He went on to form a partnership with Joseph Simpson at a separate site, but Short went his own way and launched his first ship at Mowbray Quay in 1851. Funnily enough he also went on to live at Ford Lodge, the residence of the previous owner.

He built wooden ships here for local merchants, notably in North Shields and Newcastle but also produced a couple for Irish merchants. The yard can be seen below in 1850 - one of the earliest shots on Wearside. 3 cottages are seen on the riverside adjacent to a boiler and the quay. It gives a mighty impression of the scale these ships were produced at with little mechanisation. The photograph was taken while the tide was out.

The yard was out of use by 1868, and by the 1890s there is no mention at all of Mowbrays Quay. George Short's children went on to open the Pallion Yard just east, and Short passed away in 1883.