| Former type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipbuilding |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | A&P Group |
| Founded | 1840 |
| Defunct | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Sunderland, UK |
William Doxford & Sons Ltd, often referred to simply as Doxford, was a British shipbuilding company.
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The Company was established by William Doxford in 1840.[1] From 1870 it was based in Pallion, Sunderland, on the River Wear in Northeast England. The Company was managed by William Doxford's four sons following his death in 1882.[1] It was renamed Doxford & Sunderland Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd in 1961 and Doxford & Sunderland Ltd in 1966.[1] It was acquired by Court Line in 1972 at which time it was renamed Sunderland Shipbuilders Ltd.[1]
During the 1970s a new all-weather Pallion yard was built which could build two ships of up to 30,000 tons deadweight side-by-side: the steel came in at one end, and the completed ship left from the other with engines installed and sometimes with the machinery running.[2]
Court Line collapsed in 1974 and the Company was taken into public ownership.[1] It was privatised in 1986 when it was merged with Austin & Pickersgill to form North East Shipbuilders.[1] However within two years of the merger the Doxford Pallion yard had been closed down.[3]
Doxford was a major British shipbuilder; it was also a manufacturer of marine diesel engines, the last of which was produced in 1980. An example is preserved in the Regional Museums Store at Beamish Museum.