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Private company

Clelands Shipbuilding Company

British shipbuilding company

Clelands Shipbuilding Company was a leading British shipbuilding company. The company was based in Wallsend was nationalised by the British Government. It was founded in 1864 by John and Thomas Cleland, and operated until it was acquired by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in 1967.2 It ceased to exist in 1984.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1866Founded1
  • Industryshipbuilding1
  • HeadquartersWallsend1
  • Legal formprivate company limited by shares1

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Clelands Shipbuilding Company was a leading British shipbuilding company. The company was based in Wallsend was nationalised by the British Government. It was founded in 1864 by John and Thomas Cleland, and operated until it was acquired by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson in 1967. The company built a variety of ships, including passenger ships, cargo ships, and naval vessels.2

The story

The company was established by William Cleland in 1866 as Clelands Shipbuilding Company. It was based at Willington Quay in Wallsend and became one of the UK's leading builders of coastal vessels. During the 1930s it got into financial difficulties and for a while was known as Clelands (Successors) Ltd. It was acquired by Swan Hunter in 1967 and was nationalised in 1977 at which time it was subsumed into British Shipbuilders. The yard closed down in 1984.

From Wikipedia’s article on Clelands Shipbuilding Company, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1984Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1866Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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