| With the decline of the use of wooden
ships a new industry developed in Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea:
Ship Breaking.
In 1877, Mablethorpe was linked to National Railway network. Goods
began to come into the town by rail although goods landed by ship
continued to be economical for a while. The wooden ships were being
replaces by iron and sails by steam. The old wooden ships had to
be disposed of, in fact, they were recycled!
A wooden ship would be beached and towed up onto the sands in the
high tides of the Spring. |
During the Summer, they would be museums
of ships artifacts.
In the Autumn when most of the visitors had gone, the ships would
be "broken."
The ballast was used in building the sea defenses and roads. Any
iron was taken as scrap. Wood was gathered together and sold in
great wood sales in the Spring. Local builders and farmers used
the wood for fences and construction work. Many houses and barns
are built with timber for the old ships. |
