This 37 acre site on the eastern bank of the River Dart has a rich history of shipbuilding that dates back to the 1880s, when Simpson Stickland and Company Limited first built a shipyard at Noss on Dart Marina.
The shipyard was later purchased by Philip and Son Limited in 1917. For almost a century and a half they were a major employer in the town, recruiting hundreds of local men and turning out thousands of tonnes of historic naval vessels, lightships for Trinity House and even Chay Blyth’s British Steel round the world yacht.
During the war the shipyard built over 200 vessels as part of the war effort. In September 1942 the shipyard was hit by Luftwaffe bombs – an attack in which 20 men were killed. The shipyard survived and continued to operate until the late 1990s, when the demise of the British shipbuilding industry eventually caused the yard to close its doors in 1999.
Click here for further information about the history of the South Coast marina .