Featured photographer

Paul Alexander Knox

Pallion: Where Ships Were Born explores the location of what was once ‘the largest shipbuilding town in the world', documenting the changing environment of one of the last surviving shipyards in Sunderland: Pallion Engineering.

Sunderland and Wearside have a proud 600 year history of shipbuilding. In the early 1900's 12,000 men were employed; over a third of the town’s adult population. Today the workforce is a mere dozen. The city, like the shipyard, is changing. Wearside, once an industrial hub is undergoing a transformation, old industries dying and new businesses emerging.

The region developed as a coal port, but it was Sunderland's superior shipbuilding which brought Wearside world recognition. Sunderland has been producing ships since 1346. Large ships are no longer built in Sunderland, however part of the industry still remains. The yard has been sectioned into smaller units, whereby the core work reflects previous use of the space.

However, the offices of Pallion Engineering have been long since abandoned, leaving behind a Mary Celeste style shrine. The once opulent board room with adjoining dining room and kitchen now lies abandoned, as moss and ferns cover every surface.

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Pallion: Where Ships were Born. Toilet, 2007