The yard was built during 1917 on eighty-five acres of low-lying land, with much of the construction work done by women, ex-servicemen and Irish navvies.
The River Tees – R Woodhouse 1991
The link below is to an article in the Evening Gazette detailing the hundreds of women employed in the construction of the Furness Yard, illustrated with wonderful photographs from the British War Museum archive.
The Smell of Water 