Breakers Yard Collection

Ships figureheads over the gate at Castles Shipbreaking Yard, Westminster, London, 1909
Ships figureheads over the gate at Castles Shipbreaking Yard, Baltic Wharf, Millbank, Westminster, London, March 1909. Entrance to the yard, with wooden figures salvaged from ships decorating the sign

Combine harvesters in a scrapyard
Combine harvesters. Aerial photograph of combine harvesters in a scrapyard. Photographed in Northumberland, UK

Hundreds of cars gathered together to be crushed at a Bristol scrapyard. 12th May 1963

The Ship that Became A Dry Dock, 1937. The remains of the Canton. Which was sunk in Limehouse, London, in 1829 to form a dry dock. Here we see the dry dock during extension work in 1898

On the Firth of Forth. Shipbreaking at Bo ness West Lothian, 1937. From Shipping Wonders of the World, Vol. II, edited by Clarence Winchester. [The Fleetway House, London]

Huge figureheads at Castles Ship Breaking Yard, Westminster, London, 1909
Huge figureheads at Castles Ship Breaking Yard, 106 Millbank, Westminster, London, March 1909. Male and female figureheads from ships decorate the gate into the breakers yard

Illustration, electromagnet lifting red car

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Amidst the hustle and bustle of Castles Shipbreaking Yard in Westminster, London, 1909, the grandeur of ships' figureheads stands proudly over the gate, a stark contrast to the industrial scene within. Elsewhere, combine harvesters find new life in scrapyards, while hundreds of cars await their crushing fate. Flashback to 1937, where the Ship that Became A Dry Dock lies on the Firth of Forth, Bo'ness, West Lothian. Fast forward to present day, as an electromagnet effortlessly lifts a red car in a scrapyard, and in Iraq, the vibrant colors of crushed cars create an unexpected art scene in the midst of daily life.