Old Photographs of Woodbridge & Melton
Shipbuilding at Woodbridge could not be killed off by the railway. The 1881 Ordnance Survey map shows that a new shipyard had been constructed on the water front just below the old shipyard. The new shipyard yard was probably the inspiration of the boat builder William Garrard in about 1860. It was taken over by Ebenezer Robinson in 1884 He laid the foundations for Woodbridge's yacht building industry and Ebenezer's son, A V 'Robie’ Robertson, gradually expanded the business.
By the early part of the twentieth century and the yard became well known for its barge yachts. The flat bottoms of these yachts enabled them to sit on the ubiquitous mud of our coast at low tide, but their performance in other respects could not match yachts with keels so Robinsons eventually switched to this type of construction before the 1914-18 war.
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The yard produced a number of very successful boats during the 1960s and 70s, and in 1992 its 28-foot cruising yacht won the accolade of 'Best boat of the show' at the Plymouth Boat Show.
By 2005 repair and refitting had become the main activity of the Robertson's yard. Around 70% of the work being on wooden boats, most of which came from the Suffolk and Essex rivers, but some regular jobs came from as far away as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Since 2018 the yard is no longer owned by a Robertson but it is still a family owned business. In recent years there has been a significant investment in most areas. The main buildings have been refurbished and machinery and lifting equipment has either been replaced or upgraded. Improvements were also made to sewage treatment facilities and specialist training has been given to new staff members.
Arial view of the boatyard in 1980.
Robertson's are still keeping to its tradition of working with wooden craft but it has diversified by introducing new services such as rigging and composite deck replacements. They have also reclaimed over an acre of land to provide more boat storage space, fully serviced with electricity and water supplies.
An old dilapidated office/storage building has been replaced with an award winning modern building housing two commercial office units and a stunning three-bedroom holiday apartment with views over the yard and river. Income from this building helps weather the peaks and troughs of the core boatyard business.
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