Before 1858, Richard Dunston owned a boatyard at Torksey on the Foss Dyke, but in that year he sold the yard, and established a new one at Thorne, on the north bank of the Stainforth and Keadby Canal.
In 1902, control of the yard passed to Thomas Dunston following the death of his father, and in 1910 to the 20-year-old grandson of the founder.