William Gray began his career in shipbuilding in partnership with J.P. Denton, but took sole ownership of the firm in 1874, launching his first ship, the Sexta, in the same year. From the outset the company was successful, winning the Blue Riband for the maximum annual output of any British shipyard in 1878, 1882, 1888, 1895, 1898 and 1900. The Central Marine Engine Works were developed in 1883, allowing the company to manufacture their own engines on site. The Bakuin, launched in 1886, missed by a single day the accolade of being the world's first bulk oil carrier. The Murex, launched in 1892, was the first of a six-ship order for Marcus Samuel, founder of the Shell Oil Company. This was at a time when many ships were excluded from using the Suez canal due to the introduction of new regulations. The timely completion of the Murex, which exactly met the new regulations, gave Samuel an advantage in the marketplace, allowing him to break the monopoly of the Standard Oil Company and establish Shell as a leader in the field.

William Gray, who had been knighted in 1890, died in 1898 and was succeeded in the firm by his son, William Cresswell Gray. The outbreak of the First World War brought increased productivity to the yards, while the Central Marine Engine Works established a production line, employing a mainly female workforce, to make shell cases. In 1924 the firm opened a new yard at Graythorpe, but in this year William Cresswell Gray died and ownership passed to his son, William Gray III. The financial depression of the 1920s began to take its toll and shipbuilding came almost to a standstill. In order to keep the yards open the firm diversified from its usual cargo vessels and in 1934 produced two paddle steamers, the Tattershall Castle and the Wingfiled Castle, to provide a passenger service across the River Humber. The outbreak of the Second World War saw another increase in productivity, which continued for a decade. The 1950s, however, saw the emergence of Japan and Germany as the world's leading shipbuilders as British production went into decline. The last of the Hartlepool-built ships was the Blanchland, launched by Gray's in 1961. Ship repair work contiinued until 1962, when the company went into voluntary liquidation. This marked the end of almost 130 years of shipbuilding in Hartlepool.

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