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User:WillThePotato/sandbox/William Taylor (shipwright)

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William Taylor
BaptisedMarch 13, 1774
NationalityEnglish
OccupationShipwright
Known forBuilding HMS Tees, HMS Carnation, HMS Comet, and HMS Fairy
SpouseChristian Nicholas (m. 1801)
Children
  • Mary Gillespie
  • John Nichols Taylor
  • Catharine Taylor
  • Hannah Maria
  • William Taylor
    • Parents
    • William Taylor
    • Susanna Witheridge

    William Taylor (c. 1774 - date of death unknown) was an English shipbuilder who built 50 vessels over the course of his career in East-the-Water, including 6 for the Admirality. It is unknown as to what happened to him past 1830, although it is believed that he retired to Bristol.

    Early life

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    William Taylor was born circa 1774 in Littleham to William Taylor, a laborer, and Susanna Witheridge, a spinster, both Anglican, after their marriage on the 19th of April, 1767. He was baptized on the 13th of March, 1774, however his date of birth is unknown.

    Marriage and family

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    On the 27th of November, 1801, Taylor, of the parish of Bideford, married Christian Nicholas, who resided within the parish of St. Kerrian in Exeter, by license, at St. Petrock's Church. It was reportedly witnessed by Elizabeth Nichols, Thomas Nicholas [sic] and William Nichols.

    The couple's four children, John Nichols, Catharine, Hannah Maria, and William, were baptized in Bideford on the 1st of January, 1803, the 10th of December, 1806, the 25th of July, 1808, and the 31st of August, 1810, respectively.

    In 1826, daughter Mary married Captain Gillespie of the ship Cosmo, in Bristol. It is likely to have been the same ship of that name that was built by Taylor in 1825, which Captain Gillespie commanded until at least the 7th of April, 1930. On the 24th of February, 1828, the marriage of John Mollard to Maria Taylor, William Taylor's daughter, was recorded by the parish registers of Bideford in the presence of William and Catherine Taylor after Mollard courted her during the construction of the Saltern's Rock. As their dowry, Taylor gave his daughter a half-share of the vessel.[1]

    Career

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    William Taylor's shipyard was located near Crosspark Rock, either adjacent to, or preceding the pottery located there.[2]

    According to Trewman's Exeter Flying Post of November 16th, 1809, the ship-building business of Bideford under the firm of Wheaton and Taylor, had expired and been dissolved on the 25th of September, 1809. From that point on, the business was to be continued solely by William Taylor. As a result of the uncertainties regarding the beginning of this partnership, it is possible that some vessels prior to that date that were attributed to William Taylor may have actually been built by Wheaton and Taylor.

    From 1807-1817, William Taylor is said to have built 50 ships at his East-the-Water shipyard. As only 49 have been identified in the chronological list below, it can be concluded that one ship has been totally unidentified.

    Gun count, weight, and name of vessels constructed by William Taylor
    Vessel Type Weight (tons) Year of construction
    Pillhead Brigantine 117 1805
    Miners Brigantine 84 1806
    Underhill Brigantine 84 1807
    HMS Comet Fire-ship 444 1807
    HMS Carnation[note 1] Brig-sloop 383 1807
    Traveller Schooner 102 1809
    Marys Brigantine 106 1811
    Kangaroo Brig 210 1812
    HMS Fairy Brig-sloop 386 1812
    Fame Schooner 130 1812
    Venus Sloop 58 1813
    HMS Mastiff Brigantine 184 1813
    Belzebub Bomb vessel 334 1813
    Pacific Brigantine 135 1814
    Aurora Brigantine 154 1814
    Elizabeth Schooner 116 1814
    Enterprise Schooner 125 1814
    Falmouth Sloop 1815
    Dove Schooner 84 1815
    Jane Brig 168 1815
    Unidentified vessel 82 1815
    HMS Tees[note 2] Ship 452 1817 (refitted)
    Rover Brigantine 101 1818
    Venus Sloop 53 1819
    Hazard Brigantine 53 1820
    Margaret Sloop 54 1820
    Swiss Sloop 34 1820
    Two Brothers Schooner 87 1821
    Perseverance Sloop 49 1822
    Francess Ann Schooner 101 1822
    Rising Sun Sloop 39 1823
    Fly Yawl 60 1824
    Friends Brig 122 1824
    Rocket Brig 212 1825
    James Lyon Ketch 137 1825
    Cosmo Ship 409 1826
    Salus Brig 169 1826
    Three Sisters Brig 88 1826
    William & Elizabeth Brig 79 1827
    Drake Smack 150 1827
    Gurnet Brig 15 1827
    Saltern's Rock Brig 142 1827
    Swallow Brig 148 or 200 1828
    Brothers Schooner-brig 84 1828
    James & Louisa Sloop 17 1829
    Shepherdess Brig 127 1830
    Little Cosmo Schooner 57 1830
    Mary Jane Barque 249 1831
    Pilot Sloop-of-war 29 1831
    Unidentified vessel

    Notes

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    1. ^ The HMS Carnation was captured by the French exactly one year later in 1808.
    2. ^ Considered to be the most impressive ship built by William Taylor, the HMS Tees was used as the permanently-moored "Mariners' Church" in St. George's Dock, Liverpool, from 1827-1872.

    References

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    1. ^ Kirby, R. I.; Kirby, S. H. (May 29th, 2018). "Ship and Boat Building in East-the-Water" (PDF). Way of the Wharves. p. 86. Retrieved December 29, 2020. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    2. ^ "The Shipyards". Way of the Wharves. Retrieved 2020-12-29.

    Further reading

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    • Grant, Alison, and Peter Christie. The Book of Bideford. Barracuda, 1987.
    • Christie, Peter, and Alison Grant. The Book of Bideford: the Development of a Devonian Market Town. Halsgrove, 2005.
    [edit]
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