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Bridport Shipbuilders

West Bay is known for ice creams, fish & chips and holidays. Yet at one time Bridport Harbour, as it was then called, was famous for building ships. It was one of the busiest shipyards in the country.

Bridport Harbour Shipyard was initially established by Nicholas Bools who had learnt his trade in a naval dockyard. He had moved from building vessels on the beach at Burton Bradstock to the west side of Bridport Harbour where slipways were built. First ship to be constructed in Bridport was the Northern Star in 1769 - a sloop of 52 tons. Timber was supplied locally and came from Marshwood Vale. During the Napoleonic War it is reckoned that 16 vessels were launched in the Harbour. It would have been a noisy, busy but hazardous place to work.

In 1849 master shipwright, John Cox acquired the lease of the shipyard for £1,200 and he was joined by his son, Elias. They began building larger and larger vessels including the prestigious Speedy that was bigger than the Cutty Sark which is now berthed at Greenwich. How they managed to steer the Speedy through the narrow mouth of Bridport Harbour into the open sea remains a mystery to this day. It was built of oak and teak and carried passengers and cargo to and from Australia. John Cox was also a Wesleyan preacher and he built a chapel close to the beach. His son, Elias became an Alderman, a Mayor of Bridport and a Justice of the Peace.

Bridport Shipyard’s last vessel, the Lillian was launched in 1879 as ironclads increasingly replaced wooden constructions. After this, the Shipyard concentrated on repair work until it closed in the 1880s and the slipways were filled in. In its more than a century of shipbuilding, Bridport Shipyard had built more than 350 vessels. They had been launched from six slipways and at its peak it is estimated that around 300 people worked there from different trades. With the arrival of the railway and a new focus on encouraging the tourist trade, the name of Bridport Harbour was changed to West Bay.

(Illustration: Shipbuilding at Bridport Harbour)

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