Charles Hill & Sons was a major shipbuilder based in Bristol, England, during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Background
Established in 1845 from the company Hilhouse, they specialised mainly in merchant and commercial ships, but also undertook the building of warships and governmental vessels especially during the First and Second World Wars.Hill, John (1981). Shipshape & Bristol Fashion. Bristol: Redcliffe. . various
The company became Charles Hill and Sons after shipwright Charles Hill, who joined the original shipbuilder in 1824, acquired and renamed the firm in 1845.
In 1879 they established Bristol City Line, a transatlantic service between Bristol and New York (BCL ceased operations after 1974). In 1881 the company built its first iron ship, and then moved into steel sailing vessels.British Shipbuilding Yards. Norman L. Middlemiss In 1885 they built a trio of wood and iron composite-hulled lightvessels, one of which, the John Sebastian, is still in the harbour at Bathurst Basin.
A tugboat built by Charles Hill & Sons, , is now a tourist attraction - having been scuttled off the coast of Malta, it is now a sports scuba diving destination.
During World War 2, eight Flower-class corvettes and seven River-class frigates were built at the yard for the Royal Navy. These included HMS Mimosa (K11).
The company went out of business in 1977 and the dockyard was taken over by Abels Shipbuilders in 1980.
Surviving Vessels Surviving vessels built by the company include: +YearNameONIMOTypeReference1855John SebastianLight Vessel1931Severn Progress163832Tug1934Pyronaut333833Fire Float1934Volunteer163854 Tug1935John King163865Tug1936Endres Gane163880Fire Float1944Sabrina 5169378Barge1944Sabrina 6169380Barge1965Bristol Giant6510772Pontoon Crane
References