John Pile and Co
From Graces Guide
John Pile, shipbuilding firm 1853 - 1859 at Hartlepool
- John Pile’s family were shipbuilders on the River Wear, about twenty miles (32 km) north of Hartlepool. John was asked to set up a shipyard in West Hartlepool by Ralph Ward Jackson, who was developing the docks area of the town.
- 1854 Pile’s first ship launched from the new yard was the Mirage, a wooden sailing ship, in 1854. He extended the business around the same time by founding the West Hartlepool Rolling Mills Co. This was an iron works, which supplied materials to build iron ships.
- 1856 The first iron ship to be built at the yard was the Demitrius, launched in 1856.
- During this period, Pile traded under the company names of :
- John Pile (from 1853 to 1857)
- John Pile and Company (from 1857 to 1859)
- In 1859, Pile went into partnership with another shipbuilder, Joseph Spence. The new firm traded under the name of Pile, Spence and Co.
See Also
Loading...
Sources of Information
[1] Hartlepool Council Web Site