Charles Hill & Sons

Charles Hill & Sons was a major shipbuilder based in Bristol, England, during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Background

Miranda Guinness was the last ship built by Charles Hill & Son of Albion Yard, Bristol and also the world's first purpose built beer tanker. Launched on 9 July 1976.

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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

A tugboat built by Charles Hill & Sons, MV Rozi, 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).[4]

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:

Year Name ON IMO Type Reference
1855 John Sebastian Light Vessel
1931 Severn Progress 163832 Tug [5]
1934 Pyronaut 333833 Fire Float [6]
1934 Volunteer 163854 Tug [7]
1935 John King 163865 Tug [8]
1936 Endres Gane 163880 Fire Float [9]
1944 Sabrina 5 169378 Barge [10]
1944 Sabrina 6 169380 Barge [11]
1965 Bristol Giant 6510772 Pontoon Crane [12]

References

  1. ↑ Hill, John (1981). Shipshape & Bristol Fashion. Bristol: Redcliffe. ISBN 0-905459-70-9. various
  2. ↑ British Shipbuilding Yards. Norman L. Middlemiss
  3. ↑ Corcoran, Jackie (7 April 2011). "A History of the John Sebastian Light Vessel 55" (PDF). History of the John Sebastian Light Vessel 55. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  4. ↑ "HMS Mimosa (K 11) of the Royal Navy". uboat.net. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Severn Progress | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Pyronaut | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  7. ↑ "Volunteer | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "John King | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Collections Online | Heritage". heritage.lrfoundation.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Sabrina 5 | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Sabrina 6 | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Arthur, Andrew (8 December 2021). "Giant floating crane departs Bristol Port following sale". Business Live. Retrieved 7 June 2026.


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