Mayflower was built by Stothert & Marten in 1861. She is the oldest Bristol-built ship afloat, and is believed to be the oldest surviving tug in the world.
G.K. Stothert & Co was a British engineering company primarily known for shipbuilding and repair founded in 1852 in Bristol, England.
History
The Bristol offshoot of Stothert, Slaughter & Co., which later became Stothert & Pitt, had been set up in St Phillips in 1837 with the hope of gaining orders from the Great Western Railway.[1] By 1844 they had diversified into shipbuilding, producing two 105 ton iron screw steamers named Avon and Severn which were built for running between Newport and Bristol.[2][3][4] The railway works part of the company eventually became Avonside Engine Company, and the shipbuilding part moved to Hotwells and became a separate company in 1852 under the control of George Kelson Stothert. It was officially known as the Clifton Marine Engineering and Iron Shipbuilding Works.[2] Subsequent partnerships were formed with E.T. Fripp (1855–1859)[5] and R.H. Marten (1859–1862);[6] after that, G. K. Stothert held sole control until 1899.[7] When he died in 1908, the business was established as a limited company carrying his name.[8][9] The business remained in operation under his name until 1933,[4] although shipbuilding stopped in 1904.[2][3]
A fire occurred at the yard in 1893; later correspondence states that this destroyed the company's records to that date.[10]
After G. K. Stothert passed away, the obituary written by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers noted that he "...was one of the pioneers of iron shipbuilding in this country".[11]
Location
In 1852, the company took over an existing shipyard adjacent to the Cumberland Basin that had been used by George Lunnell between 1834 and 1851.[12] Their site consisted of slipways, Hotwells Dry Dock (now Pooles Wharf Marina) and Merchant's Dock[13] (now filled in, although the old entrance is still visible).
Vessels
Several large vessels were built within the first few years of operation, including the Scamander,[14]Meander[15] and Araxes[16], ranging between 780 and 1156 tons and being built in 1854 and 1855 for the Moss Line of Liverpool.[2][3]
The company became known for producing river and canal tugs, including a significant number for use on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. This commenced with an initial order for three in 1860 (Moss Rose, 1860,[7]Mayflower, 1861[17] and Violet, 1862[7]) and ended with a final order for two in 1904 (Active and Victor)[2][18] which are believed to be the final vessels launched by the company.[19]
The yard numbers the company used seem to have covered all works undertaken, rather than just vessels; Mayflower's current boiler (dating from 1909) is yard No. 303[20].
