John Winspear (18161874) was a ship builder in

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

, England.

Life and career

Born in

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

in 1816 John Winspear set up his business in

. Based in Middleton, Winspear's yard boasted a gridiron and

patent slip A patent slip or marine railway is an inclined plane extending from shoreline into water, featuring a "cradle" onto which a ship is first floated, and a mechanism to haul the ship, attached to the cradle, out of the water onto a slip. The mar ...

way. In an advertisement, Winspear described himself as a "shipwright, blacksmith", saying he was "always in readiness for raising sunken ships, and getting them off when stranded." Winspear was known for his workmanship and he built five wooden sailing ships, mostly small vessels, the last being the 55.5ft schooner ''Ellis,'' launched in 1858. Winspear was afflicted by poor mental health and died in 1874 in the County Asylum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winspear, John People from Whitby 1816 births 1874 deaths English shipbuilders