Shipbuilding in Cardigan, 19th century

Description

During the 17th century, the development of Cardigan port as a centre for trade and herring fishing provided a market for a budding boatbuilding industry, and the further increase in trade during the latter half of the 18th century led to the construction of larger vessels.

The size of the ships that were built in Cardigan was limited to about 160 tons because of the sand bar at the entrance to the port, and so most of the ships that made transatlantic voyages were constructed in places such as New Quay, Chepstow, Poole and Swansea. Nevertheless, the shipbuilding industry at Cardigan enjoyed its golden age between 1792 and 1866, during which about 140 ships were built in local yards.

The industry began its long period of decline in the late 1840s. By the 1880s, the yards were primarily used for breaking up old ships and for the sale of parts, and by the turn of the 20th century, shipbuilding had all but ceased in Cardigan.

Source:
W. J. Lewis, Gateway to Wales: A History of Cardigan (Carmarthen, 1990)