page_title: Bideford
section_title: Port and shipping
hierarchical_section_title: Bideford / History / Port and shipping
caption_attribution_description: English: 'Scene at Bideford Bridge', by Mark Myers, showing the crowded waters of the Torridge during the heyday of colonial trade.
context_page_description: Bideford is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.
context_section_description: By the 16th century Bideford had become Britain's third largest port. Sir Walter Raleigh landed his first shipment of tobacco here, although, contrary to popular belief, he was not the first to import tobacco to England. Several local roads and a hill have been named after Raleigh. Bideford was heavily involved in the transport of indentured servants to the New World colonies. Bideford also was heavily involved in the Newfoundland cod trade from the 16th century to the mid-18th century. 28 Bideford vessels with a tonnage of 3860 were involved in this practice in the year 1700. In the years 1706, 1707, 1726 and 1758 fishermen of Bideford sent petitions demanding the building of a fort in Newfoundland to protect them from Native Americans and the French.  Bideford also imported large amounts of Irish wool in the 18th century. 
  Two prominent shipbuilders in Bideford were George Crocker and Richard Chapman: they built a large number of ships. A number of ships have been built in Bideford, including HMS Acorn, an 18-gun sloop launched in 1807; and HMS Mutine, HMS Fairy, HMS Carnation and HMS Ontario, which were all 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloops, HMS Garland and HMS Volage were both 22-gun Royal Navy Laurel-class post ships, and HMS Meda, a harbour defence motor launch was built and launched in the town. Around 150 ships were built between 1840 and 1877 at Higher Cleave Houses in Bideford. The largest wooden ship to be built in Bideford was the Sarah Newman, a 1,004-ton full-rigged ship built in 1855. During the 19th century over 815 registered wooden sailing ships were launched on the Torridge, as too were hundreds of unregistered craft. Shipbuilding in the Bideford area declined during the 1890s as shipyards in Britain's industrial regions constructed steel steamships. The last wooden merchant ship launched in the River Torridge was the schooner PT Harris from the Hubbastone yard of PK Harris & Sons, in 1912. 
  During World War II a Shoreham-class sloop was named HMS Bideford, also four sixth-rate ships of the line have been named after the town. Nowadays the only shipbuilding in the area is at Appledore Shipbuilders, which has built civilian ships and ships for the Royal Navy and Irish Naval Service. Currently ball clay is exported from Bideford to Castellón, Spain and also Naantali, Finland; also wood has been exported to Wismar, Germany. The Kathleen and May, the last remaining British-built wooden-hull three-masted topsail schooner, is registered in Bideford and was at one time based there. There are also some fishing boats that still operate out of Bideford.
caption: 'Scene at Bideford Bridge', by Mark Myers during the 18th century.
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