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Camper and Nicholsons
Camper and Nicholson is a yacht design and manufacturing company based in Gosport, England, for over two hundred years, constructing many significant vessels, such as Gipsy Moth IV and Prince Philip's yacht Bloodhound. Its customers included Thomas Sopwith, William Kissam Vanderbilt II and George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough. Its yachts competed in The America's Cup, The Fastnet Race, the Olympics, the Ocean Race (Whitbread Round the World Race) and many other yacht races. It also built a number of small warships (for the British Admiralty as well as overseas buyers), notably during the two World Wars, and some as late as the 1950s.
In 1782 Francis Calense Amos, who had trained as a shipwright in London, founded a shipyard in Gosport, leasing the land from the Royal Naval Dockyard. Initially he built and repaired small boats for local fishermen. In 1809 he took on his great-nephew, William Camper as his apprentice, and in 1824 William took over running the business, inheriting it when Amos died in March 1824.
Benjamin Nicholson joined the company as an apprentice in 1842 and by 1855 had taken over much of the design work. The company was renamed to Camper and Nicholson to reflect his contribution. Benjamin's son, Charles Ernest Nicholson, followed in his father's footsteps as a yacht designer. In 1875 the business was registered as a limited company, under the name 'Camper and Nicholsons', reflecting the roles of Benjamin's sons Ben Jr and Charles as directors.
In December 1910 there was a major fire at the Gosport Shipyard, depicted in a painting by William Lionel Wyllie and held in the collection of the National Maritime Museum. This destroyed the offices, including almost all the existing records, and spread to, and destroyed the joiners shop on Quay Lane. Recovery from the fire took until around 1912.
In December 1912 Camper and Nicholson acquired J.G. Fay & Co., a yacht building and maintenance firm with a shipyard at Northam in Southampton. The larger slipway and other facilities allowed larger boats to be built. Some time after the launch of Shamrock IV in 1914, when the firm was still called 'Camper and Nicholson', the firm was renamed to Camper and Nicholsons, to reflect Ben's sons joining the firm.
At the outbreak of the war there was need for conversion of civilian vessels for wartime use, for example converting the 493 ton steam yacht Grianaig, belonging to Lord Dunraven, into a hospital ship, which the 76 year old peer commanded himself, evacuating wounded from France and Gallipoli.
The yard made small naval craft for the Admiralty.
They also built Flying Boats for the Gosport Aircraft Company, hulls being built at Gosport and towed to Northam. Yard numbers 234-238 were F 2 A Flying Boat Hulls,249-264 were F3 Flying Boat Hulls
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Camper and Nicholsons
Camper and Nicholson is a yacht design and manufacturing company based in Gosport, England, for over two hundred years, constructing many significant vessels, such as Gipsy Moth IV and Prince Philip's yacht Bloodhound. Its customers included Thomas Sopwith, William Kissam Vanderbilt II and George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough. Its yachts competed in The America's Cup, The Fastnet Race, the Olympics, the Ocean Race (Whitbread Round the World Race) and many other yacht races. It also built a number of small warships (for the British Admiralty as well as overseas buyers), notably during the two World Wars, and some as late as the 1950s.
In 1782 Francis Calense Amos, who had trained as a shipwright in London, founded a shipyard in Gosport, leasing the land from the Royal Naval Dockyard. Initially he built and repaired small boats for local fishermen. In 1809 he took on his great-nephew, William Camper as his apprentice, and in 1824 William took over running the business, inheriting it when Amos died in March 1824.
Benjamin Nicholson joined the company as an apprentice in 1842 and by 1855 had taken over much of the design work. The company was renamed to Camper and Nicholson to reflect his contribution. Benjamin's son, Charles Ernest Nicholson, followed in his father's footsteps as a yacht designer. In 1875 the business was registered as a limited company, under the name 'Camper and Nicholsons', reflecting the roles of Benjamin's sons Ben Jr and Charles as directors.
In December 1910 there was a major fire at the Gosport Shipyard, depicted in a painting by William Lionel Wyllie and held in the collection of the National Maritime Museum. This destroyed the offices, including almost all the existing records, and spread to, and destroyed the joiners shop on Quay Lane. Recovery from the fire took until around 1912.
In December 1912 Camper and Nicholson acquired J.G. Fay & Co., a yacht building and maintenance firm with a shipyard at Northam in Southampton. The larger slipway and other facilities allowed larger boats to be built. Some time after the launch of Shamrock IV in 1914, when the firm was still called 'Camper and Nicholson', the firm was renamed to Camper and Nicholsons, to reflect Ben's sons joining the firm.
At the outbreak of the war there was need for conversion of civilian vessels for wartime use, for example converting the 493 ton steam yacht Grianaig, belonging to Lord Dunraven, into a hospital ship, which the 76 year old peer commanded himself, evacuating wounded from France and Gallipoli.
The yard made small naval craft for the Admiralty.
They also built Flying Boats for the Gosport Aircraft Company, hulls being built at Gosport and towed to Northam. Yard numbers 234-238 were F 2 A Flying Boat Hulls,249-264 were F3 Flying Boat Hulls