Francis Baylie (also variously spelt ''Bayley'' or ''Bailey'') was a shipbuilder based in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, during the 17th century, a well established

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

builder who also built warships for the

English Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

History

Origins

The yard is one of the oldest named shipbuilders in Bristol, as Lloyd's of London did not publish their lists before 1764, and Statutory Registers did not begin until 1786. The oldest known Baylie built ship is the 280 ton ( bm)

merchantman A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

''Charles'' of 1626. Francis Baylie's first recorded navy orders resulted from

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approval on 28 September 1652 for a fourth rate during the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execut ...

period. Baylie's later attracted several other orders for warships in the mid-1650s.

Shipyard

Baylie's

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

was located in The Marsh, now predominantly laid out as the

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Queen Square, at an area known as 'The Gibb' or 'Gibb Taylor', a point of land which used to extend from Narrow Quay at Prince Street on the River Frome. Building had already been undertaken here since at least the 16th century, as the Frome had been diverted in 1240-47, resulting in additional invaluable land outside the

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

. Baylie's yard was at the southwest corner of the quay extended by Thomas Wright of the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea trading ...

in 1627. When the

third rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

''Edgar'' was completed in 1669 she was the biggest ship yet built in Bristol, and in

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

diary, the

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administrator talks of visiting the ship and tipping the

cabin boy ''Cabin Boy'' is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film, directed by Adam Resnick and co-produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked for '' Late Night with Dav ...

s. She had suffered damage during the launch as the fall was too great, leading to three broken lowermost ways and damage amidships. The ''Speedwell'', built at 'Gib Taylour' and assumed to be Baylie's, also had an unfortunate launching on 1 November 1663 when four boys and men on board drowned during the process. Bristol Shipyards - Francis Baylie 2

Closure

Francis Baylie died in 1678. No further ship builds are recorded after the large

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

''Northumberland'' was completed, and it is likely the yard closed soon afterwards. Gibb Taylor itself continued to see shipbuilding until the early 18th century, when it was closed in order to extend the quays and provide additional

wharves A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

for

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

.Farr, Graeme (1977). ''Shipbuilding in the Port of Bristol'' National Maritime Museum Maritime Monographs and Reports. p26

Ships built by Francis Baylie

Naval

Known naval ships built by Francis Baylie *''Islip'' (1654). 22-gun sixth rate ship *''Nantwich'' (1655). 40-gun fourth rate

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

* ''St Patrick'' (1666). 50-gun fourth rate frigate * ''Edgar'' (1668). 70-gun

ship of the line * ''Oxford'' (1674). 54-gun third rate frigate * ''Northumberland'' (1679). 70-gun third rate ship of the line

Merchant

Known merchant ships built by Francis Baylie *''Charles'' (1626). 280 t

*''Speedwell'' (1663).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baylie, Francis Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United Kingdom Businesspeople from Bristol 17th-century births 1678 deaths