Sydenham Teast (1755–1813) was a Quaker merchant, fur-trader,

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

and

shipowner A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Life and career

Teast was a shipowner involved in whaling. He had at least eight South Sea whalers between 1786 and 1801. He was also involved in the

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

and timber trade between England and Africa. He constructed Redcliffe Parade in the 1770s, and was also involved in the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, refitting the slaver ''Hector'' in 1776. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Teast became a significant figure in Bristol's trade with Africa. He was not heavily invested in the slave trade. Teast built two

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

s at Wapping on the Avon in 1755, and a further two at

Canon's Marsh Cabot was a council ward that covered the centre of Bristol, England. It took its name from the Cabot Tower, a memorial tower on Brandon Hill that was built to commemorate John Cabot's voyage and "discovery" of North America. The ward was abolis ...

on the mouth of the River Frome in 1790. On 9 September 1782, the company launched , a

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal ...

32-gun frigate, the only warship the yard ever built. Ships built by Teast's in Bristol include: * , merchant vessel * ''Lion'' (1744), 220 ton, 32-gun

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. * ''Hermione'' (1782), 716 ton, 32-gun fifth-rate frigate. * , merchant vessel He held interests in a few other ships that traded on the coast of West Africa including, ''African Queen'', ''Brothers''. , , , and ''Sydenham''. Teast's Docks lasted until 1832 at Canon's Marsh, and 1841 at Wapping, where the housing and flats of Merchant's Wharf now occupy the site. He married Eleanor Buckle in 1796 and Mary Irvin in 1802.

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Teast, Sydenham Defunct shipbuilding companies of the United Kingdom 1755 births 1813 deaths British people in whaling