Cowes Maritime Museum
J Samuel White – Shipbuilders
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The tradition of shipbuilding at Cowes stretches back as far as the early
17th century.
The first documented ship was built at East Cowes in 1622. At first,
construction was mainly of merchant ships for the Virginia Company.
By the end of the 17th century this was replaced by shipbuilding for
the Royal Navy, when Joseph Nye gained contracts for his yard
at East Cowes.
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 Xarifa I - Steam Yacht c1894 Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd.  Toto - Steam Yacht c1881 Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd.  Sarota - Stern Wheel Paddle Steamer. c1902 Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd. | | In 1803 an established shipbuilder, Thomas White, from Broadstairs in Kent, relocated to Cowes. White acquired Nye’s yard and eventually took over yards on both sides of the Medina at West and East Cowes. Over the following years, Thomas and his sons ran various shipyards at East and West Cowes, individually and in partnership. It was not until 1860 that all of their yards were combined under the name 'J Samuel White'. During the 19th century, White's range of craft included floating bridges, lifeboats, merchant ships and paddle vessels. The company also gained a steady income from the repair and refitting of merchant ships. |
| White’s then began the building of new torpedo boats. Their success resulted in a contract from the Admiralty to develop torpedo boat destroyers, a design for which they earned a notable reputation. During the 1880s White's lost a good deal of their repair work to the new docks at Southampton. To compensate the company filled in its docks at West Cowes and developed the engineering part of their business, building steam engines, boilers and diesel engines. By 1914 it is possible that over 75% of the commerce and trade of Cowes depended on White's shipyard. The work force numbered around 2,000, and this rose to 3,500 by the outbreak of World War II. | |  Torpedo Boat c1904 Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd.  White - Forster boilers for HMS Ness - Torpedo Boat Destroyer c1905 J. Samuel White & Co Ltd.  Shipyard workers c1870-1872 J. Samuel White & Co Ltd. |
 Grom, Blyskawica, Intrepid and Impulsive – West Cowes shipyard c1936 J. Samuel White & Co Ltd. | | The contribution of White’s to the war effort can be seen by the visits to East and West Cowes from the Luftwaffe. Early in 1942, the shipbuilding yard in East Cowes was badly damaged in an air attack. The yard was reconstructed over the summer with an improved design, which made new pre-fabrication and welding techniques possible. |
| | The first ship to be built after reconstruction was HMS Cavalier, the last wartime destroyer to be commissioned. After the war, the world saw a slump in the demand for shipbuilding. By 1961 attempts to find work became desperate, and before the decade was out J S White had suffered the fate that would befall most of British shipbuilding. In 1981 White’s former yard finally closed. |
 Ardilla – Gunboat c1895 Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd. |  Sir Charles Pasley - Miner c1893 Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd. |
 James Stevens III - Grimsby Lifeboat c1898 Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd. |  Sybil - Steam Yacht c1888 Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd. |
HMS Mohawk - Torpedo Boat Destroyer c1908
Built by J. Samuel White & Co Ltd.
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Page last updated on: 28/07/2011
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