White's Ships

The schooner Hellas built at Whites in 1832.

The schooner Hellas built at Whites in 1832(92ft x 23ft x 15ft)for Bewleys of Dublin. The Hellas was the first ship to bring tea direct from China to Ireland.

© Bill Irish

The schooner Hellas built at Whites in 1832.
© Bill Irish

The schooner Hellas built at Whites in 1832.

The schooner Hellas built at Whites in 1832(92ft x 23ft x 15ft)for Bewleys of Dublin. The Hellas was the first ship to bring tea direct from China to Ireland.

© Bill Irish

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The Schooner Hellas

In particular two ships built in White's shipyard made a valuable contribution to Irish maritime history - The Hellas and The Merrie England. The schooner Hellas was built in White's yard in 1832. It was 92 ft-long, weighed 209 tons and was destined for deep sea voyages.

In 1835 the Hellas had the distinction of being the first ship to bring a consignment of tea direct from Canton, China to Ireland for Bewleys of Dublin. Captain Scanlan commanded the ship, importing 2099 chests of tea, breaking the London tea supply monopoly. The Hellas was extremely fast and spent several years trading in and out of China carrying fruit and tea.

The Merrie England

The Merrie England, built in 1856 in White's shipyard. It was built for James Beazley of Liverpool.

© Bill Irish

The Merrie England
© Bill Irish

The Merrie England

The Merrie England, built in 1856 in White's shipyard. It was built for James Beazley of Liverpool.

© Bill Irish

Enlarge image

The Merrie England

The Merrie England The 201 ft-long Merrie England was built in 1856 and was the largest wooden sailing ship ever built in Ireland. It was a splendid full rigged sailing-ship. It was built for James Beazley of Liverpool. It made many voyages from Liverpool to Melbourne in Australia and returned to Liverpool via Sydney and Shanghai. This was the last full-rigged sailing-ship built
in White's yard.

Demise of White's Shipyard

Exceptional full-rigged sailing ships as well as schooners, barques and brigs were all build in White's shipyard which had a reputation for quality. But by the 1850's the wooden sailing ship was going into natural decline being replaced by the iron steamers and by about 1873 the yard had closed down.