Hilhouse

[1] The company, and its successor Charles Hill & Sons, were the most important shipbuilders in Bristol,[2] and taking the concern together built over 560 ships over their 200 years of existence.

The company acquired the large Hotwells drydock, built by the engineer William Champion in 1765 on the north side of the River Avon, to build merchantman and undertake ship repair work.

From 1778, Hilhouse secured Admiralty contracts for warships following the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, including for the fourth rate Trusty.

[8] A pair of portraits of Mr. and Mrs. James Martin Hilhouse by Thomas Hudson were once owned by American preservationist Jim Williams.

They hung in the dining room of his Mercer House home, until they were sold at a Sotheby's auction by his sister in 2000, ten years after Williams' death.

HMS Cleopatra , launched by James Martin Hilhouse on 26 November 1779, as depicted by Nicholas Pocock .
Silhouette of the ship-of-the-line Nassau launched on 28 September 1785 by Hilhouse in Bristol .
French frigates Cybèle and Prudente battling HMS Centurion and the Hilhouse-built HMS Diomede (in the centre), on 17 December 1794
The site of the Hilhouse built Albion Yard today, now occupied by Abels Shipbuilders and Baltic Wharf Marina
Bristol Shipyards with the various locations of Hilhouse highlighted. They operated five different sites in the 18th and 19th centuries.