William Pile

William Pile (10 October 1823 – 5 June 1873) was a British shipbuilder. 'His genius was displayed in the building of ships, wherein he was not excelled. As Watt was great as a builder of engines; and Stephenson was great as a builder of railways; so William Pile was great as a builder of ships.'

He was the first to introduce the Clipper class of ship to the river Wear, Sunderland.

A testament to his art can be seen today, the Composite Clipper ship City of Adelaide. The ship was classed as "Experimental" by Lloyd's of London in 1864; it would be a few years before Lloyds would formalise the rules for constructing composite ships, the rules for which were used for the design and construction of the composite Clipper ship Cutty Sark.

His bust, now on display in the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, was paid for by donations from his friends.

Childhood

William Pile was born on 10 October 1823 at the White House, Low Southwick, Sunderland, son of William and Mary Pile and brother to John. The house was surrounded by the shipyard of J. Mills, for whom his grandfather, another William Pile, was superintending the construction of wooden ships. He was baptised at St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth on 28 October 1823.

Pile's ancestors, who were farmers, had arrived in Sunderland around 1770 from Rothbury, Northumberland. His grandfather was the first shipbuilder of the family, being so adept that he was made manager of a shipyard shortly after completing his apprenticeship. Preferring to manage rather than build on his own account, his ships were considered to be well-built and fast. He passed on his good knowledge of both the theory and practice of shipbuilding to many of people who subsequently built on the Wear, including William. Pile's father was also noted for his well-modelled ships and considered the first shipbuilder of his day. When asked by a friend, as to the shape of his yachts, he replied "Cod's head and mackerel tail", a shape favoured by British boat designers from as far back as the 18th century.

During the 1830s, Sunderland became the most important shipbuilding centre in the country, and by 1840 there were 65 shipyards on the river. It was at this time, that Pile walked the banks of the River Wear, visiting the shipyards and never growing tired of seeing ships in the various stages of construction. He was put to work very young. His character was more practical than theoretical, trusting more to their eye than the plan. He constantly watched the progress of the ships he had built, corresponding with their captains. His custom was to seek information where he thought it was to be got, and to get it he used periodically to visit the largest ports of the United Kingdom.