Vessels built at Amlwch
Year Name Tons Where By Rig Bought Owned or part owned Fate/Notes Extended details
1788 Lovely 76 Amlwch   Brig     Capt William Botham Sold in Liverpool 1835,Broken up 1844
1788 Nancy 15 Amlwch   Sloop     Capt R.Griffiths Probably built at Dulas
1791 Swallow 7 Amlwch   Sloop        
1825 Unity 68 Amlwch N.Treweek Sloop 1825 N.Treweek Capt Robert Jones  
1826 Marquis of Anglesey 65 Amlwch N.Treweek Sloop 1826 N.Treweek Capt Hugh Thomas. . Driven ashore near Gimlet Rock Pwllheli 30th Jan 1865. Crew of 4 lost
1827 Margaret 43 Amlwch N.Treweek Sloop 1827 N.Treweek Capt John Williams  
1829 Eleanor 17 Amlwch N.Treweek Smack 1829 N.Treweek Capt G.Jones  
1830 James and Jane 130 Amlwch Treweek Bros B'ntine 1830 N.Treweek Capt John Hughes Foundered bay of Biscay 1837
1832 Amlwch Packet 37 Amlwch Treweek Bros Smack/schooner? 1832 N.Treweek… T.Jones of Bangor Capt Griffith Jones. Wrecked Abererch 14th October 1881  
1834 Sarah 18 Amlwch Treweek Bros Smack 1834 N.Treweek Capt J.Jones  
1836 Cymraes 28 Amlwch Treweek Bros Sloop 1836 N.Treweek Capt William Roberts  
1936 Sarah 21 Amlwch Treweek Bros Sloop        
1836 Jane and Margaret 56 Amlwch Treweek Bros Sloop 1832 N.Treweek Capt Wm Roberts  
1839 Marianne 72 Amlwch Treweek Bros Sloop 1839 N.Treweek Capt Thos Hughes  
1839 Mary Owen 53 Amlwch N.Treweek Schnr        
1840 Economy 63 Amlwch Treweek Bros Schn 1840 N.Treweek Capt R.Jones. Lost on St Patrick's Causeway with all hands 1843  
1842 Catherine 63 Amlwch N.Treeweek Schooner        
1844 Cymro 20 Amlwch N.Treweek Smack 1844 N.Treweek Capt Owen Williams,Lost April 8th 1868  
1858 Alliance 76 Amlwch Treweek & Co Schooner   Palmer & Co Capt T.Owen  
1858 Mary Catherine 77 Amlwch Hughes & Co I.Schnr   Jones& Co Amlwch Capt J.German  First iron ship built at Amlwch by William Thomas in 1858 on the western side of the port. The owners were Jones and Company, Amlwch. Captain John German.  
1859 Charles Edwin 94 Amlwch Paynter Schooner   Dyer & co Amlwch First ship to be built after Paynter acquired the old Treweek yard.  
1859 Grace Evans 90 Amlwch Treweek & Co I Schnr   N.Treweek, W.Thomas, Grace Evans, E.Morgan etc. Capt J. Price The first two-masted iron schooner was launched from Treweeks yard in October 1859 with Nicolas Treweek ,William Thomas and Edward Morgan,tobaconist each having ¼ share in her.  
1859 Clara Jane Amlwch Treweek & Co I Schnr
1862 Sea Queen 82 Amlwch Treweek & Co Schooner   N.Treweek 40 Lost Rhosneigr 1861  
1862 Mary Fanny 92 Amlwch Paynter Schooner        
1864 Price of Wales 99 Amlwch   Iron Schooner     Captain Robert "Princess" Traded fruit from Spain
1865 Jane Grey 124 Amlwch Paynter Schooner     Sunk by enemy action 1915.  
1866 Perseverence 110 Amlwch Treweek Schooner     The last ship built by Treweek. William Thomas took over the yard a few years later.  
1869 Welsh Girl 99 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1870 W.Thomas, W.Thomas, Liv Capts. T.Jones, J.FarrellLost 21st March 1882  
1870 Lewis and Mary 70 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1870 W.Thomas, E.Pritchard Capt E.Pritchard. Sailed from Antwerp for Greenock in 1874 and was lost at sea. Named after William Thomas two eldest children. Launched 2/6/1870 and immediately took a cargo of Ochre to Runcorn. She returned to Amlwch a few days before Christmas with a load of Phosphate from Bristol for The Hill's factory.
1871 Charles 48 Amlwch Paynter Schooner     For Charles Dyer the Parys mine agent.  
1872 Holy Wath 119 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1872 Morgan & Co Whitehaven 1875 Built at Amlwch in 1872 by Captain Thomas for William Morgan of Cumberland. The schooner Holy Wath was built by William Thomas at Amlwch, Anglesey in 1872. She was owned by the Duddon Shipping Association from her launch until 1920, and in 1921 she was owned by James Nicholson and John Fisher of Barrow. Alan Lockett states that the vessel was originally supposed to be named "Holly Wath" after the house of Capt. William Morgan, the Duddon harbourmaster and one of the managers of the Duddon Shipping Association. The Holy Wath was broken-up at Glasson Dock, Lancaster in 1925.
1873 Nellie Bywater 99 Millom Thomas Schooner 1873 W.Postlethwaite Capts Ellis, R.Morgan The history of the Nellie Bywater is well-documented, principally because her last owner wrote a book (see Source 2) describing not only his own experiences with her, but also giving a good account of her building and early history. This book includes plans and many photographs. Trevor Morgan added more detail in his article in Maritime Wales, and it is was he who gave me the photograph of the painting of the  Nellie Bywater that is shown here.The Nellie Bywater was a two-masted schooner, the first vessel to be built at the Millom shipyard of William Thomas & Co. Her designer and builder was the shipyard foreman, Hugh Jones, who had been brought from Amlwch by William Thomas and who would later own the yard in his own right.  He took ten months to build and the Nellie Bywater and she was launched on the 20th December 1873. Her first master was Capt. Richard Morgan of Amlwch and her owners were the Hodbarrow Mining Company, in the guise of the Duddon Shipping Association. Later masters included Capt. Soloman Ellis, Capt. James Fairclough of Ulverston, Capt. Owen Jones of Amlwch and then Capt. John Hughes Parry. Capt. Morgan took the Nellie Bywater to Spain for iron ore, but the bulk of her work was in home waters, principally the triangular route carrying iron ore from the Duddon to South Wales, then coal to Ireland, returning to the Duddon with pitwood. Later the ore trade from the Duddon was largely to the Clyde rather than South Wales.The  Nellie Bywater was sold to a group of people from  Annalong, Co. Down, for £1825 in 1921. Her new master and managing owner was Capt. William McKibben. The vessel was requisitioned for war service in 1940, and soon after the war ended she was sold to Capt. Richard England. He kept her trading for several years, supplementing her income with some appearances in films. With cargoes for schooners hard to find in Britain, in 1951 he decided to take the schooner to the Caribbean. Delayed by postwar bureaucracy, he found himself having to set off to cross Biscay in December. After battling gales in the English Channel for six days, the Nellie Bywater foundered near Bolt Head on the 28th December 1951, whilst trying to make the safety of Plymouth. One of Capt. England's daughters and a crewman drowned, the other nine crew being rescued by H.M.T.Careful.
1874 Cumberland Lassie 208 Amlwch Thomas Bgntine 1874 W.Postlethwaite Capt P.Hodgson. For William Postethwaite of Cumberland. She was the largest ship yet built at Amlwch.( 1874) She carried coal to Dover for many years.Wrecked Start Point Jan 1918 Originally a barquentine, the Cumberland Lassie was built by William Thomas at Amlwch, the third vessel he had built there. She was felted and yellow-metalled, so intended for foreign trade. She was owned by William Postlethwaite of Millom from her launch until 1890.In 1875 the Cumberland Lassie was chartered to carry a cargo of 270 tons of steel rails from Barrow-in-Furness to East London, South Africa. She arrived on the 31st August but was held outside the sandbar until lighters were available for unloading her. These did not arrive until the 6th October and it was only on the 14th November that the lighters had removed sufficient of the cargo to allow the Cumberland Lassie to clear the bar and enter the harbour to finish unloading. There was a court case between Postlethwaite and the charterer regarding the payment of demurrage, concerning whether or not the cargo had been "discharged with all dispatch" - see Source 2.The National Maritime Museum has photographs of the Cumberland Lassie as a three-masted schooner when she was owned by George Nicholls (Negative No. P.178, undated, poor quality, vessel under sail - plus other photos not listed in the catalogue). One excellent photograph is reproduced in "The Merchant Schooners" 4th ed. by Basil Greenhill, and he states that the Cumberland Lassie was one of the best known Kent colliers operating out of Dover at the turn of the Century.The  Cumberland Lassie was stranded one mile South of the Martello Tower at Orford Ness, Aldeburgh, Suffolk on the 16th January 1918. She was bound from Gravesend to Newcastle with a cargo of burnt ore. At the time she was owned by Nicholls of Folkestone.
1875 Mersey (L'pool Pilot Boat no 11) 79 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1875   Capt R.Williams. Sank near Bar Lightship Dec 2nd 1885 The pilot vessels belonging to the Liverpool Pilotage Service made regular use of the Amlwch port for repairs. This may have been why William Thomas tendered for and built such a vessel in 1875. She was Pilot Vessel number 11. A 76 foot schooner rigged vessel of 110 tons made with copper fastened English oak. She was well appointed and had an agreed price of £2,600. she was launched on 6th April.Her life was short but eventful. On 12 October 1877 she was run down by the steam ship Menelaus and sunk. She was raised and restored back to Pilot service only to be run down again by the SS Landana on 2nd December 1885.
1876 Baron Hill 209 Amlwch Thomas Bgntine 1876 W.Postlethwaite Capt J.Hughes A larger version of the Cumberland Lassie The three-masted schooner Baron Hill was built by William Thomas at Amlwch in April 1876. She was registered at Liverpool and was owned by Millom's William Postlethwaite from 1876 until her loss on the 22nd March 1898.Travelling from Flint to Newcastle with a cargo of salt, the Baron Hill was stranded and lost in wind conditions ENE Force 6, in the Dee estuary 2 miles below Flint. The master was Capt. L.Hughes and there was a crew of six
1876 Lady Neave 89 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1876 W.Thomas, W.Owen, I.Jones Capt I.Jones. served in the coastal trade until sunk in a collision in July 1911 near South Stack.  
1877 Nant Glyn 103 Amlwch Thomas Wooden Schooner   T.Jones and T.Jones Lost all hands in October 1881.  
1878 Eilian Hill 99 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1878 W.Thomas, L.Hughes etc Built by Thomas with Charles Henry Hills as joint owner. In December 1882 she foundered off Penzance after colliding with SS Equist.  
1878 Nesta 104 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1878 S.R.Platt, Oldham Capt J.Hughes. Sold in 1891 to W.Pritchard Portmadoc  
1878 Parys lodge 97 Amlwch Paynter Schooner
1879 Glyndwr 26 Amlwch Thomas Smack 1879 W.Thomas Capt W.Williams. Lengthened 1882.she carried various cargos alone the North Wales Coast. Went ashore near Point Lynas may 1883. Wrecked near Hoylake 9/1/1886.  
1879 Margaret 72 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1879 W.Thomas Capt J.Thomas  
1880 Pearl 100 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1880 T.Fanning Evans Capt W.Lewis. Sold to Conah's Quay 1890 Lost at Red wharf Buy old haulk still on beach.
1881 President Garfield 48 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1881 W.Thomas jnr Sold in 1897 to Cornish owners. Named in honour of the 20 President of the USA who was assassinated the same year.
1883 W.S.Caine 74 Amlwch Thomas Steamer 1883 W.Thomas, then W.Thomas Liv then Manchester, Liverpool and N.Wales SS.Co Capt L.Thomas  First Iron screw steamer to be built at Amlwch  by Thomas she was 180 tonnes and was built for a contract price of £5000 in 1883. The 155 ton steam ship William Sproston Caine was launched from William Thomas's Iard Newydd in 1883 by Mrs Fanning Evans of Mona Lodge. The wife of the Manager of the Mona Copper mine. She was the first iron steamer to be built at Amwlch and indeed in North Wales.Her 50 HP engines were fitted by Messers De Winton and Co of Caernarvon.
1884 Anglesey 158 Amlwch Thomas Ketch     Small iron screw  35HP engine by Ditton of Caernarvon
1884 Exchange 292 Amlwch Thomas I.stmr 1884 W.Thomas & Co, Liv Capt A.Grant  
1884 Lady Bessie 79 Millom Thomas W.Stmr 1884 G.Farrer and Co Caernarvon Capt R.Roberts  
1885 Anglesea 149 Amlwch Thomas I.stmr 1885 W.Thomas. L.Thomas, Bilbao owners in 1894 Capt W.Gibbon  
1885 Camborne 108 Amlwch W.Cox -Paynter 3 Schnr   Capt T.Morgan. 1914? Sold to Swansea. (Hugh Shaw tells story in "Schooner Captain") Captain Thomas Morgan built the 118 ton Schooner Cambourne in 1884 at the Cox Paynter yard in Amlwch. she was described as " of graceful shape and good qualities" and was managed by the Cox Paynter Company up until the First World War. She was crewed mainly by Amlwch man.In 1936 at the age of 52 she was blown off course in the Atlantic by a fierce storm. After the storm it took 4 days to make landfall.
1885 Elizabeth Peers 183 Amlwch Thomas I.Schnr 1885 W.Postlethwaite Capt E.J.Peers The schooner Elizabeth Peers was owned by William Postlethwaite, Millom shipowner, for her entire career. She was an iron-hulled three-masted schooner, built in September 1885 by William Thomas at Amlwch, Anglesey. This schooner is discussed in "Ships and Seamen of Anglesey" by Aled Eames. Appendix IX gives a summary of her building costs, which amounted to £2147 18s 2d.The Elizabeth Peers foundered off Rio Grande Bar on the 18th February 1893.
1886 Greyhound 191 Millom Thomas Schooner 1886 W.Thomas Capts Williams, R.Jones Initially designed as a steamer, the Greyhound was a wooden three-masted schooner built by William Thomas at his Millom shipyard. She was launched in October 1886 and entered the fleet of her builder, who operated his main shipyard at Amlwch and managed a large schooner fleet there. The Greyhound sailed in deepwater trades to Spain, Morocco and to Brazil. She was sold by Capt. Thomas to South African owners in October 1891, for whom she traded to Mauritius and St.Helena. In March 1912 she was sold to an owner in Mauritius, who put her into the inter-island guano trade. he Greyhound was lost on 15th June 1913, when she struck a reef at Raphael Island. She had loaded 206 tons guano at Albatross Island and was travelling to Raphael to complete loading, but strong tides caused her to strike the reef. The crew of twelve, four labourers and two passengers all managed to save themselves by setting up a bosun's chair with the help of an islander. The master was exonerated from blame because his chart did not accurately report the strong tidal stream in the area.
1887 Gelert 223 Amlwch Thomas I.Schnr 1887 W.Thomas, L.Thomas Wrecked Catalinita Is 26th April 1890.  
1889 Eilian 116 Amlwch Thomas Schooner 1889 W.Thomas & Sons, R.Griffiths Sank 6th July 1899 after a collision with SS Afrique off St Catherines Point. The Eilian was the first vessel to be built at William Thomas new slip facing the outer basin at Amlwch port. She was at the time the largest vessel to be built at the port. She was launched in March 1884 but broke away from her small towing steamer and floated in the direction of Cemais. She was recovered and taken to Caernarvon to have her engines fitted by the De Witon Company.  Only 7 weeks after being launched her name was changed to Express and later still to Exchange.The first powered vessels to trade in the area were low powered paddle steamers with sail assistance. They mostly carried passengers with a small hold for cargo. They were an important communication link between North Wales and the nearest city which was Liverpool. A summer tourist trade also developed with excursions along the North Wales Coast from Liverpool. In the winters a phenomenal amount of pigs were carried from Gwynedd to Liverpool.The paddle streamers time was from the 1820s to the 1870s (though excursion steamers continued right up to recent times). They became less important as the railway arrived in the area, first to Caernarfon along the northern coast and then the Cambrian Railway up the coast of Cardigan Bay to Pwllheli.Advertisments for their sailings can be seen in old copies of the "Herald" (later the "Caernarvon and Denbigh Herald"). They were owned or operated by such companies as the "Cardigan Bay Steam Navigation Co", the " Liverpool and North Wales Steam Packet Co" etc. One of the main operators was the "City of Dublin Steam Packet Co".As steam propulsion became more reliable screw propelled coasters developed (they still often retained sails and used them to save fuel when winds were favourable). Often these carried slates to Liverpool, London or other centres and carried coal, groceries, hardware and general goods back . There was also room for some passengers.These coasters were regular visitors at the North West Wales ports and kept to their schedules regardless of the weather.William Thomas and Co of Amlwch built many ships and they were the last big coaster owner of the coast. Their ships tended to be general traders, working all over the Home Trade limits (Brest to Elbe). Their last vessel, the EILIAN HILL, traded until 1955.
1890