Joseph Wheeler began building and repairing ships in the early 19th century using derricks and slips on the Brickfield slobs off the Strand Road, Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

. By 1829 he had moved to a yard on the Lower Glanmire Road where he built a patent slip

Patent slip

The patent slip or Marine Railway was invented by Scot Thomas Morton in 1818 as a cheaper alternative to a dry dock for ship repair. It consisted of an inclined plane, which extended well into the water, and a wooden cradle onto which a ship was floated...

. In the 1850s he moved again, this time to a purpose built yard at Rushbrooke

Rushbrooke

Rushbrooke is an urban area on the western side of Cobh on Great Island in Cork Harbour, Ireland. It is in the townland of Ringacoltig .The townland is Ringacoltig, an anglicised version of the original Irish name....

 that was built around a large drydock designed by Sir John Rennie the Younger. While at the Lower Gleanmire Road yard, Wheeler built a number of wooden ships including his largest, the 500-ton Mary Hardy.

In 1842 Wheeler lived at 20 Grand Parade, Cork and in 1867 he is recorded as having lived at Westlands, Queenstown

Cobh

Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island...

(Cobh)

Sources

• Rynne, Colin (1999). The Industrial Archaeology of Cork and Its Environs, Duchas The Heritage Society
• Rynne, Colin (2006). Industrial Ireland 1750 - 1930: An Archaeology, The Collins Press

External links

• Rushbrooke drydock between 1885 and 1946