In October 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars, Admiral Nelson engaged thirty-eight Spanish and French ships off the coast of Spain near Cape Trafalgar. Nelson had a plan which involved splitting the enemy line into three and engaging the middle third, which included their flag ship, in close combat.
This was a break with traditional naval tactics at the time and Nelson needed to be confident about the manoeuvrability of his ships and their firepower.
Nelson’s plan succeeded and ended Napoleon’s plans to invade Britain.
The British had destroyed nineteen enemy ships and killed or wounded around 6,000 French and Spanish men.
Nelson’s success at Trafalgar was in part due to the skill and expertise of a Southampton father and son – both called Walter Taylor.
In 1734 Walter Taylor senior, a skilled ship’s carpenter, and his wife Elizabeth had a son they named Walter. Young Walter was indentured as an apprentice to a ship’s pulley block maker in Westgate Street when he was fourteen years old.
His father spent time researching the manufacture of ships’ pulley blocks. They were not very reliable as they were individually handmade, prone to snagging and jamming. Ships relied on the pulley blocks to control the sails and to position cannons for firing from the gun ports.
In 1754, the Taylors bought a block making business and developed sawing, boring and turning machinery to mass produce them to great accuracy and quality. The Taylor’s blocks were successfully tested by the Navy, who then bought all their output.
A seventy-four-gun warship needed 1,400 such blocks.
The father died in 1762, and young Walter continued the business to produce blocks for the Admiralty. The business expanded and later moved to Mayfield Park in Southampton, where a stream provided the power for the machinery.
Now producing 100,000 blocks a year for the Navy in 1781, the business moved to Woodmill – where the river provided more power and was supplemented by steam engines.
The efficiency and reliability of Walter’s blocks together with the skill of the British seafarers meant that Nelson’s ships had far greater manoeuvrability. Also, each British cannon could fire as many as four volleys to the enemy’s one at the same time.
Walter lived in Portswood, on the site of the current library, and was a philanthropic employer – setting up a school for his employees’ children. He died in 1803 and was buried at South Stoneham church.
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