18/06/2026
This photograph shows the yard of Scoble & Davies at Malpas, near Truro on the River Fal which mostly built wooden schooners for Truro merchants making voyages to Newfoundland, South America and Europe, and home trade with South Wales carrying coal and iron cargoes.
Scoble & Davies operated as shipbuilders at Malpas from 1866 to 1894. The partnership was responsible for building at least 12 vessels during this period. Nicholas Scoble appears to have built the first vessel on the site, the Perseverance in 1859 on his own. The partnership between William Scoble and John Davies started when they built their first vessel, the 123-ton Jesse in 1866. The yard ran on after the last vessel, the barge GWB, was built in 1894 concentrating on repair work and was still in existence after the First World War.
The Bartlett Maritime Research Centre and Library database of Cornish built vessels lists the following boats built at the Malpas yard; Perseverance, Secret, Jesse, Amanda, Malpas Belle, Village Belle, Janie, Resolute, Flora, Henrietta, Bessie, Lizzie, Margaret and GWB. The largest of these ships was the Malpas Belle at 189-tons.
This photograph is from the extensive Stribley Collection and is the result of Roy Stribley’s passion with keeping a photographic record of the shipping in the River Fal.
