William Castle (shipbuilder)
# William Castle (shipbuilder)

William Castle or Castell of Rotherhithe (c.1615–1681) was a shipbuilder for the Royal Navy and occasionally for the East India Company. He is mentioned more than once in the Diary of Samuel Pepys.

## Life

He was the son of William Castle (d.1649) shipwright at Redriff (now known as Rotherhithe) and his wife Margaret (d.1635). His younger brother Thomas was also a shipwright. He entered the Royal Navy in 1629 as a ship's carpenter.

Samuel Pepys first mentions Castle in 1664, commenting on the appearance of his wife.

He is buried with his parents in the floor of Bermondsey Parish Church.

## Family

In 1636 he married Elizabeth. On 5 July 1663 he married (as a second wife) Martha Batten, daughter of Sir William Batten, Surveyor of the Navy.

His son William Castle died in 1696. A younger son John Castle died in 1700.

## Ships of note

* HMS Taunton (1654) 40-gun ship launched at Rotherhithe renamed HMS Crown in 1660
* HMS Dover (1654) a 40-gun ship of the line launched at Shoreham
* HMS Monmouth (1666) an 8-gun yacht launched at Rotherhithe
* HMS Navy (1666) an 8-gun yacht launched at Rotherhithe
* HMS Defiance (1666) a 64-gun ship of the line launched at Deptford Dockyard destroyed in a fire 1668
* "Bombay Merchant" (1668) for the East India Company launched on the Thames
* HMS Kitchen (1670) 8-gun yacht launched at Rotherhithe
* HMS Hope (1678) 70-gun ship of the line launched at Deptford Dockyard
* HMS Elizabeth (1679) 70-gun ship of the line launched at Barnard's Yard at Deptford Green on the Thames

## Ships by William Castle the Younger

* HMS Mordaunt (1682) 48-gun ship of the line launched at Deptford, started by father, completed by the son
* HMS Griffin (1690) 28-gun ship launched at Rotherhithe
* HMS Hart (1691) 10-gun ketch launched at Rotherhithe
