John Winspear was primarily a ship repairer, building new vessels only when his repair business was quiet. For most of his career he worked alone, though he formed a partnership with Henry Taylor for some years. Winspear was known for first-class workmanship, mainly on small wooden vessels. Winspear was plagued by mental health problems and died in 1874 in the County Asylum.  At this time the yard was taken over by Dring and Pattison, only to close permanently in 1876 when it was absorbed by the construction of the North Basin.

View ships built by Winspear