 The largest wooden ship to be built in Bideford was the "Sarah Newman", a 1,004-ton full-rigged ship built in 1855.During the 19th century over 815 registered wooden sailing ships were launched on the Torridge, as too were hundreds of unregistered craft.Shipbuilding in the Bideford area declined during the 1890s as shipyards in Britain's industrial regions constructed steel steamships.