Most of Cardigan's shipbuilding industry was based in and around Netpool. In 1839, Cardigan Town Council began to charge shipbuilders for the use of Corporation land and divided Netpool into five lots, which were auctioned at the Black Lion, Cardigan, on 8 April 1839.

By the 1870s, there were three shipbuilding yards in Cardigan: one on each side of the gasworks (near the tug in the distance), and another near the cottages in Netpool. There is little sign of shipbuilding in this photograph as the industry had fallen into decline by the late 19th century.

Sources:
J. Geraint Jenkins, Maritime Heritage: The Ships and Seamen of Southern Ceredigion (Llandysul, 1982)
W. J. Lewis, Gateway to Wales: A History of Cardigan (Carmarthen, 1990)