Walter Taylor (1734–1803) of Southampton, supplied wooden rigging blocks and ship's pumps to the Royal Navy, greatly improving their quality and reliability via technological innovations which were a significant step forward in the Industrial Revolution. Following a fire, at Portsmouth Dockyard in July 1770, which destroyed most of the navy's stock of blocks, Taylor received an order to replace them as quickly as possible and it was agreed to replace them with the smaller blocks tested by Bentinck. Taylor died 23 April 1803, and was interred at South Stoneham church on 8 May.