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Liverpool circa 1840
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| The port of Liverpool was founded in 1207.
The English had recently conquered Ireland and King John needed a port to
send men and supplies across the Irish Sea. In the 14th century Liverpool
probably had a maximum population of about 1,200. In the Middle Ages Liverpool's
main trading partner was Ireland, however some wine was imported from France. |
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Canning dock circa 1840
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| In the 16th century Ireland was still Liverpool's
main trading partner. Exports from Liverpool at that time included coal,
woollen cloth, knives and leather goods. There were still many fishermen
in Liverpool. In the 16th century Liverpool had 12 vessels, and in the succeeding
70yrs to the first quarter of the 17th century only amounted to 24.The port
was also used when English troops were transported to Ireland to put down
rebellions in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Liverpool was growing at
this time but it still had a population of only 2,000 in 1600. Like all
towns at that time Liverpool suffered from outbreaks of the plague. There
were severe outbreaks in 1558 and 1609, 1647 and 1650. |
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St. Georges Dock, late 19th Century
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| The earliest church in Liverpool the Chapel
of St Mary. By the middle of the 14th century there was also the chapel
of Our Lady and St Nicholas (St Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors,
which was appropriate to a port like Liverpool). In 1699 Liverpool was finally
made a parish of its own. The first parish church was St Peters, which was
built in 1704. |
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Princes Dock, late 19th Century
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Liverpool began to grow rapidly in the late 17th century
with the growth of English colonies in North America and the West Indies.
Liverpool was well placed to trade with colonies across the Atlantic.
The town boomed. Liverpool at this time also had trade with Norway, Hamburg,
the Baltic, Holland and Flanders.
Liverpool continued to grow rapidly. By the early 18th
century it had probably reached a population of 5,000. Shortly after 1720
the river Weaver, which ran through the saline districts of Cheshire,
was made navigable. This succeeded in drawing a share of the salt trade
to Liverpool. Measures were also undertaken to render the Mersey and Irwell
navigable from Liverpool to Manchester, and the river Douglas from the
coal-fields of Wigan to the mouth of the Ribble. By 1750 the population
of Liverpool had reached 20,000 and by 1801 77,000. Many of the inhabitants
were immigrants.
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| The first dock in Liverpool was built in 1715.
Previously ships were simply tied up by the shore but as the port grew busier
this was no longer adequate. Four more docks were built in the 18th century.
In the middle of the 18th century the Lancashire coal-pits were thrown open
to Liverpool trade with the opening of the Sankey Canal. The West Indies
supplied all their cotton production to the Liverpool, which in turn supplied
Manchester and enabled it to be the first manufacturing town in the world.
Its manufacturers of glass, machinery, cutlery and earthenware were exported
back through Liverpool. Liverpool grew to be the third largest port in the
country behind London and Bristol. |
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| From about 1730 the merchants of Liverpool
made huge profits from the slave trade. The trade formed a triangle. Goods
from Manchester were given to the Africans in return for slaves. The slaves
were transported across the Atlantic to the West Indies and sugar was brought
back from there to Liverpool. At the end of the century a famous actor visited
Liverpool. When he was booed he told the audience that every brick of their
town was 'cemented with the blood of an African'. |
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Canning Dock, circa 1900
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In the 18th century sugar refining became an important
industry in Liverpool. Shipbuilding also became a flourishing industry.
Rope making also prospered. In Liverpool there was also some manufacturing
industry such as iron working, watch making and pottery. In the 18th century
rivers were deepened to make it easier for ships to sail on them. The
Mersey and Irwell were deepened in 1720 and the Sankey Brook in 1755.
In 1752 there were 124 ships engaged in trade with the
plantations of North American and the West Indies and 88 with Africa.
The coasters to Ireland alone were 125, as early as the days of Elizabeth,
Ireland had furnished the greater part of the imports and consumed the
greater part of the exports of the town, the Irish trade was more to Liverpool
than its foreign trade. The linen yarn alone, thence imported for the
use of Manchester was enormous. Besides these there were 80 vessels in
the salt trade, and 21 in the London cheese trade. In March 1774 the Leeds
and Liverpool canal was opened from Bingley and Bradford, and in the autumn
of the same year from Liverpool to Wigan at the other. Later in the century
the Rochdale, the Staffordshire and the Ellesmere canals, and the Trent
to the Mersey canal were built, linking some of the richest and productive
parts of the Britain to the port.
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Salthouse Dock, late 19th Century
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In 1801 the population of Liverpool was about 77,000.
By 1821 the population had reached 118,000. In 1835 the boundaries of
Liverpool were extended to include Kirkdale and parts of Toxteth and West
Derby. By 1851 the population of Liverpool had reached 376,000. There
were many Irish immigrants in the early 19th century. Their numbers reached
a peak during the potato famine in the 1840s.
The port boomed and many new docks were built. By the middle of the 19th
century Liverpool was second only to London. The Manchester ship canal
was completed in 1894. Although the docks dominated Liverpool there were
other industries such as shipbuilding, iron foundries, glass manufacture
and soap making.
Liverpool officially became a city in 1880. By 1881 its population had
reached 611,00. In 1895 the boundaries of the city were extended to include
Wavertree, Walton and parts of Toxteth and West Derby.
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Brunswick Dock with Harrison steamships, early 20th Century
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By 1901 the population of Liverpool had reached 685,000.
In 1904 the boundaries of the city were extended again to include Fazakerly.
The Tower Building was built in 1908. In the 1910s three of Liverpool's
most famous buildings were erected on the site of St George's dock, which
had been filled in. The Liver Building was built in 1911. The Cunard Building
was built in 1916. The Port of Liverpool building was also built at that
time. The Lady Lever art gallery opened in 1922.
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Dock Road, early 20th Century
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During World War II Liverpool was a target as it was,
obviously, an important port. Some 3,875 people died in Merseyside and
more than 10,000 houses were destroyed. Many more people were seriously
injured and many more houses were damaged.
Liverpool remains a very important port. Because of its position in the
Northwest it is still the main port for trading with North America.
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Toxteth Dock and Harrison steamships, early 20th Century
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Country/Region
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Goods
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| USA |
Raw Cotton, Corn, Tobacco |
| Canada |
Timber |
| West Indies |
Sugar, Raw Cotton |
| W.Africa |
Palm Oil |
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Goods
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Source of Goods
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| Machinery |
Manchester |
| Metal Goods |
Birmingham |
| Salt |
Cheshire |
| Pottery |
Manchester |
| Textiles |
Manchester |
| Glass |
Liverpool and Manchester |
| Coal |
Lancashire |
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Port Industries
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Other Industries
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| Shipbuilding |
Sugar Refining |
| Rope Making |
Iron Working |
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Watch Making |
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Pottery |
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Glass Making |
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Soap Manufacture |
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| The firm of T and J Harrison was one of the
largest of the UK shipping companies, and prospered particularly in the
first half of the 20th century. The company offices were located in Liverpool.
Robert Barnes Scarrow was employed as an engineer by Harrisons between 1905
and 1940. |
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| The origins of T and J Harrison can be said
to have been when George Brown offered Thomas Harrison a partnership in
his shipbroking business in 1839. In 1849, James Harrison became a partner
in the firm. George Brown died in 1853, and the Brown name disappeared from
the company name. |
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Brig Jane, Harrison fleet 1836-1849
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| The Harrisons began their early shipping empire
exclusively in sail, with a fleet size of approximately 30-40 ships. They
acquired their first screw-propelled steamers in 1860 and from this point
the steamer side of the business expanded rapidly. However, sailing ship
continued to be acquired up until 1874. To allow wider share ownership of
the steamers, a holding company Charente Steam-Ship Company was formed in
1871. |
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| During the 1870s the second generation of Harrisons
began to take an interest in the firm - Thomas's son Thomas, and James'
sons Frederick and Heath. As Thomas and James grew older, but before the
next generation of Harrisons gained maturity, the firm was managed by John
and Thomas Hughes. |
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| In 1884 the company was incorporated with a
registered capital of £512,000 split into 512 shares of £1000
each. The shareholders were as follows: |
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| Thomas Harrison |
Shipowner |
128 shares
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| Thomas Fenwick Harrison |
Shipowner |
32 shares
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| Frederick James Harrison |
Shipowner |
80 shares
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| Heath Harrison |
Shipowner |
80 shares
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| Edward Hodgson Harrison |
Shipowner |
64 shares
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| John William Hughes |
Shipowner |
96 shares
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| Thomas Hughes |
Shipowner |
16 shares
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| Thomas Williamson |
Shipowner |
8 shares
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| Richard Robert Williamson |
Master Mariner |
8 shares
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| Total |
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512 shares
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| The fleet of the newly incorporated
company consisted of 22 steam-vessels, the two remaining sailing ships were
left out and eventually sold by 1889. James Harrison was by this time retired,
and was not a shareholder in the new company. Thomas Harrison died in 1888,
his brother James three years later. In the 1890s, Frederick James Harrison
became the chairman of the company, but day to day management was left to
the Hughes brothers. By 1906, the fleet consisted of 39 vessels, and the
company employed just under 2000 men. |
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SS Inventor, Harrison Line
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| Harrisons entered the First World
War with a total of 55 ships. During the next four years, 27 ships were
lost, though with continuous acquisition of new ships, the fleet strength
by the end of 1917 remained at 40 vessels. Harrisons were given £3,000,000
to cover the lost vessels, though they actually spent £4,800,000 to
replace them between 1981 and 1920. |
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| To cope with strong anticipated
post-war demand, Harrisons acquired twelve ships from Rankin, Gilmour, eight
ships from the Crown Line of Glasgow, and a further five from Scruttons
Limited. The boom lasted just a year, and between 1921 and 1923, twelve
of the older ships were scrapped. However, for most of the decade, the fleet
strength hovered around 50 ships. The stockmarket crash of October 1929
triggered a worldwide recession, and between 1930 and 1933, Harrisons sold
off 15 vessels and laid up a further 14 at various times. By 1934, world
trade was improving once again, and the laid up ships were brought back
into service. Harrisons bought seven ships belonging to the Leyland Line,
and four belonging to the Prince Line. From 1937 until the outbreak of the
Second World War, seven new ships were delivered. |
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Harrison ships laid up at Fowey
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Harrison's first casualty of the war was SS Huntsman,
sunk by Admiral Graf Spee on October 10th 1939, whilst routing between
Durban and Freetown. This was followed by a total of 30 more vessels sunk
during the six year war, including SS Scientist,
on which Robert Scarrow was serving.
As in the first war, all merchant vessels came under Goverment
control. A short time later, the Government decided to requisition the
entire British merchant fleet. Thomas Harrison Hughes, then chairman of
Harrisons, was appointed president of the Suez Canal company after the
fall of France.
By the end of hostilities, Harrisons fleet stood at 30
vessels, the lowest since 1900.
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| In June 1947, the Marshall plan
was launched to provide to Europe the sum of $13 billion, over a four year
period, the largest share of which went to Britain. The aid was used to
provide foodstuffs, raw materials and machinery etc to Europe to allow a
faster route back to stability and prosperity. All this aid generated trade,
to which Harrisons were a part. Harrisons acquired their first diesel ship
in 1946. Diesels offered better fuel economy, and were quieter in operation.
By the end of 1949, Harrisons fleet strength was back up to 40 vessels.
In 1955, there were 43 ships in the fleet, but from then on there was a
steady decline in numbers, accelerating noticable in the 1970s. |
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