Leyland Line

Last updated
Leyland Line
Industry Shipping
Founded1873
Defunct1935
Area served
North Atlantic

The Leyland Line was a British shipping transport line founded in 1873 by Frederick Richards Leyland after his apprenticeship in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co. After Frederick Leyland's death, the company was taken over by Sir John Ellerman in 1892. In 1902, the company was bought by the International Mercantile Marine Company and a portion of its fleet was withdrawn from service and transferred to the Ellerman Lines. The company was liquidated in 1935 after a period of declining influence due to the Great Depression.

Contents

History

Early history

Frederick Leyland was a longtime partner in John Bibby, Sons & Co which was based in Liverpool. In 1873 the Bibby family withdrew from the shipping business and Leyland set up his own shipping company. As the company was established in 1873, 21 former Bibby ships formed the basic equipment of Leyland's new company of cargo ships. The new company was officially called F. Leyland & Co. Ltd, but the name Leyland Line soon became established. Also inherited from the Bibby Line was the tradition of giving all ships a name ending in "-ian" or "-ean", and the funnel painted pink with a black top. [1] The shipping company initially operated with a liner service to the Mediterranean, in 1875 the transatlantic service was opened with routes ran from Liverpool to Boston, Philadelphia and Portland. New York City was only occasionally called upon. The ships used by the shipping company were mainly cargo ships, some of which had few passenger facilities that only had transport for emigrants. The liner services developed well and the shipping company became the largest transatlantic freighter line. in 1888, Leyland retired from his active business leaving his son, Frederick Dawson Leyland, in charge of the line. [2] [3]

Under John Ellermann

Painting of the Leyland steamship Oporto The Leyland Line - S.S. Oporto of Liverpool - Richard F Masters, Commander.png
Painting of the Leyland steamship Oporto

With the death of Frederick Leyland in 1892, John Ellermann, Christopher Furness and Henry Withy took over the Leyland Line. [3] [2] Ellermann became managing director of the company and, in 1893, also took over the chairmanship of Frederick Leyland & Co. In 1896, Leyland set up a passenger service in cooperation with Furness Withy, from Liverpool to New York and the Canadian ports. In 1896, the Wilson Line was added and the joint service was called Wilson, Furness & Leyland Line. The cooperation was limited exclusively to this service. In 1899 Leyland took over the shipping company West India & Pacific Steamship Co. Ltd. and thus opened a liner service to the West Indies (Caribbean) [2]

Decline and fate

Letter from a passenger on Devonian in 1912 Letter from Katherine Hurd to her mother on S.S. Devonian stationery, June 22, 1912.jpg
Letter from a passenger on Devonian in 1912

In 1902, the company was bought by the US banker J.P. Morgan and in 1904 the company was under the control of the International Mercantile Marine Company. [4] Leyland line was given responsibility for the European part of the International Navigation Company but had to discontinue the Mediterranean service. Twenty non-emigration Leyland ships were not included in the sale. Later, John Ellerman acquired the London Papayanni Company to form the shipping company Ellerman Lines emerged shortly afterward, in the same year, a rationalization of services followed and Leyland withdrew their ships from service and transferred to John Ellerman's new company. In 1915 with the bankruptcy of the IMMC, the company looked into an uncertain future for the first time. The First World War, which had meanwhile broken out, also meant numerous ship losses for the shipping company. By the First World War and the 1920s, many ships of the Leyland Line transferred to other companies. With The Great Depression, many more ships were sold to other companies or scrapped and, in 1935, Leyland Line's last ship was sold and the company ceased in the same year. [2] [1]

Ships of the Leyland Line

List of Leyland Line ships with dates of entry to service for the company [2]
NameShipyard GRT Launch dateNotesImage
Belgian ?1,9891855Little is known about her or her career with the line.
EgyptianHarland & Wolff2,1371861Broken up in 1902.
PersianHarland & Wolff2,1371863Broken up in 1902.
ArabianHarland & Wolff2,1371866Broken up in 1902.
Iberian Harland & Wolff2,9311867Sunk at Cape Clear, 1885
IllyrianHarland & Wolff2,9311867Wrecked on Cape Clear, 1884
IstrianHarland & Wolff2,9311867Sold to Furness Withy, 1894
Bavarian Harland & Wolff 3,1131869Sold to J. Glynn & Son, Liverpool, 1892
BohemianHarland & Wolff3,1131870Sunk off Ireland, 1891
BulgarianHarland & Wolff3,1131870Sunk off Ireland, 1885
WooltonOswald, Mordaunt & Co2,1522 May 1885Sailed from Newcastle, New South Wales on 14 June 1893 for Valparaiso, Chile, with a cargo of coal and tallow, and disappeared on the voyage. [5] Ship Woolton (1885).jpg
Anglian Alexander Stephen and Sons 5,5322 May 1885Sunk by torpedo in the English Channel, 1915.
BostonianHarland & Wolff4,4721888Scrapped in 1913. SS Bostonian.jpg
Louisianian Barclay Curle 3,6431891Broken up in 1924.
Cornishman Harland & Wolff5,7491891Scrapped in 1926. SS Nomadic.jpg
Welshman Harland & Wolff5,7491891Scrapped in 1929. SS Tauric as SS Welshman.jpg
Colonian Harland & Wolff6,5831891Scrapped in 1926. SS Bovic.png
Victorian Harland & Wolff2,1521895Sunk by torpedo off Malta, 1916. SS Russian.jpg
Armenian Harland & Wolff8,82525 July 1895Sunk by torpedo by U-24 on 28 June 1915. SS Armenian.jpg
American Harland & Wolff8,2498 August 1895Scrapped at Genoa in 1932. SS Cufic 2.jpg
Cestrian Harland & Wolff8,8231896Sunk by torpedo in the Aegean Sea, 1917. SS Cestrian.jpg
LondonianAlexander Stephen and Sons8,8231896Capsized and sank, 1898.
European Harland & Wolff8,2499 July 1896Scrapped at Genoa in 1933. SS Tropic.jpg
Asian Caird & Company 5,6134 August 1898Ran aground and broke up.
AntillianCaird & Company5,61320 September 1898Scrapped in 1930.
Winifredian Harland & Wolff10,4351899Broken up in Italy, 1929. SS Winifredian.jpg
Atlantian Armstrong Whitworth 9,3551899Sunk by torpedo off Eagle's Rock, 1918.
Devonian Harland & Wolff10,4051900Sunk by torpedo in 1917. SS Devonian.jpg
BohemianAlexander Stephen and Sons8,54828 June 1900Ran aground in 1920.
Iberian Sir James Laing & Sons5,2231900Sunk by torpedo in 1915.
Californian Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company 6,22326 November 1901Best known for not coming to the aid of RMS Titanic despite being the closest ship in the area. Sunk by German U-boat, 9 November 1915. Californian.jpg
Hanoverian R & W Hawthorn 13,50725 February 1902First sold to the Dominion Line, then sold to the White Star Line, before returning to the Leyland Line as Devonian and being chartered to Red Star Line. Scrapped in 1929. SS Cretic.jpg
Scotian Harland & Wolff18,0848 October 1903Sold in 1907 to Hamburg America Line; renamed President Lincoln; sunk 31 May 1918. S.S. President Lincoln.jpg
Servian Harland & Wolff18,07219 February 1903Sold in 1907 to Hamburg America Line; renamed President Grant. Was troop transport in First and Second World Wars. Sold for scrap on 11 March 1952. USAT Republic.jpg
Regina Harland & Wolff16,31419 April 1917Became troop transport during First World War. Scrapped in 1947. RMS Regina.jpg
Pennland Harland & Wolff16,32211 November 1920Sunk 25 April 1941. Pennland (Bernstein).jpg

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References

  1. 1 2 "Leyland Line Archival Collection". Gjenvick-Gjønvik Archives.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Swiggum, Susan; Kohli, Marjorie (25 August 2006). "Leyland Line". TheShipsList.
  3. 1 2 "Frederick Leyland and Co". Grace's Guide.
  4. "Leyland line bought?". Boston Evening Transcript . 29 April 1901 via Google Books.
  5. "Woolton". Shipping and Shipbuilding: British and Irish Shipyards. Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 5 February 2023.