The Leyland Line was a British shipping transport line founded in 1873 by

Frederick Richards Leyland Frederick Richards Leyland (30 September 1831 – 4 January 1892) was one of the largest British shipowners, running 25 steamships in the transatlantic trade. He was also a major art collector, who commissioned works from several of the Pre-Rap ...

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. The Company was liquidated in 1935.

History

Early History

As the Company was established in 1873, 21 of the Bibby Line ships were transferred to the new company's maritime traffic of cargo ships before it added its passenger service on the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

route. in 1888, Leyland retired from his active business leaving his son, Frederick Dawson Leyland, in charge of the line.

Under John Ellermann

With the death of Frederick Leyland in 1892, John Ellermann,

Christopher Furness Christopher Furness may refer to: *Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness (23 April 1852 – 10 November 1912) was a British businessman and Liberal Party politician. Early life Furness was born in West ...

and

Henry Withy Henry Withy (11 November 1852 – 31 May 1922) was born in Bristol, England on 11 November 1852. His parents were Edward Withy (Woollen Draper and Tailor) and Sarah Withy (née Atree). Early life In his early childhood, he attended Brean Villa ...

took over the Leyland Line. 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 co-operation with

Furness Withy Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy (1852–1922) in 1891 in Hartlepool. This was achieved by the amalgamatio ...

, from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and the Canadian ports. In 1896, the

Wilson Line Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. was a British shipping company, founded in 1840,Greenway (1986), p. 48 It evolved from a joint venture formed by merchants Thomas Wilson, John Beckinton and two unrelated partners named Hudson in 1822. The company expan ...

was added and the joint service was called ''Wilson, Furness & Leyland Line''.

Decline and Fate

In 1902, the company was under the control of the

International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...

and, in the same year, a rationalisation of services followed and Leyland withdrew their ships from service and transferred to the

Ellerman Lines Ellerman Lines was a United Kingdom, UK cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late 19th century, and continued to expand by acquiring smaller sh ...

. By the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

1920s File:1920s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Seán Hogan during the Irish War of Independence; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, whic ...

, many ships of the Leyland Line transferred to other companies. With The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, many more ships were sold to other companies or scrapped and, in 1935, Leyland Line's last ship was sold and the company was ceased in the same year.

Ships of the Leyland Line

The list of Leyland Line ship when they enter service for the company.

Gallery

File:Letter from Katherine Hurd to her mother on S.S. Devonian stationery, June 22, 1912.jpg, Letter from Katherine Hurd to her mother on SS Devonian File:The Leyland Line - S.S. Oporto of Liverpool - Richard F Masters, Commander.png, SS ''Oporto'' File:Californian.jpg, SS ''Californian'' File:SS Winifredian cigarette card.jpg, cigarette card of the SS ''Winifredian'' File:Cretic.jpg, Hanoverian as ''Cretic'' File:SS Armenian.jpg, SS Armenian

References

{{reflist Shipping companies of the United Kingdom 1873 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom 1873 establishments Transatlantic shipping companies