The St George Steam Packet Company - also referred to as the Liverpool and Isle of Man Steam Packet Company or the St George Steamship Company - was a privately owned maritime transportation company incorporated in 1821. In the early 1840s the business was acquired by the Cork Steamship Company.Journal of The Manx Museum, Monday, June 01, 1942; Page: 18Journal of The Manx Museum, Friday, January 01, 1971; Page: 32

Company operations

Establishment

The St George Steam Packet Company commenced operations in 1822. Formed the previous year, the company secured the services of the shipbuilders Thomas Wilson of

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 ...

who constructed several powerful steamers for the company, one of which was the RMS ''St George.'' Further additions to the fleet followed, such as her sister ship, the RMS St. Patrick, however the ''St George'' rapidly won a reputation for comfort and speed. For a time the ''St George'' was placed on the company's

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

schedule, but was subsequently transferred to the

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operation. The best known of the early steamer concerns operating to the Isle of Man was the St George Company. Whilst it is important in relation to the foundation of the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

, it had little to do with the early development of Manx services and compared with David Napier and the Mersey and Clyde Steam Navigation Company. The St George Steam Packet Company could best be described as a group of companies. At this time individual steamers tended to have different owners and often had their own operating titles; however some shareholders owned shares in numerous steamers and in such a manner and by using the same shipping agents in each port a group was built up.

Operation & rivalries

The brand new steamer ''St George'' was placed on the

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

station on Tuesday 25 June 1822, in direct competition with Napier's ''City of Glasgow''. Each ship sailed on the same days at the same time. A month of furious racing ensued: both ships were equally matched. However, as David Napier had two other ships on the station and was the established operator, the two concerns soon came to an agreement whereby the ''St George'' was transferred to the

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...

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route in agreement that Napier would not place a steamer on that route. Apart from one call in 1827, the ''St George'' did not reappear at

again until 1830. The Company still maintained their operation to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and from April 1825 a thrice weekly service was being operated by either the ''Prince Llewellyn'' or the ''St David'' in addition to a service which was operated to

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. From July 26, 1826, the ''Kingstown'' operated a service from

; in advertisements this ship actually operated under the name of the St George War Office Steam Packet. The service ceased at the end of September which at that time, with the onset of winter gales, was normal practice. The ''Kingstown'' resumed operations to the Isle of Man from July 1827 when she was placed on the main Liverpool - Douglas thrice weekly schedule. The Company were trying to obtain the mail contract between the two ports and in addition to this advertised a service for light cargo. The ''St David'' which was fairly small and slower than her rivals was offered for sale in the spring of 1828, however no interest was expressed in a purchase and she resumed plying to Douglas in April of that year. Although she was operated by the St George Group ''(see establishment)'' at this time her sailing notices appear under the name of John Watson, 19 Water Street, Liverpool, and the St George Steam Packet Offices are listed as being at 21, Water Street. This fact is important as it may be seen as a reason as to why the vessel came into disrepute, due to subsequent lack of investment and poor maintenance, this being one of the primary factors which would lead to the establishment of the

in 1830.

In 1828 the ''St David'' operating under the agency of John Watson on behalf of the St George Company secured the mail contract to the Isle of Man. The ''St David'' was able to tailor its service as opposed to the Scottish packets which called at Douglas en route from the

Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

to the

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and thereby provided only an indifferent winter service. The ''St David,'' because Douglas was her destination, not merely a port of call, could therefore suit her sailing times to the tides and so enter

Douglas Harbour Douglas Harbour ( gv, Purt Varrey Ghoolish) is located near Douglas Head at the southern end of Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man. It is the island's main commercial shipping port. The Port of Douglas was the first in the world to be equ ...

and therefore did not have to ferry her mail and passengers ashore - which in rough winter conditions could be an arduous and exhausting undertaking. Thus the ''St David'' became highly popular on the Island, as all winter she provided a regular, reliable weekly service, except for one week in October 1828, when the Company replaced her with the unsuitable ''Satellite.'' In the spring of 1829 the ''St David'' increased her service to thrice weekly. However, by this time no investment was being made in the vessel and maintenance on her was poor, with the Company showing a reluctance to have her overhauled. By August the lack of regular maintenance could no longer be ignored and complaints began to be made about her unreliability and the irregularity of the mail service. During a spell of bad weather some work was undertaken, but by the end of September things had become so bad that the ''St David'' had to be withdrawn from service in order to undergo a complete overhaul. No steamer was available to replace the ''St David'' and consequently the Company resorted to chartering Mersey Ferries in order to operate the schedule, which were highly unsuitable to such an undertaking. The ferry ''Abbey'' caused particular discomfort, a contemporary report stating: ''"She'd not even a bed or pan, or bucket for the sick."'' The ''St David'' arrived back on station on 24 November, and once more began to provide a reliable although slow service in all weather, however this was to no avail. The hiatus as a consequence of her overhaul, coupled to the unreliable service offered by the replacements, had driven the Manx population to despair. The autumn of 1829 marked a turning point in sea operations between Liverpool and Douglas. If the Company had of obtained a suitable relief steamer from another part of the St George Group and given the ''St David'' a thorough overhaul the trouble with the service would not of arisen, and it is possible that the

would not of been formed. By the early part of 1830 it was widely known that a rival company was being formed to undertake competition. In late May the ''Prince Llewellyn'' replaced the ''St David'' for a week - no chances were being taken this time, now that a rival boat (the '' Mona's Isle'') was under construction. By early June the main St George Company seems to of taken over the service, as notices appeared asking debtors of the ''St David'' to settle up; the affairs of her company were being cleared up. The ''St George'' again started operating on 21 June 1830, and continued on the schedule until replaced by the ''Sophia Jane'' which arrived from

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on 1 July and operated the usual thrice weekly schedule.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company

With the formation of the Mona's Isle Company in 1830, which would later become the

, stern competition was offered to the St George Company who at the time were operating their steamer ''Sophia Jane'' between Liverpool and the Isle of Man. Unlike previous ships which served the

the new company's vessel, '' Mona's Isle,'' was not constructed primarily to carry cargoShips of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (Fred Henry, 1977) p.7 and was very well appointed for the carriage of passengers. With their vessel '' Mona's Isle,'' the remit of the new company was to open up the

service and to beat the opposition. On Monday 16 August ''Mona's Isle'' sailed for Liverpool. The ''Sophia Jane'' under the command of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

John Tudor, R.N., sailed at the same time and reached Liverpool one and a half minutes ahead. On Wednesday 18 August a similar race took place back to Douglas with a similar result. But on Friday 20 August, returning from Liverpool, ''Mona's Isle'' came in 40 minutes ahead. The pattern was established and ''Sophia Jane'' was regularly beaten, on one occasion in a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ). The early defeats were probably caused by the fact that ''Mona's Isle's'' new engine took time to run in and full speed was not attainable at first. ''Mona's Isle,'' however, had proved herself capable of travelling between

and

in eight hours at a speed of . The St. George Company engaged in a price-cutting war, offering single

steerage Steerage is a term for the lowest category of passenger accommodation in a ship. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century considerable numbers of persons travelled from their homeland to seek a new life elsewhere, in many cases North America ...

fares for as low as 6d one way. So fierce had become the rivalry that when it became known that the ''Mona's Isle'' had gone on a trip to Bangor, the ''Sophia Jane'' was sent there to race her back to Douglas. The mail was put on the ''Ormrod'' which was so unskillfully navigated that her first landfall was

St Bees Head St Bees Head is a headland on the North West coast of the English county of Cumbria and is named after the nearby village of St Bees. It is the only stretch of Heritage Coast on the English coastline between the Welsh and Scottish borders, an ...

. She finally reached Douglas in pouring rain with 200 people, nearly all on deck, after 22 hours at sea. The St George Company withdrew the ''Sophia Jane'' and re-introduced their largest and fastest steamer, the ''St. George'' on 22 September 1830. However, ''Mona's Isle'' won the first race largely because of the astuteness of

Capt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

William Gill. Seeing a south-westerly

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side of the vessel, to prevent the windward

paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered wa ...

lifting out of the water. By October 1830, ''Mona's Isle'' had established herself as the principle steamer between

and

. A letter to the Editor of the ''Liverpool Mercury'' stated:-

Loss of the ''St George''

On Friday 19 November 1830, under the command of

John Tudor R.N., the ''St George'' arrived in

from

with mail and passengers.''The Manks Advertiser.'' Tuesday, November 30, 1830 Once her passengers and mail were unloaded, the ''St George'' proceeded to take her anchorage in the vicinity of Conister Rock using the fixed chain cable which had been secured for the task. The night was stormy, with strong gusts of wind from the southwest which increased in ferocity as the wind backed to the southeast on the morning of 20 November. At 05:00hrs the chain cable holding the ''St George'' began to give way and she began to drive in between the Pollock and Conister rocks. Steam had been kept up during the night, with the crew at their stations, but the force of the sea together with the ship's proximity to the Conister Rock meant she struck the rock before any attempt to back her out could prove successful. The ''St George'' struck the rock violently, immediately filled and settled down forward, with her head to the land and lying almost broadside to the most ruggered part of the rock.

Tudor immediately ordered distress signals to be made as well as the foremast to be cut away with a view to forming a raft so as that when the dawn came they might be rescued by boats from the lee side of the vessel, but this was found to be impractical. From his home at the Fort Anne

Sir William Hillary Sir William Hillary, 1st Baronet (4 January 1771 – 5 January 1847) was a British militia officer, author and philanthropist, best known as the founder, in 1824, of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.. Life Hillary's background was Q ...

observed the disaster taking place and immediately made for the pier in order to initiate a rescue. Together with Lt Robinson (RN), William Corlett (agent for the St George Steamship Company), Issac Vondy his coxswain, and a volunteer crew of 14 Sir William set out to render assistance. On approaching the ''St George'' the lifeboat's anchor was let go to the windward, and by veering down upon the wreck an attempt was made to take off the people from the weather quarter, but the surf would not enable this to be carried out. The lifeboat was then backed between the ''St George'' and the rocks, and despite warnings from Lt Tudor of the dangers this would present to the lifeboat, the crew of the lifeboat persevered and were initially successful. The lifeboat had now got into a situation where the rolling sea was causing it to become swamped and began to sustain damage with the rudder being disabled and six out of the ten oars either broken or lost. Coupled to this, Sir William, Corlett and two boatmen had been washed overboard. RNLI Memorial - Loch Promenade - Isle of Man - kingsley - 20-APR-09

RNLI Memorial - Loch Promenade - Isle of Man - kingsley - 20-APR-09

Corlett and the two boatmen were swiftly got back into the boat, but Sir William, unable to swim, seized a rope which was hung from the vessel's side by which he was able to support himself until Lt Tudor assisted by Lt Robinson managed to get a badly injured Sir William aboard. From the disabled state of the boat and the loss of the oars it became impossible to take off the people and proceed windward by hauling up her anchor, as was originally intended. Any route to the leeward was blocked by the rigging of the mast which had been cut away and this left the lifeboat hemmed in between the wreck, the Conister Rock and by a point of rock which ran out beyond it. The situation of the crews of the ''St George'' and the lifeboat remained perilous for two hours, a critical situation, but after time the rigging of the fallen mast was cut away with knives and an axe which were fortunately in the boat. The size of the swell increased as the tide rose and now swept the decks of the ''St George'' nearly burying the lifeboat, and one last effort was made to extricate themselves from a situation which at any time could have proved fatal. The crew of the ''St George'' consisted of 22 and the lifeboat 18. They finally all managed to get into the lifeboat, by now taking a large quantity of water which had to be constantly bailed out by the use of buckets which had been taken from the ''St George''. With the use of the remaining oars the lifeboat was cast off and the cable cast away, but she struck violently on the low ridge of the rock, filled, and striking again was washed over, leaving her occupants holding on by ropes. The cable was then cut, and the sea coming round the bow of the ''St George'' drove the lifeboat broadside on, upon the sheltered side of the Conister Rock thus avoiding the potential catastrophe, and they were then able to proceed towards the shore a quarter of a mile away. They were met by two boats which had put out from the pier and proceeded through the sound to approach them under the shelter of the lee of the rock. Some of the ''St George's'' crew were transferred into the first boat, and the other boat, commanded by Lt Sleigh R.N. was able to get a line to the lifeboat and thus take it successfully in tow to the beach. None of the forty men involved were lost. Following the rescue, Sir William Hillary received the following letter from Lieutenant John Tudor: At a Meeting of the Committee of the Isle of Man District Association of the Royal National Institution, for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, held at the Courthouse, Douglas, 27 November 1830, presided over by the Chairman,

High Bailiff The High Bailiff ( gv, Ard-Vaylee) is a legal position held within the Isle of Man. The High Bailiff is the head stipendiary magistrate. The current High Bailiff is Her Worship Jayne Hughes, who took office on 11 March 2019. The High Bailiff a ...

James Quirk Esq, it was agreed unanimously that the following report be transmitted to the Secretary of the Royal National Institution:''Manks Advetiser. Tuesday November 30th, 1830.'' A memorial depicting the rescue can now be seen in the sunken garden on Loch Promenade,

Subsequent operations

The St George Company determined to continue its operations between

and

however the vessels tasked with operating the schedule, the ''Prince Llewellyn'' and the ''Orinoco'' were deemed to be well below the standard which had been set by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. The ''Prince Llewellyn'' when running for Peel in a gale was almost wrecked off the

Calf of Man Calf of Man ( gv, Yn Cholloo ) is a island, off the southwest coast of the Isle of Man. It is separated from the Isle of Man by a narrow stretch of water called the Calf Sound. Like the nearby rocky islets of Chicken Rock and Kitterland, it is ...

, and on 13 December 1830 she collided with the ''Mona's Isle'' in

and badly damaged herself resulting in repairs having to be undertaken. Consequently, transportation of the mail was undertaken by the ''Mona's Isle'' until the end of January 1831 when the ''Vale of Clywd'' or the ''St Winifred'' resumed the contract for the St George Steam Packet Company. This however was terminated at the end of February 1831 due to deteriorating financial returns as it was considered that undertaking a sailing with mail only was not worth while, as by this time passengers had given up using this unreliable service. It was cheaper to pay the ''Mona's Isle'' to bring the mail and the St George Steam Packet Company ceased its operations to the Isle of Man. So ended the St George Steam Packet's Douglas - Liverpool service. However, these were not the last call at the Isle of Man by the Group's ships, as in subsequent years other steamers made occasional calls. As can be seen the story of operations of the St George Steam Packet to the

is very complicated, more so than any other operator. The winter boat employed by the Company between Liverpool and Douglas was the ''St David'' and not the ''Prince Llewellyn'', and the events concerning the ''St David'' are important but ultimately had little direct influence on the early developments. Certainly the St George Company did not pioneer

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

services to the Isle of Man, as numerous services, such as those offered by George Langtry between 1822-1824 and from 1828-1830, the Mersey and Clyde Steam Navigation Company 1824-1831 and the Carlisle and Liverpool Steam Navigation Company 1826-1831 were also available during the period. The St George Steam Packet Company continued operations until 1843, when it was reconstructed, the Cork Steamship Company taking over its various operations and seven of its steam ships.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George Steam Packet Company British companies established in 1821 History of Liverpool Packet (sea transport) Water transport in the Isle of Man Shipping companies of the United Kingdom 1821 establishments in England Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom