Coast Lines
Encyclopedia
History
Powell, Bacon and Hough Lines Ltd was formed in 1913 in Liverpool. The name of Coast Lines Limited was adopted in 1917, when the company was purchased by the Royal Mail Steam Packet CompanyRoyal Mail Steam Packet Company
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by Scot James Macqueen. After good and bad times it became the largest shipping group in the world in 1927 when it took over the White Star Line....
at a cost of £800,000. (£ as of ),
In 1931 the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by Scot James Macqueen. After good and bad times it became the largest shipping group in the world in 1927 when it took over the White Star Line....
was dissolved after the Royal Mail Case
Royal Mail Case
The Royal Mail Case or R v Kylsant & Otrs was a noted English criminal case in 1931. The director of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, Lord Kylsant, had falsified a trading prospectus with the aid of the company accountant to make it look as if the company was profitable and to entice potential...
and the chairman Lord Kylsant
Owen Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant
Owen Cosby Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant was a British businessman and politician, later jailed for producing a document with intent to deceive.-Background:...
was imprisoned in 1931 for misrepresenting the state of the company to shareholders.
Coast Lines achieved independence under the chairmanship of Sir Alfred Read (1871-1955), who had previously been a director.
From 1917 to 1951 Coast Lines acquired a controlling interest in a large number of coastal shipping companies, eventually numbering about twenty, of which the most important were:
- British and Irish Steam Packet Company (1917)
- City of Cork Steam Packet Company (1918)
- Laird Lines (1919)
- Belfast Steamship CompanyBelfast Steamship CompanyThe Belfast Steamship Company provided shipping services between Belfast and Liverpool from 1852 to 1975.-History:The company started life in 1824 as the Liverpool and Belfast Steam Packet Company. operated by Langtry & Herdman. They began a steam ship service from Belfast to Liverpool...
(1919) - Tedcastle McCormick and Company (1919)
- City of Dublin Steam Packet CompanyCity of Dublin Steam Packet CompanyThe City of Dubin Steam Packet Company was a shipping line established in 1823. It served cross-channel routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. For 70 of those years it transported the mail...
(1919) - Ayr Steam Shipping Company (1919)
- G & J Burns Ltd (1920)
- Burns Steamship Company (1920)
- Ardrossan Harbour Company (1920)
- Little Western Steamship Company (1920)
- London Welsh Steamship Company (1924)
- British Motor Ship Company (1925)
- John Westcott Ltd (1925)
- Dundalk and Newry Steam Packet CompanyDundalk and Newry Steam Packet CompanyThe Dundalk and Newry Steam Packet Company provided shipping services between Dundalk and Liverpool from 1871 to 1926.-History:In 1871 the Dundalk Steam Packet Company amalgamated with the Newry Steam Packet Company to form the Dundalk and Newry Steam Packet Company...
(1926) - Michael Murphy Limited (1926)
- David MacBrayne LtdDavid MacBrayne LtdDavid MacBrayne Ltd is a company owned by the Scottish Government. Formed in 1851 as a private shipping company, it became the main carrier for freight and passengers in the Hebrides...
(jointly with the London, Midland and Scottish RailwayLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayThe London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
) (1928) - Tyne Tees Steam Shipping CompanyTyne Tees Steam Shipping CompanyThe Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company provided shipping services in the United Kingdom from 1904 to 1943.-History:Four companies came together in 1904 to form the Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company. These were:*The Tyne Steam Shipping Co. Ltd,...
(1943) - North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation CompanyNorth of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation CompanyThe North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Steam Navigation Company, which was more usually known as The North Company, its full name rarely being used, was a British shipping company based in Aberdeen, originally formed in 1875 from a merger of older Scottish shipping companies...
(1961)
By 1951 the company operated a fleet of 109 ships, which carried over four million tons of cargo, over half a million head of livestock, and more than a million passengers.
The British and Irish Steam Packet Company and the City of Cork Steam Packet Company were sold off in 1965 to the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
.
The remains of the company was acquired by P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries
P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe...
in 1971