Liverpool: world gateway
‘I AM the English sea-queen; I am she
Who made the English wealthy by the sea
The street of this my city is the tide
Where the world’s ships, that bring my glory, ride’
A Masque of Liverpool (1930) by John Masefield
For over two hundred years Liverpool was one of the world’s greatest seaports. Today it remains Britain’s largest west coast port and continues to offer shipping services to many parts of the world.
This display highlights some of the ships and shipping companies which have taken part in Liverpool’s incomparable maritime history, featuring ship models from our collection as well as the stunning sculpture The Birth of Aphrodite. The shipping companies featured are:
- Bibby Line - founded in Liverpool in 1807, the Bibby Line (Bibby Bros and Company) may well be the oldest independent shipping company in the world.
- Harrison Line - founded in 1853, the Harrison Line (Thos and Jas Harrison Limited) was one of Liverpool’s oldest and most successful shipping companies, which owned the largest private fleet of ships in Britain for many years.
- Blue Funnel Line - founded as the Ocean Steamship Company (Alfred Holt and Company, or the Blue Funnel Line) in 1865 by Alfred and Philip Holt, Blue Funnel ships were among the finest in the British merchant fleet.
- Pacific Steam Navigation Company - American businessman William Wheelwright founded the PSNC in Liverpool in 1838 to provide steamship services to the west coast of South America. By the 1870s it was the largest steamship company in the world.
- Booker Line - founded in 1835 by three brothers from Lancashire to carry raw sugar to Liverpool from their plantations in Demerara, British Guiana (now Guyana).
- Lamport and Holt Line - established in Liverpool in 1845 by William James Lamport and George Holt, the Lamport and Holt Line was one of the early pioneers of trade with Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.
- Brocklebank Line - founded in 1770 in New England, Massachusetts, by English emigrant Daniel Brocklebank, this was one of the world’s first deep-sea shipping companies. It later became established in Whitehaven, Cumbria (1802), then Liverpool (1819).
- Cunard Line - originally named the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the Cunard Line was founded in Liverpool in 1840 by the Canadian businessman Samuel Cunard. The company went on to dominate the glamorous and highly competitive North Atlantic passenger trade for well over a century.
- Johnston Line - founded in Liverpool in 1872 by William and Edmund Johnston to operate cargo ships to the Black Sea, Greece and Turkey.
- MacAndrews Line - founded in 1770 by eighteen-year-old Scotsman William McAndrew when he began importing fruit from Spain, Portugal and the Azores. Today MacAndrews container ships still trade regularly from Liverpool to Spain and Portugal.
- Coast Lines - formed in 1913 from the merger of three Liverpool coastal shipping companies. Through a series of takeovers, it grew to be the largest coaster company in the world.
- Atlantic Container Line - in 1966 five major European shipping companies, including Cunard, joined together to form the Atlantic Container Line. Its ships still visit Liverpool every week, and continue to dominate the port’s vital North Atlantic trade.
Futher information
The Maritime Archives and Library hold a lot of material about the major shipping companies associated with Liverpool. For more information have a look through the archive information sheets on this website.
