Manchester Liners Limited, records.

In 1897 the Manchester business community decided to form their own shipping company to increase the amount of trade reaching the city through the recently opened Manchester Ship Canal. Manchester Lines Ltd. was founded in 1898 with Sir Christopher Furness of Furness, Withy & Co., Ltd., being appointed the first Chairman. Other interested parties included the Manchester Ship Canal Co. and Salford Town Council. The company was independent from Furness, Withy & Co., Ltd., but the two had close connections, for example, using the same agents at various destinations and selling vessels between the companies as business needs dictated. In 1970 Manchester Liners Ltd. formally became a subsidiary of Furness, Withy & Co., Ltd. The last ship to bear the Manchester Liners Ltd. name, was the Manchester Challenge in 1989, as part of the Combined Container Services Group. The collection consists of 29 volumes, including: minute books, 1898-1974; registers of directors, 1901-1980; various financial records including indexed ledgers, 1918-1960; summary of annual accounts, 1920-1957 and salary cash books, 1899-1955. For further details see the attached catalogue or contact The Archives Centre for a copy of the catalogue.