The Port And Docks Of Birkenhead

Presents the history of the transactions that led to the first stage of the development of the docks at Birkenhead through transcriptions of Parliamentary proceedings in the 1840s.

The busy River Mersey and its two ports, Liverpool and Birkenhead, have seen great changes in recent years. In Mersey Ports - Liverpool and Birkenhead, Ian Collard charts the developments that have taken place in maritime life on the Mersey, from the 1950s and 1960s through to the present day. Ships of all shapes and sizes have been found on the Mersey, from the old Mersey ferries and the motor ferries that replaced them, to huge passenger liners and container ships. as well as tall ships, tugs and seacats. All of them feature in this detailed photographic history. A host of international shipping companies are represented, including Blue Funnel, Ellerman, Harrison and Elder Dempster lines. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. wintered its fleet in Morpeth Dock at Birkenhead, and Princes Landing Stage was once the focal point of activity at the docks, as passenger liners queued to berth.

This study provides a history of the Port of Liverpool between 1905 and 1938, during its decline. It is particularly interested in the history of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, Liverpool’s enormous and sole port authority. Adrian Jarvis contrasts the decision-making process of the Board with the financial history of the docks, in attempt to evaluate the Board successes and failures. The study accounts for and explores the factors which contributed to the decline of Liverpool’s shipping industry, with topics ranging from the growth of railways, the advances in shipping technology, the success of commercial liners, to the Great Depression and Great War. The study is complemented with an appendix exploring the efficiency of ports; a bibliography; a note on the sources; an index; and a conclusion that asserts the overall merit of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board when considering the tremendous and often unpredictable challenges the Board faced, such as wartime disruption.