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image by Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021
Formed in January 1898, it incorporated Belle Steamers, pier and land interests
in Clacton and also Walton-on-the-Naze. The latest steamer, PS "Yarmouth Belle",
was delivered in time for the main 1898 season, going to Great Yarmouth.
Importantly, a newly extended pier at Walton, now owned by the Belle Steamers
parent company, became an important steamer call and from 1900-1904, steamers
called at the more northerly pier before the more treacherous and tide-bound
Clacton pier. This gave Walton "first call" for London excursionists and a new
role as the interchange point for onward passengers to the more northerly
resorts.
The company purchased land at Southwold in 1898 and set about
the development of the small resort, with new roads, a large hotel, a pier and a
new steamer, to be called PS "Southwold Belle", which entered service in the
mid-summer of 1900. A pier was also built at Lowestoft (Claremont Pier) and
opened in 1903 and a further pier at Felixstowe in 1905.
In March 1905
the company was in financial difficulty and wound up, with its assets taken over
by the Coast Development Corporation, but retaining its original board of
directors.
Operations were extended to provide services to the Kent coast
from Essex and cruises along the southern bank of the Thames Estuary. This area
was well served by the General Steam Navigation Company and New Palace Steamers,
so would never provide the financial benefit the company sorely needed.
At the end of the 1911 season, the newest vessel, "Southwold Belle" was sold to
pay off mounting debts. In May 1915, with World War I in progress and excursion
traffic all but disappeared, the Corporation went into voluntary liquidation.
The assets of the company remained with liquidators until much of the fleet (no
vessels were lost on wartime duty) were purchased by Mr E Kingsman of Clacton in
1921 and then were transferred to the PSM Syndicate in 1922.
The Bell
Steamers were:
"Clacton" (1888)
"Clacton Belle" (1890-1915)
"Woolwich
Belle" (1891-1924)
"London Belle" (1893-1929)
"Southend Belle" (1896-1929)
"Walton Belle" (1897-1925)
"Yarmouth Belle" (1898-1929)
"Southwold Belle"
(1900-1913)
http://paddlesteamers.info/BelleSteamers.htm
River Thames Historical
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house
flag of Coast Development Corporation (Belle Steamers) (#1234, p. 95) as
triangular, vertically divided red-white-red with the counter-colored letters
"B" and "S" in the first stripes.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#60
Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021
Based in London, ran UK-Ireland ferries and London - Falmouth, Liverpool, and
numerous other coastal services.
Jarig Bakker, 11 October 2003
Based on Sampson (1957)
James Dignan, 11 October 2003
In "All about Ships and Shipping", 1959 is
another flag: blue, white, red, white and blue horizontal stripes (International
"C" flag), with CL in Blue.
Jarig Bakker, 11 October 2003
"Flags and Funnels of the British and
Commonwealth Merchant Fleets" also shows this flag.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 16 June 2006
Coast Lines Ltd. The white flag with red saltire and black "C" was adopted in
1917 when the company changed names from Powell, Bacon & Hough Lines being
replaced by the striped flag, which incorporated the colours of the original
three founders, in 1937 so Sampson (1957) is rather behind the times.
Talbot-Booth (1938) noted the change and then for some reason proceeded to show in his WW2
books a version with a black "C" overall though
again in 1944 he notes that the single "C" being replaced by "C.L." in black
which is incorrect both for the colour and the dots. The company itself was
taken over by P&O in 1970/1 and became their Short Sea Shipping Division.
Neale Rosanoski, 14 April 2005
image by Eugene Ipavec, 6 March 2009
A member - as is River Bulk Shipping Ltd. -
of Fourwind Holdings, Coastal Bulk Shipping is established at Rochester, Kent.
Website: (jump over the regrettable insolvency notice):
http://www.coastalbulkshipping.co.uk/. The house flag we know from River
Bulk Shipping appears here as well.
Twelve ships, all but one British
registered (the one exception being the Bahamas) carry all sorts of goods.
“Delivering for Britain & Europe” - see the impressive list:
http://www.coastalbulkshipping.co.uk/index.asp?cargo. The Photo Gallery has
a few pictures showing the house flag in action. On that matter, see the
history page
“Founded in November 1951 by Tony Lapthorn with the acquisition of the 110
tonne barge "Nellie" the Company owned the biggest coastal and short sea cargo
fleet flying the British Flag trading in North West Europe. Since the Company's
foundation the size and type of vessel has constantly evolved to meet the
changing demands of the competitive coastal and short sea trades.”
We
also note that the firm operates a little port of its own on the River Medway
since 1954. As to the family business, in 2003 a new investor and major
shareholder caused a change of name to ‘Fourwind Holding Ltd (formerly Lapthorn
Holdings Ltd)’ whereas the ‘R Lapthorn & Co. Ltd.’
became ‘Lapthorn Shipping Ltd’. The present name was adopted on 1 Nov 2006, the
ships were renamed and “the house flag colours were changed from red to green to
reflect the environmentally friendly service offered by the Company in promoting
the water option as an alternative to road transport”.
The former house
flag (R Lapthorn & Co. Ltd.) was
horizontally divided red-black-red with the yellow star in the centre stripe.
The characteristic star was retained but now appears on a much less contrastive
background.
This Shipspotting photo by Robert J. Smith (uploaded on 22
Jun 2008) shows ‘Hoo Swan’ (currently ‘Swallow’) “seen at Ipswich on the
17/06/06”:
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=366252 shows the
former flag (and probably England’s). Shipspotting
photo of ‘Curlew’ (made by Ian G. Hardie on 2 Aug 2008) flying the flag:
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=489698.
Jan Mertens, 6 March 2009
image by Ivan Sache, 27 April 2021
Alexander Brodie Cochrane came to Middlesbrough in 1854 and set up the
Ormesby Iron Works, trading under the company name of Cochrane & Co. Primarily a
pipe-making company in its early days, four blast furnaces were erected to
provide a constant supply of iron to the foundry where the pipes were cast. From
there, the pipes were taken to the stock yard near the extensive riverside
wharf. The Pipe Foundry became a separate company in 1861 but continued to
operate from the same site. The company also had shares in an ironstone mine at
Stanghow and several collieries in County Durham.
Cochrane & Co. became part
of the Cargo Fleet Iron Co. at the end of the First World War but, in 1933, the
furnaces, foundry and pipe making elements of the company were sold to the
Stanton Ironworks Co. Ltd. It continued to operate as the Cochranes (Middlesbrough)
Foundry Ltd until nationalisation but was closed by the British Steel
Corporation in 1971.
Joan K.F. Heggie. Middlesborough's Iron & Steel
Industry
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house
flag of
Cochrane & Co., Ltd. (#802, p. 75) as horizontally divided
red-black-red, charged in the center with a white "C".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/40/
Ivan Sache, 27 April 2021
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels
(1912) shows the house flag of W.H. Cockerline & Co. (#1664, p. 116), a
Hull-based shipping company, as trapezoidal, vertically divided
white-red-white-red-white-red.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#81
The Cockerline fleet included 43 vessels, launched between 1871 and 1943, the
last sold in 1954; several of them are suffixed "...ic": "Pacific", "Graphic", "Midestic",
"Atlantic", "Britannic", "Tropic", "Oceanic", "Olympic", "Majestic", "Adriatic",
"Germanic", "Teutonic", "Corinthic", "Gothic", "Athenic", "Cambric", "Republic",
"Asiatic", "Albionic".
Archives & Collection Society
http://www.aandc.org/research/wh_cockerline.htm
The company was
owned by Sir Walter Cockerline, an infamous British millionaire. On 29 September
1928, "The Canberra Times" reported:
A millionaire Hull shipowner, Sir Walter
Cockerline, has been charged with making false income tax returns involving
£107,000. He was committed for trial, despite the prosecution's desire to
withdraw the case due to the defendant's precarious state of health, and also
the fact that he offerred to pay £300,000 penalty in advance.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/986855
The case was
discussed in the Commons on 15 November 1928:
Mr. Dalton asked the
Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Income Tax and Super-tax was lost to the
revenue through the false declarations of Sir Walter Cockerline, of Hull; over
how many years these false declarations extended; when they were first detected
by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue; whether this loss of revenue has now
been made good, together with the full pecuniary penalties prescribed by the
Law; and whether the Commissioners are proceeding with the prosecution which
they initiated against Sir Walter Cockerline?
The Chancellor of the
Exchequer (Mr. Churchill). The total amount of tax involved in the case to which
the hon. Member refers was £107,106; this includes Excess Profits Duty as well
as Income Tax and Super-tax, and covers the period from 1913 to 1925. The
investigation was commenced in November, 1925. This loss of revenue has now been
made good and the full pecuniary penalties amounting to £300,000 have been paid.
In view of the defendant's state of health it is proposed not to proceed with
the criminal prosecution unless there should have been a material improvement in
his health when the case comes up at the York Assizes next week.
Mr.
Dalton. Would the right hon. Gentleman say whether this is to be a precedent,
and whether in future people will be permitted to get off if they can produce
medical certificates?
Mr. Churchill. No, Sir. It is not a question of
precedent, but of what is the right action in a particular case under notice.
UK Parliament
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1928/nov/15/income-tax
Ivan Sache,
3 May 2021
image by Jarig Bakker, 30 November 2005
Coe Metcalfe Shipping Ltd. (Dry Cargo Vessels), Liverpool - horizontal
blue-white-blue flag, in center red "C".
Source: Loughran (1995)
Jarig Bakker, 30 November 2005
image by Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of J.H.
Collinson (#1872, p. 126), a Hull-based fishing company, as gironned of eight
pieces in turn red and blue, charged in the center with a white disk inscribing
a blue "C".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#91
Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021
image by Jarig Bakker, 20 November 2005
Colne Shipping Co., Ltd., Lowestoft - white flag, blue "C".
Source: Loughran (1995)
Jarig Bakker, 20 November 2005
image by Eugene Ipavec, 16 April 2009
A note on London-based British shipping company Comben Longstaff & Co. Ltd is
found at
http://www.benjidog.co.uk/allen/index_files/Page2639.htm. Most of the
comments are in fact the blurb for a book to be mentioned further on but the
links are helpful: they lead us to b/w ship’s photos – the ‘Warwickbrook’ seems
to fly the house flag:
http://www.benjidog.co.uk/allen/photos/COMLON05.jpg. The same design is on
the funnel of ‘Leicesterbroo[k]’:
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=452141, that is to
say, red field with white lozenge (touching the flag’s edges) bearing large red
initials ‘CL’.
At
http://www.coastalshipping.co.uk/Pictures/OtherPublications/CombenLongstaff&CoLtd.jpg
company dates are given as 1933-1980 in book description (author K.S. Garrett),
about 1/5 down on this page (url followed by quote):
http://www.worldshipsociety.org/2986.html:
“The company was notable for
building some of the last steamers for the coal trade, and followed these with
an attractive series of motorships (…) 180 photographs plus illustrations of
flags and funnels used by the company's 136 ships.”
Jan Mertens, 13
April 2009
British Shipping lines: continued