Archives and Special Collections: Subject guides - Business Records

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Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited

This firm was started in Hull in 1845 by two brothers, Charles and William Earle, who set themselves up as engineers, founders and ship and general smiths. At times, as many as two or three thousand men were employed in shipbuilding and repair activities, including the construction of many Wilson Line vessels. The company was reconstituted as Earle's Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Limited in 1871 after the death of Charles and the illness of William Earle. Serious problems in the 1890s eventually led to the voluntary liquidation of the firm, which was then bought by Charles Wilson of the Wilson Line. The firm retained its name, but was wholly owned by members of the Wilson family for the rest of its existence. The trade slump of the 1920s and early 1930s led to prolonged short-time working. The yard was finally closed in 1932 when it was acquired by the National Shipbuilders Securities Limited under the national shipyard rationalisation scheme which precluded its use as a shipbuilding yard to 40 years. Nearly 700 ships had been built by the company between 1853 and 1931. The surviving records in the collection comprise just 90 items dating from between 1858 and 1909. These include plans of land belonging to the firm in Hull and of the shipyard, estimates of the cost of building 15 ships, draft balance sheets, a list of shareholders and some annual reports. [DEA]

See also the records of Ellerman's Wilson Line

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Maintained by Archives and Special Collections, Brynmor Jones Library
Created: 20 February 1997 [Last updated: 17 September 1997]