Isle of Man Steam Packet Co

1951. Isle of Man Steamer "Mona's Isle".

of Imperial Buildings, Douglas, Isle of Man

1830 The company was established^[1] by a group of islanders dissatisfied with the existing ferry arrangements^[2]

Frequent races and price wars with the competing St. George Co.

1835 Some of the directors and shareholders of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company broke away and formed a new company called the Isle of Man and Liverpool Steam Navigation Co

By the early 1900s there were 15 vessels in the company's fleet.

1983 Sea Containers acquired 43 percent of the company and introduced 4 high speed catamarans, cutting the journey time to 2.5 hours.

1994 Sea Containers acquired the remainder of the equity.

2003 Sale of the company to Montagu private equity.

‘Cross-Channel and Coastal Paddle Steamers’ by George Frank Burtt

LIVERPOOL AND DOUGLAS. ITS EARLY HISTORY AND PRELIMINARY BOATS AND ROUTES.

UNTIL the year 1767, the only communication between the Isle of Man and the mainland was by vessels sailing at irregular intervals, usually from Liverpool or Whitehaven. In 1755 there were two sloops of 60 tons burthen trading between Liverpool and Douglas usually making the passage, out and home, once a month.

In 1767, however, the English Government established a regular "packet" boat for the conveyance of passengers and mails between Whitehaven and Douglas. During the next few years the traffic increased considerably so that by 1805, besides a number of occasional ships, six regular traders plied between Liverpool and Douglas. These boats were of about 400 tons burthen and took on an average a couple of weeks for the round journey. The best known were the DUKE OF ATHOLL, DUCHESS OF ATHOLL, DOUGLAS, EARL OF SURREY, and UNION. The DOUGLAS is stated to have made the crossing from Liverpool in nine hours on one occasion.

There was also a boat trading between Douglas and Dublin and another for a short time between Peel and Ardglass.

The first steamship to visit Manxland was in the summer of 1815, when a vessel built by and named after HENRY BELL (the owner of the COMET*) called at Ramsey whilst on a voyage from Greenock to Liverpool. Another vessel of the same name, built in 1823, visited Manx ports, en route between Liverpool and Glasgow, a few years later.

The next steamship to visit the Island tvas the GREENOCK, which called at Douglas in May, i8i6, en route between Glasgow and Liverpool.

It was in 1819 that James Little & Co., of Greenock, commenced to run the ROBERT BRUCE, which was the first regular steamer to call at the Isle of Man. She plied between Greenock, Douglas and average passage from Douglas to hours.

In 1820, three other vessels of were in service, the SUPERB, the MAJESTIC - a steamer with three fully-rigged masts, a long slender funnel and bearing the royal arms on the paddle-boxes - and the CITY OF GLASGOW, a steamer of 300 tons and 106 horse-power.

All plied between Liverpool, Douglas and Port Patrick and Greenock, and generally did the passage in twenty-five hours. These vessels were faster than the ROBERT BRUCE and accomplished the passage between Douglas and Liverpool in about nine hours.

In May, 1822, the steamer ST. GEORGE, of the St. George Steam Packet Co., began to sail in opposition to the boats of James Little’s Line. The ST. GEORGE was, however, soon transferred to the Company’s Irish Station, and her place was taken by the SOPHIA JANE, the vessel which, in 1831, made the first steam voyage between Great Britain and Australia.

Notwithstanding the advent of the steamers, sailing packets continued to carry the mails until 1825, and they also carried a large share of the passenger traffic, as well as practically the whole of the cargo traffic, between Liverpool and the Island until about 1834.

Other rivals now appeared on the scene. Competition brought lower fares and lower fares brought more passengers. The JAMES WATT, WILLIAM HUSKISSON, and ALBION, belonging to Liverpool companies, the HIGHLAND CHIEFTAIN, GLASGOW and the AILSA CRAIG, belonging to Scottish companies, all ran between the Island and the Clyde, whilst the ST. ANDREW ran between Whitehaven, Douglas and Dublin, and the GEORGE IV between Liverpool, Douglas and Warrenpoint.

In 1825 a very small steamer of thirty tons named the TRITON ran throughout the year. She carried the mail between Whitehaven and Douglas, sailing once weekly each way. This vessel had previously been running between Havre and Rouen, engaged in passenger traffic.

In 1826 the first attempt was made to establish a purely Liverpool and Douglas steam boat service. A Manx resident obtained a steamer called the VICTORY, built in that year; and with a consort named HARRIET it continued to sail once a week in the winter and every alternate day in the summer until June, 1827.

The VICTORY was a vessel of 112 tons with a 36 h.p. engine. In 1829 she was purchased by Sir John - then Captain - Ross for his expedition in search of the North-West Passage, and she was abandoned in Arctic waters two years later.

Whilst the above-mentioned competition had brought more boats and more passengers, it had certainly not brought more profits and, one by one, the rivals withdrew until the St. George Company alone remained and this company, during the winter, only ran its slower and smaller boats, the PRINCE LLEWELLYN, ST. DAVID, LADY ABBESS, ONWARD and ORINOCO. The accommodation provided on these boats was deplorable and it was not surprising that considerable dissatisfaction was shown at such a state of affairs; so much so that in December, 1829, a meeting of prominent Manx residents and business men was held in Douglas with the idea of forming a new steamship company. The sum of 7^'4,500 was subscribed at the meeting and a committee was appointed which at once asked for tenders from various shipbuilders for a steamship to be called the MONA’S ISLE. The company was to be known as the Mona’s Isle Company but, at a later date, the title was changed to the Isle of Man United Steam Packet Company and in July, 1832, this w’as abbreviated to the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

According to Gore’s Directory of 1832, there were two firms of Manx shipbrokers in Liverpool, one firm being the agents for the DOUGLAS, EARL OF SURREY, EDWARD, JESSIE and PHOENIX, sailing to Douglas, and the EMULUS, LONDON, ASENATH and CALEDONIA, sailing to Ramsey. The other firm were agents for the ELEANOR, MONA CASTLE and HENRY HOLMES, which sailed to Douglas, the LADY OF THE LAKE, DASHER, ROYAL DUKE and CATHERINE, sailing to Castletown, and the ESTHER AND JANE and the LORD GLENLYON, sailing to Ramsey.

In 1878 there was an important new departure. Until that year the Company only had paddle steamers, but in 1878 and 1881 they put on the service two screw steamers. These, however, are outside the scope of this history.

OTHER RIVAL STEAMERS.

PS Munster
PS Leinster
PS Ireland
PS Normandy
PS Britanny
PS Lily
PS Violet
PS Calais-Douvres

In 1897, a Mr. Higginbottom and others, advertised by Messrs. McIver to commence a service between Douglas and Liverpool, purchased two steamers, the MUNSTER and LEINSTER. These boats saw no active service, for the Company purchased them from Mr. Higginbottom and then disposed of them elsewhere. The MUNSTER was sold to a Mr. E. Thirkell in 1897 and broken up in the following year; the LEINSTER was broken up in 1897.

In 1899, Mr. Higginbottom originated another opposition by forming a Company called the Liverpool and Douglas Steamers, Ltd. Its first purchase was the IRELAND,§ another Kingstown boat, but hopelessly slow and out-of-date. In 1900 the IRELAND was bought by T. W. Ward, Ltd., and broken up.

Quite as hopeless were the NORMANDY and BRITANNY also bought by this Company.

Somewhat more successful were the LILY and the VIOLET. The LILY was sold for breaking up to T. W. Ward, Ltd., in 1903, and was broken up in Sept., 1905. Messrs. Ward purchased the VIOLET in December, 1903, and broke her up also.

The Company’s most, and in fact only, successful purchase was the CALAIS-DOUVRES.

This Company was run at a heavy loss and came to an end at the death of Mr. Higginbottom in 1902.

Paddle Steamers

Sources of Information

↑ The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908
↑ The Times June 6, 2003

'British Paddle Steamers’ by George Body

[1] The Stock Exchange Year Book 1908

[2] The Times June 6, 2003

[1]

[2]

Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

Isle of Man Steam Packet Co

See Also

Sources of Information