Catalogue description Records of Cammell Laird and Co, Shipbuilders

The collection contains the records of various departments in the company dating from 1848 to 1993, when the company closed as a shipbuilder. The earliest records are the minute books and financial records of Charles Cammell & Co Ltd, steelmakers of Sheffield. Similar early records of William Laird and Son have not survived. The bulk of the collection consists of plans, specifications, photographs and contracts for individual ships. The company built ships for companies and navies across the world. The list includes an number of notable vessels including the Confederate blockade runner, The Alabama, one of the first screw propelled vessels, the Robert F Stockton, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the HMS Prince of Wales and the liner the Mauretania.

William Laird and Son, 1828-1860

John Laird and Sons Ltd, 1860-1862

Laird Brothers, 1862-1899

Laird Brothers Ltd, 1899-1903

Cammell Laird and Company Ltd, 1903-1951

Cammell Laird and Co Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd, 1951-1970

Cammell Laird Shiprepairers Ltd

Cammell Laird Drydocks Ltd,& #160;1965-1970

Laird Group, 1970-1972

British Shipbuilders, Cammell Laird and Company, Birkenhead,1977-1985

VSEL Holdings PLC, Birkenhead, Cammell Laird Shipbuilders, 1985-1993

• Shipbuilding

William Laird established a boilerworks in Wallasey Pool 1824.

Cammell Laird Shiprepairers Ltd & Grayson Clover Rollo Docks combined to become Cammell Laird Drydocks Ltd& #160;in 1965. Laird Group (50% owned by Cammell Laird & Co Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, 50% by the government) formed in 1970. It Renamed Cammell Laird Shipbuilders Ltd 1972.