Catalogue description Records of the Rowland and Marwood Steamship Company

This collection comprises

Corporate Records

Circular book containing examples of printed circulars and stationary, with notes on how many copies were ordered including circulars to shareholders, draft instrument of transfer of shares 1891, annual reports and accounts 1891-1993, dividend forms, news cuttings relating to the Company's activities and obituaries of staff, circulars relating to the liquidation of the International Line Steamship Company Ltd 1891-1993; draft minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors 1890-1895; draft profit accounts 1890-1913; summaries of balance sheets 1891-1900; calculations of managers' bonuses 1892-1894; verbatim reports of the Annual General Meeting held at York in 1912 and 1920; memorandum and articles of association of the Headlam and Sons Steamship Company 1929; papers relating to a collusive action concerning Bellerby and others versus Rowland and Marwood Steamship Company Ltd arising from a situation in 1893; register giving names and addresses of shareholders in the SS Alacrity, noting their shareholding, when allocated and to whom sold 1891-1901; prospectuses, shareholders' circulars, reports, accounts and cuttings relating to Glendene Shipping Company Ltd, Dene Shipping Company Ltd, France Fenwick, The Middle Dock Engineering Company, the Tanfield Steamship Company Ltd, Sheaf Steamship Company Ltd, Moor Lines Ltd, Hopecourt Shipping Company Ltd, Mountstuart Dry Docks Ltd, Redgate Steamship Company Ltd, Claymore Shipping Company Ltd, Harrowing Steamship Company Ltd, Pyman Steamship Company Ltd, Robinson Brothers Steamship Company Ltd, Thomas Smailes and Son Steamship Company Ltd, Tatem Steam Navigation Company Ltd, United British Steamship Company Ltd and Hall Brothers Steamship Company Ltd 1911-1959; papers relating to the sale of the Whitby Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd including correspondence with the receiver, profit and loss accounts 1961-1963, newspaper cuttings 1964-1965, and large scale plans of premises 1964-1965; copy of the Syren and Shipping Illustrated containing a full page portrait photograph of William Headlam, at 26 the youngest shipowner appearing in Lloyds Register 1934; correspondence relating to a plan to build a model of the brig Marwood to be put on display at Thorshavn church in the Faeroe Islands to mark the centenary of the ship's loss off Vidoy, including a photograph of a painting by George Chambers of the brig Star 1946; correspondence with former employees and members of the public on historical questions regarding the company and its ships, including list of ships damaged or sunk by enemy action during World War II and of crew members who were killed in these incidents 1967-1993.

Staff Records

Volumes containing crew lists for the steamships Alacrity, Barnby, Beemah, Blue Cross, Burnholme, Claymore, Cornucopia, Discovery, Dunsley, Egton, Empire Bunting, Endeavour, Enterprize, Erlesburgh, Fylingdale, Glaisdale, Goathland, Ingleside, John H Barry, Kildale, Larpool, Mulgrave, Quistconck, Red Cross, Resolution, Robina, Roma, Rome, Rosehill, Rosella, Runswick, Ryde, Saltwick, Sandsend, Sarmatia, Scoresby, Sneaton, Stakesby, Strenshall, Streonshalh, Vectris, War Pintall, Wennington Hall, Whitby, White Cross and Wileysike, all owned or managed by Rowland and Marwood, recording names, rank, wages and disbursements, and remarks 1889-1941; officers' service books listing officers, recording qualifications and service with the company c1924-1930s; register of apprentices containing a list of apprentices, recording name, date bound, date of birth, terms, address and remarks 1905-1939; apprentices wages books recording payments and cash advances to apprentices 1905-1968; essays by the apprentices H L Abbs, E Griffiths and Arthur Mullaney on the SS Fylingdales, with master's comments nd; copy certificates of satisfactory completion of apprenticeship for Eric Ralph Cook, Geoffrey Healey Poole, Dennis Consitt, Albert Freeman Booth, Peter Palframan, Donald Arthur Ellerby, Raymond Russell Calvert, Desmond Dobson and Thomas William Feather 1950-1952; list of equipment to be supplied by apprentices on going to sea nd.

Operational Records

Movement books for the ships Alacrity, Barnby, Beemah, Blue Cross, Burnholme, Cornucopia, Discovery, Dunsley, Eelbeck, Egton, Empire Bunting, Empire Drayton, Empire Eve, Empire Falcon, Empire March, Empire Moon, Empire Morley, Empire Morn, Empire Rhodes, Endeavour, Enterprize, Erlesburgh, Fort Alexandria, Fort Bourbon, Fort Perrot, Fylingdale, Glaisdale, Goathland, Ingleside, John H Barry, Katwijk, Kildale, Larpool, Ocean Faith, Ramon de Larrinaga, Red Cross, Resolution, Roma, Runswick, Ryde, Saltwick, Sandsend, Sarmatia, Scoresby, Sneaton, Stakesby, Streonshalh, Wennington Hall, White Cross and Wileysike giving details of ships' movements and remarks on cargo 1895-1986; voyage accounts for the ships Scoresby, Larpool, Kildale, Stakesby, Sandsend, Goathland, Sneaton and Kildale 1925-1926; notebook containing details of the company's fleet including the ships SS Ryde, SS Erlesburgh, SS Stakesby, SS Scoresby, SS Kildale, SS Goathland, SS Fylingdale, SS Larpool, SS Sneaton and SS Sandsend 1926; copy letter book containing correspondence of Captain A D Milner as master of the SS Roma, covering day-to-day business and reports back to the company's offices in Whitby 1920-1921; correspondence relating to defects to the stern bearing of the SS Stakesby and subsequent repairs carried out by J Dickenson and Sons, Sunderland, including abstract of log and survey report by Eyres and Bryers, Newcastle-on-Tyne 1923; insurance policies relating to the SS Runswick and the SS Goathland 1931-1936; Lloyds classification certificates relating to the SS Goathland 1931-1936; index cards showing information provided to the Ministry of Shipping giving full particulars of the wartime fleet managed by Rowland and Marwood and Headlam and Sons including the vessels Runswick, Barnby, Egton, Scoresby, Kildale, Goathland, Fylingdale, Larpool, Sandsend, Saltwick Glaisdale, Dunsley, Katwijk, Stolwijk, Empire Falcon, Empire Bunting, Empire Moon and Stakesby 1940s; invitation to tender issued by the Ministry of War Transport for the purchase of government-owned chartered shipping disposed of following the Second World War 1946; photographs of the launch of the SS Egton, built by William Pickersgill and Sons Ltd, Sunderland, together with newspaper cuttings relating to the launch and lists of invitees 1948; extract from the Chief Officer's log of the SS Glaisdale for a voyage between Swansea and Montreal 1956; specifications prepared by the Contract Department of the Doxford and Sunderland Shipbuilding and Engineering Company for propelling machinery for the MV Egton 1961; certificates, transcripts of registers and official surveys relating to the MS Egton 1967; cuttings and notes relating to an incident when the Egton ran ashore at Ness Point and a subsequent fire while at Swann Hunter's dry-dock at Wallsend 1967; statement by Stanley Jackson, master of the MS Egton relating a salvage claim by the tugs Erimus Cross and Firey Cross arising from an incident in 1967 when the Egton ran ashore at Ness Point, Robin Hoods Bay, during engine trials 1967; chief engineer's log for the MS Egton 1967, including period during which the vessel ran aground on Ness Point, Robin Hoods Bay; report by the Research and Development Department of the Doxford and Sunderland Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd on sea trials of engines undertaken in 1967; news cuttings relating to the experiences of the crew of the MS Sneaton in Shanghai during the Chinese Cultural Revolution 1967; edition of the Merchant Shipping Acts of 1906 and 1907 published with notes by the British Steamship Owners' Association 1907.

Plans and Photographs

Photograph of an unidentified group of three men on an unknown ship nd; photograph of an unidentified group of seven men captioned "Runswick, London July '56"; two photographs of the launch of the SS Streonshalh, built by William Pickersgill and Sons Ltd, Sunderland 1928; framed photograph of the MS Runswick at Three Rivers, bows taken from water level 1956; c65 photographs, some duplicates, of collision damage to the bows and starboard side of the MS Runswick, relating to an incident in the River Scheldt, Antwerp in 1958, 1958; three photographs captioned "MS Runswick, Sunderland 13-3-59" showing Mr Anthony Greenwell, The Earl of Selkirk, Colonel Greenwell, Mr Ingamells, Sir John Lang and Captain Greenwell 1959; two photographs of the MS Egton on the Mersey 1960s; six photographs, some duplicates, of the SS Runswick, including photographs of her laid up at Sunderland 1972, 1960s-1970s; photograph of the SS Egton 1960s; six photographs showing collision damage sustained by an unidentified vessel nd; 35 photographs, some duplicates, showing repair work done to an unidentified vessel on the Tyne nd; plans of the steamships Alacrity, Endeavour, Discovery, White Cross, Red Cross, Wennington Hall, Enterprize, Cornucopia, Wileysike, Blue Cross, Roma (2 vessels) 1900s-1910s; operating instructions and trimming table for EC2 Liberty Type vessels 1942; capacity plans for the SS Larpool, SS Sneaton, MV Egton, and the SS Glaisdale 1944 and nd; plans of the SS Sneaton nd; general arrangement plans for the SS Egton, MV Egton and the MV Runswick nd; capacity table for the SS Dunsley 1929; loading scale for the SS Generton and MV Runswick 1936-1962; capacity plan and diagrammatic shell expansion plan for the MS Egton 1962-1967; Hunter Balance Scale marked "MS Egton" nd.

Rowland and Marwood Steamship Company

• Whitby, North Riding of Yorkshire
• Sea transport

This collection was deposited by the Headlam Shipping Company in March 1994.

The Rowland and Marwood Steamship Company was established as a limited company following an approach in February 1890 by John Rowland and Christopher Marwood to the other shareholders of the steamships Resolution, Discovery, Endeavour, Roma, Vectis and Enterprize, previously held on a 64-share basis. Rowland and Marwood were appointed, joint managers and secretaries of the new Company.

Rowland and Marwood both had experience in ship ownership and management: Rowland having been a partner in Robinson and Rowland from 1880 until the break-up of that partnership in 1888, and Marwood was manager of the International Steamship Company

The pair had also, from 1886, jointly managed six steamships belonging to J H Barry and Company Many of these business activities continued concurrently with the management of Rowland and Marwood, and were run from the Company's registered office in 4 Flowergate.

The Company later moved to 43 Flowergate; in 1940 these premises were destroyed in a bombing raid, and the registered office transferred to Raithwaite Hall, where it remained until the liquidation of the Company.

John Rowland died in September 1899 and Christopher Marwood in July 1914. William Aaron Headlam, who had been assistant secretary since 1905, and Lewis George Rowland were then appointed joint managing directors and company secretaries. On L G Rowland's retirement in 1929, Headlam and Sons was established as a management company, Leonard Headlam joining his father as manager of Rowland and Marwood. Both W Aaron Headlam and Leonard Headlam died in 1930 and another son, William A Headlam, was appointed sole managing director and company secretary; he also became chairman of the company in 1950, in which position he remained until his death in August 1990.

In 1985 the entire share capital of the Rowland and Marwood Steamship Company plc was acquired by William Headlam (Holdings) Ltd, which was 100% owned by William Headlam and which had acquired the capital of Headlam and Sons Steamship Company the previous year; Rowland and Marwood was re-registered as a private company. The Company's last vessel, the MV Egton was sold in 1986 after being laid up for eight years, and the Company itself was liquidated in 1994.

Given the disruption to the order of records that had taken place before cataloguing, it has not proved possible to reflect the original administrative arrangement. Indeed, although it is clear that a Marine Superintendent operated, it is not clear what distinctions were made on a day-to-day level between administrative functions; particularly as a series of strong characters seem to have more or less combined the roles of chairman, managing director and company secretary.

Therefore, an arbitrary distinction has been made between "corporate", "operational" and "staff" records and a group consisting of plans and photographs has been created. The allocation of records into these groups has been made by the cataloguing archivist.

The SS Alacrity was built by E Withy and Company of West Hartlepool in 1890 and registered in Whitby. Rowland and Marwood bought 33 shares in 1898, becoming the majority shareholder by 1902, this shareholding had increased to sixty shares. Alacrity was lost in 1903 after colliding with the sunken steamer Vera at the entrance to the River Plate. The SS John H Barry was built by J L Thompson and Sons Ltd in Sunderland in 1899 for J H Barry Company, and managed by Rowland and Marwood. She was torpedoed and sunk in Mar 1917.

The SS Robina, SS Fylingdale and SS Rosehill were built in Sunderland for Robinson and Rowland in 1883 and 1884; on the break-up of that partnership, ownership of these vessels was transferred to John Rowland. The SS Lizzie was built in Sunderland in 1890, she was owned by James Gray and Company.

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