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The Brocklebank Line (formally named Thos. and Jno. Brocklebank) was an English shipping line that operated in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Brocklebank Line (formally named Thos. and Jno. Brocklebank) was an English shipping line that operated in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Daniel Brocklebank
Daniel Brocklebank (born 21 December 1979) is an English actor, best known for portraying the roles of Ivan Jones in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2005–2006), and Billy Mayhew in ITV's other long-running soap ''Coronation Street'' (20 ...
founded a shipyard in Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...
in 1785, and expanded in the following years into operating ships. Following Brocklebank's death in 1801, his sons Thomas and John took over the business, which was incorporated as Thomas and John Brocklebank. The line expanded steadily in the first half of the 1800s, opening routes to South America by 1809, India in 1815 following the end of the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
's monopoly, and China in 1829. The line's operations were based out of Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and run by Thomas Brocklebank, while John ran the Whitehaven shipyard until his death in 1831. The next generation of Brocklebanks, Thomas Jr. and Ralph, became partners in the business in 1843, and the following year the line reached its peak with a fleet of fifty ships.
In 1865 the shipyard at Whitehaven closed, with most of the line's subsequent ships built at Harland & Wolff
Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...
. In 1911 the Brocklebank family gave up full control of the company, when Sir Percy, Frederic and Denis Bates—descendants of shipping magnate Sir Edward Bates—acquired a stake in the line.
In 1912 the Anchor Line, a Cunard Line
The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...
subsidiary, took a controlling interest in Brocklebank. In 1916 Brocklebank bought the Wells Line, and came under the control of Cunard in 1919 when the latter bought the entirety of the Brocklebank and Bates families' shares. After retraction during the 1930s, Cunard bought the remaining outstanding Brocklebank stock in 1940, and while the line lost the majority of its ships during World War II, it rebuilt following the war. In 1967 a Cunard restructuring led to a renamed Cunard Brocklebank Line taking over all of Cunard's cargo traffic. Cunard suffered financially in the following years, however, and the freight business was eventually shuttered, with the last Brocklebank–flagged ships sold in 1983.
References
{{Authority control 1801 establishments in England 1983 disestablishments in England Cunard Line Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom Shipping companies of England