Clyde Shipping Company
| Industry | Shipping |
|---|---|
| Successor | Clyde Marine Group |
| Founded | 1815 |
| Defunct | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Glasgow, Scotland |
|
Area served
|
United Kingdom |
The Clyde Shipping Company was one of the earliest shipping companies in the United Kingdom to provide steamship services.
The Clyde Shipping Company or C. S. Co. was established in 1815 to provide steamship services out of Glasgow. Although its very early history is unclear, it was almost certainly the oldest steamship company in existence when it was put up for sale – along with its four tug steamers, three luggage steamers and eight lighters – in February 1856.
1856 – 1893
The C. S. Co. seemed an ideal investment to Archibald Glen Kidston (great-grandfather of ‘Bentley Boy’ Glen Kidston), who was looking for a Glasgow-based business to occupy his three sons, in particular his youngest, George Jardine, who was 21 years old at the time. Archibald Glen’s own business, A. G. Kidston & Co., was thriving and as it owned sailing clippers as well as dealing in iron and steel, steam tugs were a natural evolution.
While the partners in the newly purchased C. S. Co. were the three Kidston brothers, their cousin, and two others unrelated to the Kidston family, only George Jardine Kidston took an active role in running the company – which he did for the next 53 years.
George Kidston, who had nine children when he became a widower at the age of just 46, had a great love of outdoor sports, especially fox-hunting. Known to be a shy man, he was a kind and indulgent father – said only to have caned his sons when they chose to saw the legs off the drawing-room chairs.
Although reportedly remote from the staff of the C. S. Co., George Kidston had a reputation for discretion, wisdom, and a willingness to invest in potentially risky new ventures, usually with great success. The year 1856 saw the launch of the company’s first regular coastal service to Cork and Waterford and to Galway Bay, the Shannon estuary and Limerick. A service to Plymouth was later extended to Southampton, Newhaven and London. From 1888, the deep-sea tramping trade saw the company heavily involved in the guano, nitrate and copper trade in the Pacific islands.
George Jardine remained as Chairman when, in January 1893, the original partnership of the C. S. Co. was dissolved to form a limited liability company. By then, the seven river vessels and eight lighters of 1856 had expanded to a fleet of 15 coasters, two deep-sea ships and 25 tugs.
Meanwhile, James Cuthbert was appointed Managing Director of the new limited company, an energetic young man who had contributed much to the C. S. Co.’s rapid expansion since he joined the company as a 21-year-old, eight years before.
1893 – 1956
James Cuthbert remained as Managing Director until he died of a stroke in 1901. He was succeeded by his son, William Cuthbert, who held the role of Managing Director (and, from 1920, Chairman) for the next 45 years. Whereas staff spoke warily of James Cuthbert’s sense of humour, clearly unsure when he was joking and when he was not, his son William – a committed church elder – did much to create a congenial atmosphere around him, even through the difficult war years.
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Wikipedia