City of Cork Steampacket Company Archive Descriptive List

IE CCCA U370

City of Cork Steam Packet Co Ltd

INTRODUCTION

IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference:

U370

Title:

City of Cork Steam Packet Co Ltd

Level of description:

fonds

Date:

1803 - 1969

Extent:

475 items

CONTEXT Creator:

City of Cork Steam Packet Co Ltd and B&I Line

Archival History:

The main body of Cork Steam Packet Co Ltd was transferred from B&I Offices, Penrose Quay, Cork, in February 1984, by Mr Foley, Manager. Additional material was acquired on 22 January 2007 from P&O Archives c/o Stephen Rabson, P&O Line Archivist and Historian. This deposit included U370/S/001, the 1836 articles of agreement of the Cork Steam Packet Company. U370/D/020 (City of Cork Steam Ship Company receipts, 1858-69) were deposited separately, and originally given the reference code U186. Item U370/D/019, (Inisfallen stationery with letterhead) was acquired in February 2013 from Liverpool Maritime Museum, having been donated by a private donor in the UK. In 2014, the large ships’ drawings were professionally conserved, several damaged volumes were rebound, and other cleaning and reprographic work was carried out with the assistance of grant funding from the H eritage Council’s Heritage Management Grant Scheme.

Biographical/Administrative History:

The City of Cork Steam Packet Co Ltd had its origins in the St George Steam Packet Company, formed by businessmen from Cork, Dublin, and Liverpool in 1821, providing steam services between Irish and UK ports. From the late 1820s, direct services ran between Cork and Liverpool and Bristol. The Company came to trade with leading European ports, in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia. In 1838 the Company's vessel the Sirius, under Captain Roberts, became the first steamer to cross the Atlantic, arriving in New York from Cork on 22 April.

The Company was reorganised in 1843 and renamed the City of Cork Steam Ship Company, under the direction of Ebenezer Pike, all its first directors being Corkmen*. Vessels including the Cormorant

©Cork City and County Archives 2014

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