HARRISON LINE (Mini Gallery)

HARRISON LINE (Mini Gallery)

(T & J Harrison Ltd)

The Charente S.S. Co. Ltd.

The steamship CROFTER was built in 1951 by J. Readhead & Sons of South Shields, 8,377 gross tons, 468 ft overall length. Single screw, one triple expansion reciprocating steam engine and Bauer-Wach low pressure turbine, 12 knots, by the builders.

The CROFTER and FORESTER were the last steamers built for the company and the CROFTER was the last in service. She was sold in 1971 and broken up in 1977.

For upwards of 140 years T & J Harrison have been involved in shipping, modestly in the early days but with increasing investment from the 1860s. The company, which was founded as a family partnership in 1853, remained wholly private. The first ventures were into the wine and particularly brandy trades of the Charente and it was the Charente Steamship Company which was founded in 1871 and expanded in 1884 to own the ships, with Thomas and James Harrison as managers. By this time, however, the partners were looking further afield. Their first steamers were the GLADIATOR and the COGNAC, both built in 1860, and their sailing ships from 1863 ran on a regular Indian service, with steamer operated schedules to the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil soon added. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 was a benefit to steam but New Orleans became a major target for Harrison ships, which from 1857 were mostly named after trades and professions starting with the full-rigged ship PHILOSOPHER. The last sailing ship was sold in 1889 and the company settled to steady development on established routes, the Mediterranean, India, the Gulf, Caribbean, Brazil, then from 1902 South Africa. The Rennie Line to Natal was bought in 1911, the ships with the 'In' names, two of which were passenger liners, more 'In' named passenger ships being added for the South African and West Indian services. Twentyseven ships were lost in the First World War but in 1917 Rankin, Gilmour of Liverpool was bought, followed in 1920 by the Crown Line of Glasgow and Scrutton's of London. Seven Frederick Leyland ships were acquired in 1933 and four came from Furness Withy two years later. Second World War losses totalled thirty, so from 1947 a big replacement programme was started with the company's first motor ship, the HERDSMAN, delivered from Doxford's of Sunderland who built a further twentyone.

A new look came in 1960 with the ADVENTURER and her 180 ton Stulcken derrick, and a newer look still in 1973 with the three bulk carriers of the Wayfarer class, with container ships following in 1977. The funnel markings remained unchanged in colour since 1865, but earlier ones seemed to have been plain black. The houseflag dates from about 1853.

Funnels: Black with red band between two white bands.

Hulls: Black with red boot-topping

(A) Liverpool & U.K. ports to India via Suez, some returning via Ceylon also.

(B) Glasgow, Middlesbrough, U.K. and Continental ports to South & East Africa.

(C) Glasgow, Liverpool and U.K. ports to East Africa via Suez.

The following is a list of Harrison vessels as at 1955. This list was published by Ian Allen Ltd. and was compiled by H.M. LeFleming.

Early sailing vessels excluded, around 300 ships, steam and diesel driven, have featured in the Harrison fleet since it came into being in the late 1800s. After WW2, and with post-war purchases ignored most of the surviving ships built to company specification (nearly twenty in all) were of the familiar three-island type. So too were the first post-war ships of 1947 onwards. These, however, marked the switch to diesels and so represented the beginning of the end of the traditional extra tall funnels.