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This visit by Malcolm was the latest of a number to the society.
And, by the numbers present was a very popular return.
Malcolm explained that the ports he would include in his talk
all lay within the pre-1974 Lancashire boundary, much to the
appreciation of those present.
His talk started in
Barrow-in-Furness travelling in a clockwise direction to various
ports of call around Morecambe Bay, finally ending his journey
at Preston.
Malcolm’s talk was accompanied by a very
interesting collection of images on screen. Many depicted grainy
black and white images from the late 19th century of sailing
ships in the various docks. Barrow-in-Furness’ success was built
on the areas plentiful sources of iron-ore, coal and limestone.
Vital ingredients with which to make steel. With the coming of
the railways, not surprisingly, the area grew and combined with
its sheltered position became a centre for shipbuilding. Many
great ships were built there but now it concentrates on building
Britain’s nuclear powered submarines. |
Malcolm Tranter |
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It was interesting to see ocean going sailing ships at Ulverston
dock. Its link to the sea was by England’s shortest canal. This
link, though, was severed about 70 years ago when the canal was
blocked off.
Evidence of the sea trading activity can still
be seen at Arnside, actually not in Lancashire, as the old
Customs house is still there. Just a little way up the estuary
lies Storth. A jetty there provided access to the sea for
Milnthorpe. The coming of the railway killed off both these
ports.
The port of Lancaster grew fast during the 18th
century on the back of the triangular trade of finished goods,
slaves and cotton. The need to accommodate larger ships led to
the construction downstream of Glasson Dock in early 19th
century. To this day Glasson Dock remains a working port, one of
only a few similar small ports.
Amongst the many interesting
images were those of large passenger steamers at Morecambe and
Blackpool catering for the many holidaymakers.
Particular
attention was paid to the former busy fishing port of Fleetwood
and Malcolm emphasized just how important it was.
Malcolm
concluded with an in depth look at Preston dock. Until recently
the single largest in the UK, it has now been closed to sea
trade now for 35 years. Opened in 1885 images showed it busy
with ocean going sailing ships.
Modes of sea transport that
were trialled here included roll on, roll off ferries (Ro-Ro),
and containerisation. Ironic really as Preston was killed as a
port as it could not take the much larger ships that carried
containers.
Malcolm’s interesting talk was warmly appreciated
by all present.
Peter Robinson
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