Using the records
Business and shipbuilding records are normally consulted in General Register House apart from those identified as located in other
archives. Many of the records are out housed and need advance notice
for production in the search room. Researchers should first check
with the NAS or search the UK National Register of Archives on the
precise location of shipbuilding records before visiting the Historical
Search Room. If you are looking for photographs or information on
a particular vessel, check for registration details and the shipbuilder
in Lloyds Register of Shipping available in most large libraries.
Records
Many of the shipbuilding records acquired by the NAS have been sent
to an appropriate local archive as indicated on the list below. Contact
details for each archive including opening hours can be found in the
directory of Scottish archives on the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN)
website.
The main company records are:
administrative and commercial records such as minute books, board
papers, financial statements, order books and costing records,
contracts
drawings and photographs of yards, workshops and machinery
particulars of vessels
plans, drawings and photographs of vessels completed.
Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS)
In 1973 the records of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders was acquired for
the nation by the Keeper
of the Records of Scotland in conjunction with the City of Glasgow,
Clydebank Town Council and Dunbarton County Council. The NAS retains
only the collection of some 40,000 photographs.
| Description |
Dates |
Repository |
| UCS photographic collection |
19th-20th century |
NAS |
| John Brown & Co, Clydebank |
1852-1970 |
Glasgow University Archives |
| Simons-Lobnitz, Renfrew |
1810-1967 |
Glasgow University Archives |
| Alexander Stephen & Sons, Linthouse |
1740-1968 |
Glasgow University Archives |
| Fairfield-Rowan & Co, Govan |
1861-1971 |
Glasgow City Archives |
Other shipbuilding companies
| Reference |
Description |
Dates |
Repository |
| GD313 |
Burntisland Shipbuilding Co, including
Hall, Russell & Co material |
1918-69 |
NAS |
| GD339 |
Robb Caledon (Leith) Ltd, including
Henry Robb Ltd, Ramage and Ferguson & Co Ltd and Menzies
& Co |
1877-1983 |
NAS |
| GD400 |
Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon |
|
Glasgow University Archives |
| GD321 |
Ferguson Brothers, Port Glasgow (Scott-Lithgow
Group) |
1900-63 |
Glasgow University Archives |
| GD320 |
Lithgows, Port Glasgow (Scott-Lithgow
Group) |
1870-1968 |
Glasgow University Archives |
| GD322 |
Scotts of Bowling (Scott-Lithgow Group) |
1857-1978 |
Glasgow University Archives |
| GD319 |
Scott's Shipbuilding Co, Greenock (Scott-Lithgow
Group) |
1780-1979 |
Glasgow University Archives |
| GD315 |
Argyll Ship and Boatbuilding Co, Renfrew |
1920-74 |
Glasgow City Archives |
| GD1/747 |
Archibald McMillan & Son, Dumbarton |
1871-1935 |
Glasgow City Archives |
| GD324 |
Robb Caledon Shipbuilding Ltd (Dundee) |
|
Dundee City Archives |
The NAS also holds the series of Board of Trade dissolved
company files (BT2). These include the files for John Brown &
Co and William Denny and Brothers among others. These are not company
records, but contain documents relating to the incorporation and dissolution
of the company and the returns of directors and shareholders submitted
as a requirement of company law.
Further reading
L A Ritchie 'Modern British shipbuilding: A guide to historical records'
(Manchester University Press, 1992)
P Mathias and AWH Pearsall, 'Shipping, a survey of historical records'
(Newton Abbot, 1971)
S Pollard, 'The British shipbuilding industry, 1870 -1914' (London,
1979)
M Moss and J R Hume, 'Workshop of the British Empire: Engineering
and shipbuilding in the west of Scotland' (London, 1977)
The National Archives of Scotland
Crown Copyright 2006
|
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