A Cumberland Endeavour Sample

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A Cumberland Endeavour to a query from his brother, he writes: Yes there is a lot of work at the office, and I do think a portion would surely fall to my share if I were in business, and really Wilfrid I must be doing something as I can’t go on at this rate much longer. It’s bad enough to have to work for a man whom you can never respect, but to be labouring without any prospect of being advanced is dismal enough. I asked him today for my wages which were due on Saturday and he coolly told me he had no money by him! We must have a serious talk about matters when you come (D.V.) and see if something can’t be arranged, Wilfrid. This letter undoubtedly had important consequences. Alfred and his more experienced older brother must have appraised the shipping market in Maryport and its prospects, assessed the possibilities of starting up independently – in competition with his present employer – and decided to grasp the opportunity. The premises were much too large for his needs at first, but he made ends meet by sub-letting parts of the building to other businesses – including, appropriately, the Customs Authority! Within a year, Alfred was his own master, and becoming part of the the local business community: in the press announcement of Christina’s death in July 1870, she is described as, “the daughter of Alfred Hine, ship and insurance broker”. By 1871 the Maryport Advertiser was referring to him as “Mr. Alfred Hine”, and his office in Custom House Buildings was often used for the auctions of ships and equipment. He was also the local agent for the Liverpool Underwriters’ Association, and Secretary of the Solway Mutual Marine Insurance Association, known as the ‘Solway Club’. In this early cooperative venture the members – local shipowners – contributed to a fund to provide compensation for losses or damage. The premium each was required to pay was determined by the declared value of his own vessels, the total value of all the ships insured, and the claims upon the fund. For example: in 1870 the losses sustained by Association members came to just over £650; the ill-fated “Humberstone”, insured for £500, making up the largest part of the year’s claims. In April 1871 Alfred’s committee did their calculations and resolved to call upon the members for £2:0:5d (£2.02p) per £100 of insured assets. So Captain John Kendall of Maryport, who had insured his schooner “Perseverance” with the Club for £600 and the “White Star” for £900, was therefore presented with an account for £30:6s:3d – nearly £1,000 today! (The rate chosen, incidentally, suggests that about £32,500 worth of shipping was insured with Solway Mutual Marine: about a million pounds’ worth in present day terms and another indication that Maryport’s prosperity was still increasing). Alfred had also taken his first steps as a shipowner in 1872 when he and two friends acquired the wooden barque “Roslyn”. One of the co-purchasers was a Mr. Harrison, and the “Roslyn” was re-named the “Jane Harrison” after his wife. Their experience of ownership was to be a brief one: the vessel was fitted out and set sail for Valparaiso on what was expected to be a three-year mission, but within a few days the “Jane Harrison” was struck by lightning in a storm and sank! However, the inauspicious beginning of this enterprise led to a long association with Hine Brothers’ ships for the third partner, Captain J. Johnstone, who went on to serve the Company in sail and steam for more than 20 years. In 1871, the town was indeed a hive of industry. The population was now 7,413, supported by shipping, the coal trade and the rebirth of the iron industry. Three years earlier the Maryport Haematite Iron Company had been formed and was running six blast furnaces, while the Solway Iron Company, established in 1870, was in business with another four. This new local demand for coal did reduce the amount available for export, and adversely affected Harbour dues for a time; but supply increased to meet the demand, and cargoes of iron and steel were also being shipped out, to the satisfaction of the Trustees. In Liverpool, Wilfrid prospered and began to expand his interests. In addition to the “North Branch” he became part owner of four more ships in his own name. In 1872 he bought the “King Arthur”, a 422 ton barque of composite construction 10
Chapter 1: The Beginnings “Hazel Holme”, c.1874 (that is, the frame of the ship was iron, but the hull and decking were of wood) built two years earlier in Whitby. Wilfrid changed her name to “Hazel Holme”, put Capt. W. Clark in command and engaged her in voyages to Mauritius and Australia. He also acquired the “Glenfalloch”, a wooden barque of 449 tons built in Scotland in 1861: under Capt. Johnstone she was employed to trade between Liverpool and the ports of the St. Lawrence River. And for the South American trade, particularly to Valparaiso, Wilfrid purchased another two wooden barques; the “Aline”, and the 513 ton “John Norman”, built in 1855 by J. Westacott at Barnstable. Westacott’s yard, incidentally, was almost unique in that it was roofed over: ships were built under cover protected from the elements, and received higher classification in Lloyd’s Register. The “Aline” was a barque of 474 tons gross, built in 1867 by Hardie of Sunderland. The sixth ship in Wilfrid’s enterprise was another wooden barque, the “Cereal”, just under 300 tons and built on Wearside in 1859. This fine little ship was part-owned by her master, Capt. James Ritchie, one of the many Cumberland sea captains destined for a long association with Hine ships. His career as master of the “Cereal”, however, was about to come to an abrupt end. What happened is described graphically by Capt. Ritchie’s daughter in an article she wrote for “Sea Breezes” in 1927: In August, 1872, my father left Swansea in command of the barque “Cereal”, owned jointly by the late Mr. Wilfrid Hine and my father (the late Captain James Ritchie), both Maryport men. The vessel had a cargo of coal for Santos and all went well till after she crossed the Line, when, one day, the strange antics of the ship’s cat attracted attention. As a hatch was left open in the daytime for ventilation the cat was in the habit of going down the hold; but this day, on coming up again, raced about the deck scraping her paws. Soon afterwards a faint curl of smoke was seen and it was found that the ship was on fire. Matters looked hopeless, but everything possible was done to save the ship, boats were made ready and towed astern in preparation for leaving the vessel quickly if necessity demanded. However, the crew were spared the horrors of a long boat trip, for a vessel hove in sight. To the surprise of all – for many of the crew belonged to Maryport – the vessel proved to be the “John Ritson” of Maryport, commanded by Captain George Curwen, a Maryport man! By this time the fumes were very bad, so the Cereal’s crew transferred to the “John Ritson” before nightfall. The two masters decided to take both ships’ crews to the 11
Page 1: A CUMBERLAND ENDEAVOUR Hine Bros. o
Page 5 and 6: A Cumberland Endeavour Hine Brother
Page 7: Dedication FREDA GRAHAM 1939 - 2002
Page 10 and 11: Map of the British Isles showing th
Page 13 and 14: Chapter One The Beginnings MARyPORT
Page 15 and 16: Chapter 1: The Beginnings With such
Page 17 and 18: Chapter 1: The Beginnings flourishe
Page 19 and 20: Chapter 1: The Beginnings Once agai
Page 21: Chapter 1: The Beginnings mother an
Page 25 and 26: Chapter Two Growth and Development:
Page 28: The story of Hine Brothers of Maryp

A Cumberland Endeavour Sample

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