Records of the British Corporation

• Survey reports, 1891-1949;
• Written histories, 1946.

The  British Corporation was formed in Glasgow in  1890  . It was established for the purpose of surveying and registering shipping (in competition with Lloyd's Register) and also acted to improve ship design. It published its first Register Book and Rules in  1893  and in  1912  a separate Liverpool Committee was formed. Towards the end of the Second World War, however, talks took place between the Corporation and Lloyd's which led to the creation of a Joint Negotiating Body to investigate the merger of the two organisations. The body reported back in July 1945 recommending the merger, but, although the General Committee of Lloyd's Register accepted the report, a meeting of the British Corporation failed to produce the necessary 75 per cent majority in favour. In 1947 the British Corporation issued a new set of Rules, which showed that its standards were converging with those of Lloyd's Register and, following the failure of negotiations between the two bodies and the American Bureau of Shipping, merger talks resumed. On 28 March 1949 it was announced that the two bodies would merge under the title Lloyd's Register of Shipping united with the British Corporation Register, although the British Corporation's rules and practices remained effective until  1954  when a set of unified rules were issued.

The collection is survey listed.

Open

Deposited by Mr D C J Potter, Records Manager & Archivist, Lloyds Register of Shipping, 71 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4BS, 13 March 1991

Printed list and item level computerised list available in searchroom

No known copies

Compiled by Jenny Bunn, Assistant Archivist, 02 March 2000. Amended by Sam Maddra, Assistant Archivist (cataloguing), 5 August 2014.

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Archivist.

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents

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