Records of Court Line Ltd, ship owners, London, England

Scope and Content

The collection contains:

  • Minutes of meetings, brochures, certificates of incorporation, accounts, memorandum and articles of association for Court Shipbuilders Ltd, formerly Burngreen Securities Ltd, 1972-1975;
  • Memorandum and articles of association, shareholder reports, annual reports and financial accounts for North East Coast Contractors Ltd, 1959-1967;
  • Court Line Ltd correspondence, annual accounts, minutes, memorandum and article of association, profit forecasts, profit and loss accounts, cash flow forecasts, ledgers, photographs, slides and presscuttings, 1905-1975;
  • Court Line (Ship Management) Ltd Memorandum and articles of association, financial reports, minutes and correspondence, 1967-1972;
  • United British Steam Company minutes, balance sheets, accounts, trust deeds memorandum and articles of association and presscuttings, 1913-1948;
  • Doxford and Sunderland Ltd annual reports, Department of Trade and Industry report, accounts, presscuttings and correspondence, 1967-1973;
  • Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd reports, pamphlets, general papers, presscuttings, minutes, correspondence and accounts, 1963-1980;
  • Court Line Aviation Ltd Memorandum and articles of association and minutes, 1957-1968;
  • Cory & Strick (Steamers) Ltd minutes, memorandum and articles of association and register of members, 1928-1974;
  • Court Travel Ltd financial statements, accounts, memorandum and article of association, minutes, presscuttings and brochures, 1967-1975;
  • Court Leisure Ltd Memorandums, minutes, re-organisation papers, correspondence, reports, profit forecasts and brochures, 1970-1975;
  • Horizon Holidays Ltd correspondence, brochures, memorandums and financial reports, 1970-1975;
  • Leeward Islands Air Transport Services Ltd correspondence, accounts and cash flow reports and brochures, 1971-1974.

Administrative / Biographical History

Court Line Ltd was first registered in 1905 . It was founded by P E Haldenstein (later Haldin) as a small tramp steamer business. From around 1913 P E Haldin became involved in business dealings with the Philips family and by 1922 they were trading as Haldin & Phillips Ltd. In 1929  this company took over Court Line Ltd, which consequently entered voluntary liquidation, its assets being sold to the United British Steamship Co Ltd, which had been registered in 1921 . This company changed its name to Court Line Ltd in 1936  at which time it had a fleet of 19 steamers and 3 motor vessels. In 1943  the United British Steamship Co Ltd acquired Cory & Strick (Steamers) Ltd which had been incorporated in around 1928 . It renamed its acquisition the British Steamship Co Ltd and three years later it was taken over by this new company, consequently entering voluntary liquidation in 1947 . In 1952  the British Steamship Co Ltd was renamed Court Line Ltd and the Court Line was born again. During the 1960s  the new Court Line Ltd underwent a massive programme of modernisation and expansion. It replaced its old steamers with a fleet of oil tankers and rapidly expanded into the shipbuilding and leisure markets. In 1965  it acquired Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd and Autair International Airways (renamed Court Line Aviation in 1970 ). By the Court Line Ltd 1970s  was only part of a large multinational group, which grew further through the acquisitions, in 1973 , of Clarksons Holiday Holdings Ltd and Doxford & Sunderland Ltd, shipbuilders. It collapsed in 1974  at which time its shipbuilding assets were taken into public ownership. Simons, Graham M, Colours in the sky: the story of Autair International and Court Line,(1997, Peterborough) .

Arrangement

The collection has not yet been fully catalogued.

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

Unknown.

Other Finding Aids

None.

Alternative Form Available

No known copies

Physical Characteristics and/or Technical Requirements

None which affect the use of this material

Conditions Governing Use

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

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

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 0248 procedures. The collection is likely to remain unaltered.

Custodial History

Unknown.

Accruals

None expected

Related Material

GB 0821, Register of members and share ledger, directors reports and accounts, Court Line Ltd, London, England

Location of Originals

This material is original

Bibliography

No known publications using this material

Additional Information

Description compiled in line with the following international standards: International Council on Archives, ISAD(G) Second Edition, September 1999and National Council on Archives, Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names

Scotland is the location of all place names in the administrative/biographical history element, unless otherwise stated.

Fonds level description compiled by Jenny Bunn, Assistant Archivist, 16 March 2000. Finding aid created by Victoria Stobo, Retroconversion Cataloguing Assistant, 15 May 2012. Catalogue edited by Michelle Kaye, Archives Assistant, 05 July 2012.

Geographical Names