Lloyd’s of London
Intriguingly
the name ‘Lloyd’, which has become so well known both within the insurance and marine
classification
industries, appears to have originally had very different business interests.
Edward Lloyd was a coffee shop owner at Lombard Street, in the City of London
in the late 17th century. The import of this product was courtesy of
the Honourable East India Company: also shipping tea and chocolate to the UK as
well. Not unique to those connected with shipping by any means, these houses
became fashionable centres of commercial activities, but underwriters and other
interested parties frequented Lloyd’s. So the industry consolidated in this
pocket of the City and has remained, although it has relatively recently
expanded down to Aldgate and the Minories which had
previously been rough areas of industrial manufacture, wholesaling, retailing,
warehousing and plebeian accommodation (including that for mariners between
voyages).
Although
modern communications, it could be argued, have made the old ways of face to
face business unnecessary, insurance people can be routinely seen going to and
from the present ‘market’ at Lime Street. (Easy to spot, they are normally
suited and carrying folders of documents, sometime struggling under their
loads: like professional packhorses!)
Edward
Lloyd, entrepreneur that he was, briefly
published a news-sheet, Lloyd’s News, in the late 1690s.
(Later he also seems to have published Lloyd’s
Weekly London Newspaper.) However, in regards to shipping the 1734 the first
editions of the famous Lloyd’s List appeared: though
Edward Lloyd had nothing to do with this, having died in 1726. Unfortunately,
the earliest editions have not survived. So, from modest beginnings came this
august company. From 1811 a network of agents, both in the U.K. and abroad
began and the rest, it is said, is history!
The
Lloyd’s of London’s Marine collection is kept by the Guildhall Library, in the
City of London, though there are facsimile and microfilmed copies of some of their records elsewhere. Because of the
nature of this information there are many similarly titled classes of records,
which as working documents would have been readily identifiable to those using them, but which can appear confusing to modern
researchers. Also, through time there were periodic changes in the form which
these records took, which must also be taken into consideration. Therefore, I will
only mention these documents in a general sense and will not attempt here to
catalogue the full holdings.
The
movements of vessels are one highly important aspect. These can be found
variously, but generally in most detail in Lloyd’s List.
Although I have no personal experience of these, many of the 18th
century copies (from 1741) have been, or are in the process of being indexed.
However it was not until the mid 19th century that Lloyd’s List comes into its own. Between 1838 and 1927
there were contemporaneous indexes compiled to identify movements in the above
publication. So, it should be noted that whilst entries are often similar, some
individual entries cannot be found in copies of Lloyd’s Weekly Index (which should in particular, be noted
by those using the National Maritime Museum’s collection). After 1927 an
internal card system was produced for individual vessels.
Also,
there had been competitors, such as the Shipping
Gazette,
renamed the Shipping Gazette and
Commercial Advertiser, which was certainly active in the 1830s but appears to
have gone by 1846 (when the first Newspaper
Press Directory
appeared). Whether William Mitchell had anything to do with the above operation
I do not know, but the publication of Mitchell’s
Maritime
Register as of 1856 meant
substantial competition. There had been other titles, such Mitchell’s Steam-Shipping Journal between 1859 and 1869,
but the Shipping and Mercantile
Gazette
became the group’s daily (with a weekly summary also).
Without
going into the corporate histories too deeply, the two groups merged their
publication operations in 1884. The result was initially the Shipping Gazette and Lloyd’s List Summary as of 1884, but with
marketing further titles came and went. All of these can be helpful in tracing
movements and much else, although it must be stated that the Guildhall Library
does not hold copies of Mitchell’s
Mercantile Register
before 1880.
It
must also be noted that there were also separate confidential wartime listings
of movements, which in my experience of those of the First World War, are far
more complex than is acknowledged. (The majority of these are on microfilm,
though not all.) There are added complications. Earlier in the First World War
Lloyd’s still published movements. Some of these were accurate, some were not.
Also one variety of later wartime listings in the form of original documents,
uniquely at the Guildhall Library, were apparently given one title by Lloyd’s
of London, but were then bound up by them with a different title! Unsurprisingly, I have found these particular documents to
cause considerable confusion with the modern Guildhall staff, especially as
these are not apparently used regularly by researchers. During the Second World
War, movements were compiled, but not published.
Accidents
involving vessels, or ‘casualties’ as they are known within the marine
insurance world are also to be found in the same and other Lloyd’s records.
Earlier 19th century reports can and often were of few words.
However, with improved communications, specifically the laying of undersea
telegraph cables between important centres in the expanding Empire and in the
20th century the adoption of wireless telegraphy; as well as other
factors, such as greatly increased values involved (of both hulls and cargoes);
often far more information was recorded in these reports. (It must be stressed
that it can be seen that this was more a reflection of the successful business
operations of Lloyd’s of London, rather than of shipping companies spending
more money informing the industry of their problems though.) Once again, during
wartime separate listings were developed which covered accidental and intended
losses.
Whilst
Lloyd’s List dealt very much with
day-to-day market conditions, ‘Mitchell’s’ and the ‘Shipping Gazette’ were
‘newspapers’ in the normal understanding. Major happenings within the
industries involved were commented on and this included events about vessels
and crews.
Another
class of records of the Lloyd’s Marine Collection at the Guildhall Library
which is of significant importance to genealogists is that of the Lloyd’s Captains Registers. As well as recording
details of certification and service (from the time of gaining certification as
master mariners) these also give details of disciplinary action taken against
holders; commissions held in reserve forces; and awards and decorations gained:
both civil and military.
Relatively
recently transferred to the Guildhall Library is the correspondence dealing
with the awarding of Lloyd’s
medals for gallantry. Unlike civil awards given by the British state, this
correspondence is excellently catalogued.
And,
as well as records strictly of the Lloyd’s Marine Collection there are others
which are of use and interest. Not only is there a good
collection of Lloyd’s Registers of Shipping, there are
a number of ‘research boxes’ which contain specimen records of a wide variety
and historical note.
The
manuscripts section of the Guildhall library can be contacted through their
website at http://ihr.sas.ac.uk/gh/
The
historical information for this section came principally from Charles Wright
and Charles Ernest Fayle: A History of Lloyd’s (London: The
Corporation of Lloyd’s, 1928). Additional elements came from the Newspaper Press Directory for various years and
viewing copies of the publications themselves at the British Newspaper Library,
Colindale.
Go to the Certification of Seamen Officers
Go to the main Civil Gallantry Awards page
Go to Central Index Register c.1919-1941
Go to the main Mercantile Page