The Registry of Shipping, later renamed Lloyd’s Register, printed its first Register of Ships in 1764 to give both underwriters and merchants an idea of the condition of the vessels they insured and chartered.
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Founded to inspect and examine the physical structure and equipment of merchant vessels, Lloyd's graded ship hulls on a lettered scale (A being the top), and ship's fittings (masts, rigging, and other equipment) was graded by number (1 being the top). Thus the top classification was "A1", from which the expression A1, or A1 at Lloyd's, is derived, first appeared in the 1775–76 edition of the Register. Ship surveyors (usually master mariners or master shipwrights) conducted surveys of ships calling at British ports
Not all ships were surveyed and included in the Register. From 1834–37, an attempt was made to include all British vessels of 50 tons or over, although very little information is given about those which had not been surveyed - in contrast the Mercantile Navy List records British registered vessels over one quarter of a ton. From 1838–1875, only vessels which had been surveyed were included in the Register. After that date, the Register was extended to take in all British vessels over 100 tons, and from 1890 its scope was broadened to include all British and foreign sea-going vessels over 100 tons. It is always possible to determine whether or not a ship had been surveyed from the entry in Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, as the resultant Lloyd’s register classification will be given. A vessel remains in the Register until something happens to her; for example if she is sunk, wrecked, broken up, hulked, scrapped, etc. From 1834 onwards Lloyd’s Register was published mid-year and covered the period 1 July–30 June the following year. To reflect this, volumes published after 1868 started to give both years, e.g. 1869–1870. |
The following incomplete sequence of 18th & 19th Century volumes were scanned by Google. They have the advantage of being searchable and so it is possible to look for masters, owners etc. Please note however names may be abbreviated, Tmknsn instead of Tomkinson for instance. The 1930-1945 volumes were scanned by staff at Southampton Library & Archive. Should you need information from volumes not listed here please contact our research service.
1764-66 1768 1780 1789 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899* 1930-1945 *Incorrectly scanned in reverse, last page first. N.B. copyright of all images of the 1764-6 edition remain with Lloyd’s Register. Images © Lloyd’s Register Group Limited 2012 registry of american and foreign shipping
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Other shipping registers:
Christie's Shipping Register 1858 North of England Maritime Directory & Shipping Register 1848 |