London General Shipowners' Society

The collection includes minute books, meeting attendance books, annual reports, volumes of correspondence and a published book on the Society.

See item level records for further details.

Administrative / biographical background
The London General Shipowners’ Society (originally called the General Shipowners’ Society) was founded in 1811. Its aim was to establish a nationwide coalition to defend British shipowners’ interests. The earliest minute book recorded the general meeting held on 11 September 1816. Matters of concern to the Society included ship classification, piracy, passing tolls and pilotage costs. In 1818 the Society sponsored a short-lived Registry of Merchant Seamen. From 1819 onwards the Society campaigned, unsuccessfully, against the repeal of the protectionist Navigation Laws. The Society’s campaigning did contribute to the Passenger Act, which regulated the conditions of passengers on British ships, being extended to include foreign ships. Although the Society never became a national organisation due to the rivalry between London and other ports, in 1877-1878 the Chamber of Shipping was established for shipowners to work together to promote British shipping interests. The Society worked closely with the Chamber of Shipping, and in fact was administered by the Chamber between 1996 and 2012. In 1996 the Society was renamed the London Shipowners’ and River Users’ Society’s to reflect its expanding role in representing all users of the River Thames.