Known Trades of Jigger Flats

Arthur Young, on page 151 of Nautical Dictionary, describes flats as lighters that are capable of navigating the inland waterways. It is reported that the flats which operated along the River Mersey, that were also known as Mersey flats, were sloop-rigged vessels. Young, on page 214, describes a jigger as a small sail that projects from the stern of a boat. It is claimed that the jigger-sail, which is reported to have been attached to a mast and boom, was sometimes installed on fore-and-aft rigged vessels. A. Ansted, on pages 10 and 11 of A Dictionary of Sea Terms, describes barges as flat-bottomed vessels that can be arranged into three categories. Different types of barge, some of which are reported to have been equipped with sails, are claimed to have operated on the inland waterways and out at sea. Lighters and hoys, in some instances, are reported to have been classified as barges. It is claimed that the typical sailing barge was equipped with a sprit-sail, a main-sail and a small jigger-sail. A typical sailing barge, according to Ansted, would have been equipped with two masts. It is reported that the mast and sheet of the jigger-sail, for the purposes of assisting the steering of the trading vessel, was attached to the rudder. Richard Henry Dana, on page 114 of The Seaman's Manuel, describes a lighter as a large boat that is used to load and unload vessels. Dixon Kemp, on page 353 of A Manuel of Yacht and Boat Sailing, claims that a jigger-mast was a type of mizzen-mast that was installed on dandies as well as yawls. It is reported that ketches, which are described as two-masted vessels that are similar to yawls, mounted their mizzen-masts ahead of the stern-post. Ketches, which are claimed to have been used a bomb-vessels, are reported have been employed as coasters. Jigger flats, therefore, were ketch-rigged or yawl-rigged sailing barges that were employed in the coastal trade. Ballast, bricks, coal, granite, iron, iron ore and limestone are among the cargoes that were transported by jigger flats.

1) Alkali.

Mountford John Byrde Baddeley, on page 120 of the twenty-second edition of Black's Shilling Guide to the English Lakes, includes a list of all the chemicals that were sold by the United Alkali Company. Soda ash, at the turn of the twentieth-century, is reported to have been manufactured by the United Alkali Company via the ammonia process and the Le Blanc process. It is reported, on page 1535 and 1536 of the the seventh edition of the second volume of Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information, that the Leblanc process of manufacturing soda ash was also referred to as the salt-cake process. Salt and sulphuric acid, which are claimed to have been placed in an iron pan and heated with a flame, are identified as the ingredients of salt cake. Black ash, thereafter, is reported to have been manufactured by combining equal weights of limestone and salt-cake with half its weight of coal. A reverberatory furnace is claimed to have been used in the manufacture of salt-cake and black ash while the water, which is reported to have been applied to the black ash, is revealed to have been used to extract the soda ash. It is claimed, on page 932 of the fourth volume of Daily Consular and Trade Reports, that the United Alkali Company made extensive use of barges. E. K. Muspratt, which is described as a ketch, is reported to have been eighty-four feet in length while its breadth of beam is claimed to have been twenty-one feet and six-inches. It is claimed, however, that E. K. Muspratt was fitted with a motor and a screw-propeller. J. Clark Hall, on page 469 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1900, describes E. K. Muspratt as a ketch that was built at Port Dinorwic. It is possible that the jigger flat, which is reported to have been constructed in 1894 and whose official number is claimed to have been 102156, transported soda ash. Ketch-rigged sailing flats may have conveyed alkali, alongside its ingredients and its byproducts, along the navigable waterways of North West England.      

2) Ballast.

It is reported, on page 129 of the installment of Wreck Chart of the British Isles that contains data about the ships which foundered in 1901 and 1902, that John Parry sank while it was transporting ballast from Belfast to Bangor. Maritime subjects are the focus of the sixty-third volume of Accounts and Papers, in which the table of data is included, and the loss of ships is one of the main topics of the collection of documents. On the 7th of December, 1901, John Parry is reported to have foundered within the vicinity of Dulas Island. It is claimed that the trading vessel, which is described as a wooden ketch, had a crew of two while Beaumaris is identified as its port of registration. Dulas Island is reported to have been situated in Anglesea while Richard Jones, who is described as a denizen of Carnarvonshire, is identified as the owner of the sailing vessel. J. Clark Hall, on page 556 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1900, describes John Parry as a ketch. Beaumaris is identified as the port of registry of the trading vessel, which is claimed to have been built in Bangor, while Richard Jones is named as its owner. It appears that the ketch, due to the towns in which it was built and registered, can not be regarded as a Mersey flat. Not all sailing flats, however, were built on the River Mersey or its affluents. John Parry, whose official number is reported to have been 19005, is claimed to have been built in 1850 while its registered tonnage is is revealed to have been 44-tons. Beeton's British Gazetteer, which is described as a topographical and historical guide to the United Kingdom, contains information about Beaumaris as well as Bangor. It is claimed, on page 23, that Bangor is an ancient city which is situated in the county of Carnarvonshire while shipbuilding is listed as one of its industries. Beaumaris, on page 27, is described a sea-port that is located on the Island of Anglesey. John Parry was a Welsh, rather than an English, sailing vessel and it was was equipped with a jigger-mast and a jigger-sheet. 

3) Bricks.

It is reported, on page 432 of the twenty-eighth volume of The Lifeboat, that the crew of Florence was rescued within the vicinity of Beaumaris. On the 3rd of January, 1932, the lifeboat station at Beaumaris is claimed to have received a distress signal from a ketch. Frederick Kitchen, which is described as a motor lifeboat, is reported to have identified Florence as the sailing vessel that had transmitted the distress signal. Florence, which is claimed to have been dragging its anchors within the vicinity of the Number One Black Buoy, is reported to have been on course to collect a consignment of bricks at Griffith's Crossing. It is claimed that the ketch, which is reported to have been registered at Runcorn, was discovered by Frederick Kitchen while the seas were choppy and while a south-western gale was blowing. It may be surmised that Florence, which appears to have been abandoned in the storm after its crew was rescued, never collected its consignment of bricks. J. Clark Hall, on page 514 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1899, describes Florence as a yawl-rigged sailing vessel that was owned by James Pritchard. It is reported that the merchantman, which is claimed to have been built in 1892 and whose official number is revealed to have been 97229, had been constructed at Winsford while Runcorn is identified as its port of registry. Admiral W. H. Smyth, on pages 741 and 742 of The Sailor's Word-book, describes a yawl as a type of sailing vessel that is equipped with a jigger lug. Florence, due to the similarities between the yawl-rig and the ketch-rig, could be regarded as a jigger flat. Philip J. White, on page 10 of the installation of Report of the Puffin Island Committee that covers the years between 1896 and 1897, claims that Griffith's Crossing was situated on the Menai Strait. James A. Parry, on page 711 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1932, is revealed to have been the owner of Florence at the time in which its crew was rescued by the Beaumaris life-boat.

 

4) Calcined Lime.

James William Raynes, on page 464 as well as page 807 of the second volume of the installment of The Commissioners of Parent's Journal that covers the year 1880, is reported to have been an inventor who was associated with the chemical industry. On the 4th of June, 1880, a patent is claimed to have been filed for a new method of calcining lime. Raynes, alongside James Trevelyan Raynes and Peter Evans, are claimed to have invented a new process of burning lime as well as other analogous materials. It is reported that the three men invented a furnace, which appears to have been included under patent number 2278, that transformed limestone into calcined lime. J. Clark Hall, on page 491 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, claims that Fair Trade was owned by James William Raynes. Fair Trade, whose official number is reported to have been 93834, is described as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel. It is claimed that the registered tonnage of the trading ketch, which is reported to have been built in 1888, was 76-tons. Federation, on page 495, is identified as another jigger-rigged sailing vessel that was owned by Raynes. It is claimed that the registered tonnage of the sailing flat, which is reported to have been constructed in 1895 and whose official number is identified as 105303, was 72-tons. Reciprocity, on page 667, is described as a jigger-rigged sailing flat while Raynes is identified as its proprietor. It is claimed that the official number of the ketch-rigged merchant vessel, which is reported to have been built in 1890, was 97792 while Liverpool is named as its port of registration. Fair Trade, Federation as well as Reciprocity are claimed to have been built at Connah's Quay. Raynes and Company, on page 1022 of the installation of Gore's Directory of Liverpool and its Environs that covers 1875, are described as the proprietors of a patent lime-works that was situated in Llysfaen. It appears, therefore, that calcined lime was transported from Llysfaen to the marketplace by jigger flats.   

5) Coal.

Catherine Roberts, on page 131 of the seventy-sixth volume of Accounts and Papers, is identified as a wooden ketch that foundered while it was transporting coal from Workington to Dunfanaghy. On the 10th of February, 1893, the ketch is reported to have sunk within the vicinity of Downies Bay. Chester is identified as the port of registry of the sailing vessel, whose registered tonnage is reported to have been 54-tons, while Thomas H. Jones is named as the owner of the ketch. Robert Jackson, on page 210 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1880, describes Catherine Jones as a flat. Thomas Jones, who is claimed to have resided in Bangor, is identified as the proprietor of the sailing barge. It is reported that the flat, which is claimed to have been built in 1863, was constructed at Rhuddlan. Catherine Roberts, whose official number is reported to have been 47216 and whose port of registry is claimed to have been Chester, may be regarded as a ketch-rigged sailing flat that functioned as a collier. Jackson, on page 362, describes Kate as a ketch-rigged sailing vessel. William Barnes, whose office is reported to have been situated in Derby Buildings, is named as the owner of the trading vessel. It is claimed that the ketch, whose registered tonnage is claimed to have been 55-tons and whose official number is listed as 28177, was built in Northwich while Liverpool is identified as its port of registration. Barnes, who is claimed to have been a denizen of Liverpool, is reported to have conducted his business from Fenwick Street. Kate, from information that can be found on page 45 of Gore's Directory of Liverpool and its Environs that covers the year 1876, appears to have been owned by three coal merchants. J. G. and W. Barnes, which may have included William Barnes, are described as coal proprietors while their office is reported to have been situated in the Derby Buildings. Kate, whose owner is claimed to have resided on 24 Fenwick Street, appears to have been involved in the coal trade.

6) Chemicals.

It is reported, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, that chemicals were one of fifteen cargoes that the Liverpool Lighterage Company unloaded from ships that communicated with the ports of the River Mersey. On the 15th of August, 1896, it was announced that the Liverpool Lighterage Company was open to investment. Railways, which are the subject of the finance and joint-stock companies journal, are reported to have communicated with the Port of Liverpool. It is claimed, however, that the presence of the railways was not felt at the docks. Ships are reported to have relied upon flats, which are described as flat-bottomed barges of heavy construction, to load and unload their cargoes. It is claimed that the Liverpool Lighterage Company, which is described as an amalgamation of thirteen lighterage firms, owned two-hundred flats that could carry 150-tons of cargo. Flats, which are reported to have loaded and unloaded merchantmen, appear to have established communication between the anchorages of the Mersey Estuary and the docks of Liverpool. J. Clark Hall, who is described as the editor of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, claims that the Liverpool Lighterage Company owned twelve jigger-rigged sailing vessels. Jigger flats which were owned by the lighterage firm can be found on pages 396, 436, 469, 483, 487, 516, 581, 651, 696, 708, 709 and 747 of the maritime directory. George E. Davis, who is identified as the editor of the twenty-fourth volume of The Chemical Trade Journal, provides information about the types of chemicals that Liverpool imported from abroad. Examples of chemical products that foreign ports exported to Liverpool can be found on pages 11, 43, 99, 115, 163, 179, 243, 272, 289, 402 and 403 of the chemical trade journal. It should be noted that the publication, which covers the time between the January and the June of 1899, was composed at the time in which Liverpool Lighterage Company was active on the Mersey Estuary.

7) Cotton.

Cotton, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, is reported to have been one of the commodities that the sailing flats which were owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company received at from ships that entered the Mersey Estuary. J. Clark Hall, on page 396 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, describes America as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel that was owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company. America, whose registered tonnage is claimed to have been 76-tons and whose official number is revealed to have been 78778, is reported to have been built at Northwich. It is claimed that the jigger flat, which is reported to have been built in 1877, was registered at Liverpool. A. J. Wilson, on page 225 of the eighth volume of The Investors' Review, describes the circumstances in which the Liverpool Lighterage Company was formed. On the 25th of July, 1896, thirteen lighterage companies are reported to have amalgamated. A single commercial entity, thereafter, would use its flats to receive the freight from ships that arrived at the ports of the Mersey Estuary. Liverpool, on page 14 of Cotton Crop Supplement to the Commercial & Financial Chronicle, is reported to have received a significant portion of the crop of cotton that was grown in the United States of America. It is claimed that American ports, from the September of 1896 to the September of 1897, imported more cotton to Liverpool than any other port in the world. Liverpool Lighterage Company, therefore, was founded at a time in which the port after which it was named was a significant trading partner of the cotton-producing districts of the United States of America. It is reported that Liverpool received 2,683,771 bales of cotton from New Orleans, Galveston, Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, New York and other ports. Jigger flats, such as America, were among the lighters that were owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company and may have helped to unload cotton from transatlantic merchantmen.

8) Copper.

It is reported, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, that copper was carried by the flats which operated within the Port of Liverpool. Clement le Neve Foster, on page 191 of the third part of Mines and Quarries: General Report and Statistics for 1897, claims that the United Alkali Company used the wet process to smelt copper in Saint Helens as well as Widnes. Henry N. Malan, on page 619 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1907, identifies Eustace Carey as a ketch-rigged sailing vessel that was owned by the United Alkali Company. It is reported that the registered tonnage of the jigger flat, whose official number is claimed to have been 12083, was 88-tons. Santa Rosa, on page 824, is identified as the second ketch-rigged sailing vessel that was owned by the United Alkali Company. It is reported that the registered tonnage of the trading vessel, whose official number is revealed to have been 119565, was 89-tons. Eustace Carey and Santa Rosa, which are claimed to have been built in 1905 as well as 1906, are reported to have been constructed at Sankey Bridges while Liverpool is identified as their port of registration. Africa, on page 642 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Register for 1919, is identified as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel that had an official tonnage of 72-tons. It is reported that the jigger flat was built Northwich, constructed in 1887, registered at Liverpool and owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company while 78796 is identified as its official number. Other examples of jigger flats that were owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company can be found on pages 650, 689, 725, 740, 767, 833, 905, 948, 961 and 1000 of the mercantile navy list. It is possible that the jigger-rigged sailing vessels of the United Alkali Company and the Liverpool Lighterage Company transported copper that had been shipped to Liverpool or which had been smelted in the foundries that had been established along the banks of the River Mersey as well as its affluents.

9) Earthenware.

J. Clark Hall, on page 492 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1896, claims that Great Britain was owned by James Corker. Liverpool is identified as the port of registration of Great Britain, which is described as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel that was built in 1868, while Corker is reported to have conducted his business from Birkenhead. It is claimed that the trading ketch, whose owner is claimed to have resided on 138 Price Street, had been built at Northwich. Birkenhead, according to Hall, was situated in Cheshire. It is reported that the official number of the merchant vessel, which had not received an international signal code, was 60075 while its registered tonnage is claimed to have been 80-tons. R. E. Fulton, on page 33 of the ninth annual edition of The Commercial Directory and Shippers' Guide, describes James Corker as an earthenware dealer. It is reported that Corker resided on 148 Price Street, which is claimed to have been situated in Birkenhead, and this address correlates with that which is provided in the maritime directory. Robert Jackson, on page 310 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1880, describes Great Britain as a flat. James Corker, of 148 Price Street, is named as the owner of the sailing flat. It is possible that the trading vessel, at the time in which Corker was included in the business directory, lacked a jigger-mast and jigger-sheet. Corker, at a later date, appears to have a jigger-mast installed on the sailing flat. Eliza Meteyard, on page 140 of the first volume of The Life of Josiah Wedgwood, claims that the improvement of the River Weaver and the River Mersey enabled the pottery industries of Cheshire to flourish during the eighteenth-century.  Materials which were used in the manufacture of pottery, according to Meteyard, were conveyed along the navigable waterways to the pottery factories. Great Britain, while it was owned by James Corker, may have transported earthenware along the rivers of Cheshire and Lancashire.

10) Ferrous Metals.

Michael Stammers, on page 103 of Mersey Flats and Flatmen, claims that jigger flats received iron as well as steel from the steam-ships that arrived at Liverpool. It is reported that the Liverpool Lighterage Company, Limited owned jigger-rigged sailing vessels that unloaded the iron from the merchantmen that communicated with the port. Mostyn, which is claimed to have contained a number of foundries, is named as a local source of source iron. J. Clark Hall, who lists all of the trading vessels that were owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company in the The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1896 as well as the The Maritime Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1897, reveals that the lighterage firm did not own any jigger flats for the first two years of its operation. It is reported, on page 16 of the twelfth issue of the eighty-first volume of The Age of Steel, that the Carnegie Steel Company established an office at Liverpool during the time in which the lighterage firms of that city amalgamated. Andrew Carnegie is claimed to have owned furnaces that produced 600-tons of Bessemer pig iron a day and it appears that a portion of the ferrous metal was exported, via the transatlantic lines of communication, to Liverpool. British foundries, as a result of the influx of American iron, are reported to have been unable to compete with their overseas rivals. It is claimed that British manufacturers burned between 2,000-pounds and 2,200-pounds of coke to produce a ton of pig iron while American foundries are reported to have burned 1,600-pounds of coke to produce a ton of pig iron. John Henry Tudsbery, on page 94 of the one-hundred and thirty-seventh volume of Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, claims that pig iron as well as steel were shipped from New York to Liverpool.  Sailing flats would have unloaded the ferrous metals, which are claimed to have originated from the ports that lined the south shore of Lake Erie, when the steam-ships arrived at the mouth of the River Mersey.

11) Flour.

Flour, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, is reported to have been one of the cargoes that the Liverpool Lighterage Company loaded and unloaded from ships that arrived at Liverpool. It is claimed, in the article that was published on the 15th of August, that Liverpool was a port of transit. Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port, Garston, Liverpool, Western Point and Widnes are named as the principle ports of the Mersey Estuary. Cargoes, in addition to being loaded onto and unloaded from ships, are reported to have been conveyed between the docks of Liverpool or from one bank of the Mersey Estuary to the other. J. Clark Hall, on page 436 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Register for 1898, names Champion as one of the jigger-rigged sailing vessels that was owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company. It is reported that the official number of the trading vessel, which is claimed to have been built in 1880 and whose registered tonnage is revealed to have been 68-tons, was 96341 while Liverpool is identified as its port of registration. Jigger flats, such as Champion, may have transported flour from merchantmen to the shore or from the different docks of Liverpool and its environs. Steamships, on page 449 of the forty-seventh volume of The Weekly North-Western Miller, are reported to have transported flour along the sea lines of communication that ran between the ports of North America and Europe. Liverpool is claimed to have received flour from Baltimore, Boston, Kansas City, Newport News, New York and Philadelphia during the final decade of the nineteenth-century. Flour, in the ninth decade of the nineteenth-century, would have been unloaded from the transatlantic merchantmen by the barges of Liverpool Lighterage Company. American ocean-liners, if they were unable to establish direct communication with the docks of Birkenhead or Liverpool, would have been lightened of their flour by the sailing flats that transported commercial wares on the Mersey Estuary.

12) Grain.

Grain, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, is identified as one of the commodities that arrived at Liverpool during the final decade of the nineteenth-century. It is reported that the Liverpool Lighterage Company used its flats to receive the grain that arrived, via the sea lines of communication, at Liverpool. J. Clark Hall, on page 469 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, claims that the Liverpool Lighterage Company owned Edward Blower while Northwich is identified as the place in which it was built. Edward Blower, which is described as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel, is reported to have had a registered tonnage of 80-tons. It is claimed that the jigger flat, whose official number is reported to have been 96315, was registered at Liverpool. Francis Allston Channing, on page 279 of The Truth about Agricultural Depression, claims that grain warehouses existed in Birkenhead and Liverpool during the closing decade of the nineteenth-century. Lighters, which would have been owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company after 1896, are reported to have conveyed grain from Liverpool to Birkenhead via the estuary of the River Mersey. It is reported that it cost two-shillings to transport a consignment of grain, which was bound for the warehouses of Birkenhead, across the Mersey Estuary. Unloading the grain from the lighters, once they had travelled the distance between the towns, is claimed to have cost four-pence. Karl Baedeker, on page 335 of the fourth edition of Great Britain, reports that transatlantic ocean-liners would berth at the Alexandra Dock. It is asserted that the grain which was delivered to the Alexandra Dock, which is described as the largest dock in Liverpool, was transported to the corn warehouses via subterranean conveyor-belts that stretched for a distance of a quarter of a mile. Sailing flats, some of which may have been jigger-rigged lighters, transported grain between the warehouses of Birkenhead and Liverpool via the Mersey Estuary.

 

13) Granite.

Michael Stammers, on page 127 of Mersey Flats and Flatmen, claims that granite was shipped to the South Docks of Liverpool. It is reported that granite, which in claimed to have arrived as crushed rock or as carved paving slabs, was extracted from quarries that were situated in Ireland and North Wales. Jigger flats, according to Stammers, conveyed Irish and Welsh granite to Liverpool. A sea line of communication is reported to have existed between Penmaenmawr, where granite is claimed to have been conveyed from the quarry to a loading jetty, and Canning Half Tide Dock. Granite, which is reported to been transported to the loading jetty at Penmaenmawr via an inclined plane and tramway, is claimed to have been loaded into merchant vessels. Jigger flats, among other types of merchant vessel, are reported to have delivered granite to the docks of Liverpool until the third decade of the twentieth-century. It is claimed, on page 45 of the eighth edition of The Royal Picturesque Hand-book of Liverpool, that the Canning Dock occupied an area of four-acres and 386-yards while its length is claimed to have been 500-yards. Coastal vessels, which would have included jigger flats, are reported to have been the principle occupants of Canning Dock. It is claimed, on page 525 of the twelfth volume of The Surveyor and Municipal and County Engineer, that crystalline felspathic granite was extracted from the quarry that was situated at Penmaenmawr. Jigger flats, therefore, would have conveyed this variety of granite to Liverpool. It is explained, on page 18 of the twenty-fourth volume of The British Architect and Northern Engineer, that the granite quarries which were situated at Penmaenmawr were owned by two companies. J. Brundrit and Company as well as Charles Henry Darbishire, who is reported to have owned inclined railways as well as a loading quay, are named as the proprietors of the quarries. Jigger flats, therefore, may have received granite from the loading quay that Darbishire owned.

14) Iron Ore.

Charles D. Walcott, on page 91 of Mineral Resources of the United States, reveals that the extraction of iron ore from the mines of Great Britain reached its peak in the decade that preceded the formation of the Liverpool Lighterage Company. An increase in the import of foreign iron ore is one of the focuses of the report, which comprises the fifth part of the Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, and it is claimed that imports of iron ore from overseas increased as the domestic supply of the mineral resource decreased. Exports of iron ore that was mined in Britain is reported, on page 92, to have been negligible. It is claimed that 4,887,158-tons of iron ore was imported into the United Kingdom in 1895 while the domestic consumption of iron ore is reported to have been 17,502,572-tons. Michael Stammers, on page 103 of Mersey Flats and Flatmen, claims that jigger flats unloaded iron ore from merchant vessels that communicated with Liverpool. Iron ore is reported to have been mined at Cleator Moor, Egremont, Furness and Millom while jigger flats are claimed to have conveyed it to the River Mersey. S. A. Thompson, on page 31 of Proposed Ship Canal Connecting the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, claims that the iron deposits of Great Britain were approaching a state of exhaustion while it is reported that the iron ore mines of the United States of America were in the process of being developed. It appears, therefore, that cheaper American iron ore was expected to eclipse British iron ore on the domestic market. George Washington Bacon, on page 18 of the new edition of Bacon's 'Excelsior' Memory-map Atlas and Text-book Combined, claims that Liverpool was placed in communication with other sea-ports by the trade routes that ran across the Irish Sea. Local sources of iron ore, which may have been delivered to Liverpool by coasting vessels, are reported to have existed at Barrow and Whitehaven. Coasting vessels, such as jigger flats, would convey iron ore to Liverpool.

15) Lead.

Lead, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, is reported to have been one of the cargoes that the Liverpool Lighterage Company unloaded from the ships that arrived at the Mersey Estuary. J. Clark Hall, on page 483 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, claims that Enoch was built in 1862 while Liverpool is identified as its port of registration. Winsford is named as the town in which the merchantman, which is described as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel, was built. It is reported that the Liverpool Lighterage Company owned the jigger flat, whose official number is claimed to have been 49870, while W. F. R. N. is revealed to have been its international signal code. Enoch, whose registered tonnage is claimed to have been 54-tons, appears to have been one of the smaller jigger flats that were owned by the lighterage firm. Lead, therefore, may have been among the materials that the jigger-rigged lighters unloaded from the ships that arrived at Liverpool. It is reported, on page 76 of the volume of Minerals and Statistics of the United Kingdom that pertains to the year 1896, that lead ore was extracted from twenty-one counties of the United Kingdom as well as from the Isle of Man. Flintshire is claimed to have yielded the largest amount of lead ores from its mines, of which Halkyn mine is cited as an example, and it is reported that galena comprised the majority of the lead ore which was mined in the United Kingdom as well as the Crown dominions. It is claimed that the mines of Flintshire, in 1896, produced 9,509-tons of dressed lead ore while 7,548-tons of lead and 52,505-ounces of silver are reported to have been liberated from the lead ore. Anglesey, Breconshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Carnarvonshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Montgomeryshire are identified as the Welsh counties that contained lead ore mines. Ships that delivered lead and lead ore to Liverpool, therefore, would have been unloaded by the flats of the Liverpool Lighterage Company.

16) Limestone.

Michael Stammers, on page 111 of Mersey Flats and Flatmen, claims that Eustace Carey and Santa Rosa shipped limestone from Flint to Fleetwood. It is reported that a soda works, which is claimed to have been owned by the United Alkali Company, existed in Fleetwood. Limestone, according to Stammers, was used in the manufacture of chemical products. Fleetwood Soda Works and Fleetwood Salt Company, on page 107 of the thirty-first edition of The Chemical Manufacturers' Directory, are reported to have been owned by the United Alkali Company. It is possible, therefore, that Eustace Carey and Santa Rosa conveyed limestone to these chemical works. A limestone quarry, on page 264 of the issue of Mines and Quarries that covers the year 1897, is claimed to have been established at Llysfaen. Raynes and Company are identified as the owners of the quarry, which is reported to have been situated at Carnarvon, while Alexander Duncan is identified as the manager. It is revealed, on page 92 of The Fifty-seventh Report of the Commissioners, that the Raynes family leased a property that allowed trading vessels to be loaded with limestone. The Fifty-seventh Report of the Commissioners, which is included in the twenty-first volume of Reports from Commissioners, contains information about the commercial infrastructure that had been established at Llysfaen. It is revealed, on page 92, that George Trevelyan Raynes and James William Raynes leased a foreshore property that would allow them to load limestone onto coasters. On the 15th of July, 1879, the Raynes family are reported to have been granted a lease for a piece of real estate that was expected to last for twenty-one years. It is claimed that the property, which is reported to have included a pier as well as a shipping stage, covered an area of twenty-acres and one-rood. Jigger flats, such as Eustace Carey and Santa Rosa, may have been among the coasting vessels that received limestone from the loading quay that was situated at Llysfaen. 

17) Manure.

Manure, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, is identified as one of the cargoes that the Liverpool Lighterage Company loaded onto and unloaded from ships in the estuary of the River Mersey. J. Clark Hall, on page 487 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, describes Europe as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel that was owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company. It is reported that the trading vessel, which is claimed to have been built in 1876 and whose official number is revealed to have been 87833, was registered at Liverpool. Northwich is identified as the town in which the jigger flat, whose registered tonnage is reported to have been 76-tons, was constructed. Frank W. Sempers, on page 53 of the second volume of Manures: How to Make and How to Use Them, describes the different types of organic manures. Cow, horse, pig, poultry and sheep manures are identified as organic fertilizers. Animal manure, if it was transported to the Mersey Estuary by ships, may have been unloaded by the sailing flats that were owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company. Hills (Henry) & Son, on page 77 of the twenty-ninth edition of The Chemical Manufacturers' Directory, are reported to have manufactured chemical manures at Amlwch. Chemical manures, on page 87, are claimed to have been produced within the vicinity of Birkenhead. It is reported that the Phospho-Guano Company, Limited manufactured chemical manures at Seacombe and it is suggested that their products were transported by railway as well as by water. Ritchie (F.) & Sons, on page 114, are claimed to have produced chemical manures in Belfast. Ships, therefore, would have been required to transport chemical manures across the Irish Sea. Jigger flats, such as Europe, may have unloaded chemical manures from ships that arrived at Liverpool. It is also possible that jigger-rigged coasting vessels received chemical manures at the ports of North Wales, North West England and North East Ireland.

18) Salt.

Salt, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, is identified as one of the cargoes that was transported by the flats of the Liverpool Lighterage Company. It is claimed, however, that the Salt Union relied upon their own flats to transport salt from their own properties. George E. Davis, on page 83 of the twenty-second volume of The Chemical Trade Journal, reveals that Liverpool received salt from foreign ports. Hamburg is reported to have shipped ten bags of salt to Liverpool in the week that ended on the 6th of January, 1898, and it is possible that the sailing flats of the Liverpool Lighterage Company conveyed this cargo to the shore. Liverpool is claimed to have received salt from Hamburg, New Orleans as well as Rotterdam on pages 115, 179 and 195 of the chemical trade journal. It is revealed that sailing flats, between the 20th of January and the 9th of June, had the opportunity to receive salt from overseas ports. J. Clark Hall, on page 513 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, describes Glittering Star as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel that was owned by the Liverpool Lighterage Company. Liverpool is named as the port of registration of the jigger flat, whose official number is claimed to have been 74543 and whose registered tonnage is claimed to have been 72-tons, while Winsford is identified as the town in which it was constructed. George E. Davis, on page 107 of the twenty-third volume of The Chemical Trade Journal, claims that Hamburg shipped ten cases of salt to Liverpool. It is reported, on page 123, that Liverpool received five-hundred packets of salt from Leghorn. Philadelphia, on page 137, is claimed to have shipped fifty cases of salt to Liverpool. It is reported, on page 187, that Liverpool received 870 bags of salt from Madeira. A meagre quantity of salt, in the year that the Liverpool Lighterage Company converted twelve of its sailing flats into jigger-rigged lighters, was shipped to the ports that the lined the banks of the Mersey Estuary. 

19) Slates.

It is reported, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, that the Liverpool Lighterage Company used its flats to unload slates from ships that had arrived at Liverpool and its environs. J. Clark Hall, on page 581 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, described Livadia as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel. It is reported that the Liverpool Lighterage Company owned the coaster, whose official number is claimed to have been 69339 and whose registered tonnage is revealed to have been 78-tons, while Northwich is identified as the town in which it was constructed. Liverpool is named as the port in which the jigger flat, which is claimed to have been built in 1874, was registered. It is reported, on page 205 of fourth volume of The Labour Gazette, that slates were extracted from quarries that were situated in the district of North Wales. Full employment, in the July of 1896, is claimed to have existed in the slate quarries of North Wales. Slate quarries that were located in Carnarvon and Merioneth, on page 236, are reported to have enjoyed adequate employment in August. An Industrial dispute, on page 301, is claimed to have occurred at the quarry that was established at Penrhyn while the other quarries in the district are reported to have experienced acceptable levels of employment. It is reported, on pages 333 and 365, that the employment situation in the mines of North Wales continued for the remainder of the year. David Christopher Davies, on page 178 of the third edition of A Treatise on Slate and Slate Quarrying, claims that roofing slates were shipped from New York to Liverpool. American roofing slates, which are reported to have originated from Elmira, are claimed to have been of a similar quality to Welsh roofing slates. It is implied that flats, which may have visited the ships at their anchorage points, received the slates from the merchantmen and transported them to Liverpool. Jigger flats, such as Livadia, may have received slates from the quarries of North Wales and North America.

20) Timber.

It is reported, on page 280 of the sixty-sixth volume of The Railway News, that the Liverpool Lighterage Company used its flats to unload timber from ships that communicated with the River Mersey. Steam-ships, on page 22 of the seventeenth issue of the twenty-fifth volume of The Timberman, are claimed to have discharged pitch pine and various types of hardwood at Liverpool. On the 22nd of October, 1898, mahogany is reported to have been in demand in Liverpool while different species of African hardwood are claimed to have arrived at the port. It is reported that the supply of low-grade walnut, which is described as an American hardwood, was large while the supply of high-grade walnut logs is claimed to have been curtailed. Liverpool, however, is reported to have been overstocked with oak. J. Clark Hall, on page 651 of The Mercantile Navy List and Maritime Directory for 1898, claims that the Liverpool Lighterage Company owned Petrel while Northwich is named as the town in which the sailing vessel was built. Liverpool is identified as the port of registration of the trading craft, which is described as a jigger-rigged sailing vessel, was constructed. It is reported that the ketch-rigged lighter, whose official number is claimed to have been 81269, was constructed in 1873 while it is asserted that the registered tonnage of the jigger flat was 79-tons. Mobile, on page 23 of the ninth issue of the thirty-fifth volume of The Lumber Trade Journal, is reported to have shipped lumber to Liverpool during final decade of the nineteenth-century. On the 1st of May, 1899, lumber exports from Mobile to Liverpool are claimed to have increased. It is reported that 794,082-feet of lumber, 25,185-feet of hewn timber and 62,292-feet of sawn timber were shipped from Mobile to Liverpool. A portion of the timber that Mobile, which is described as the Queen City of the Gulf, imported to Liverpool may have been transferred from the ocean-liners by the jigger-rigged sailing flats that operated on the mouth of the River Mersey.  

On the 10th of October, 2026, the blogpost was updated.