Earle's Shipbuilding
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Hull-based British engineering and shipbuilding company active from 1845 until its closure in 1932.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
Earle's Shipbuilding was a British engineering, shipbuilding, and ship-repair company based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. Founded in 1845 by brothers Charles and William Earle, the firm became one of the notable shipyards serving Hull's commercial maritime economy and the wider North Sea trade. Its work covered merchant vessels, passenger ships, yachts, naval vessels, marine engines, and ship repairs. The company was particularly associated with the Wilson Line, a major Hull shipping concern, although it also built for other British operators, including the Great Eastern Railway and the Hull & Netherlands Steamship Company. The yard's history combined conventional commercial shipbuilding with technically ambitious and unusual projects. It constructed steam yachts for Tsarevitch Alexander, including Slavanka in 1873 and Czarevna in 1874, and built the experimental SS Bessemer for Sir Henry Bessemer. The latter incorporated a swinging-cabin concept intended to reduce the effects of rolling, but the vessel was unsuccessful and made only one public voyage. Earle's also built the yacht Bosphorous for Khedive Isma'il of Egypt and produced other vessels for wealthy private clients. In 1871 the business was reorganized as a joint-stock company. Sir Edward James Reed, formerly the Admiralty's chief constructor, served for a period as chairman and managing director. His naval experience helped the yard secure important government and overseas contracts. Earle's built the Chilean Navy ironclads Almirante Cochrane and Blanco Encalada, launched in the 1870s, and later received Royal Navy orders for the Edgar-class cruisers HMS Endymion and HMS St George. It also constructed two Salmon-class destroyers for the Royal Navy in 1895. The company was an early adopter of triple-expansion marine engines, using the technology in SS Draco, a Wilson Line vessel completed in 1882. Earle's later history was shaped by financial and labor pressures. After Charles Earle died and William Earle became ill, the firm experienced cash-flow difficulties and a shortage of workers. It entered voluntary liquidation in 1900. Charles Wilson acquired the business for approximately £170,000, retained the Earle's name, and made the yard a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wilson Line. This takeover preserved the company's operations but tied its future more closely to the fortunes of its parent and to the increasingly difficult British shipping market. The yard is also remembered for its innovative knock-down ships for the Peruvian Corporation. SS Inca was assembled at Earle's in 1904, then dismantled, numbered, packed, shipped to Peru, and transported inland for reassembly and launch on Lake Titicaca in 1905. When the vessel required a replacement bottom in the 1920s, Earle's supplied the component in kit form. The yard later built the larger SS Ollanta, which was launched on Lake Titicaca in 1931 after construction and shipment in sections. The Great Depression and the broader decline of British manufacturing weakened the business. After Ollanta, Earle's built only three more ships. As part of government-backed rationalization of the British shipbuilding industry, National Shipbuilders Securities took over the company in 1932. The yard's tools and machinery were sold, and its large crane and other equipment were sent to Kowloon in Hong Kong. Closure terms included a restrictive covenant preventing shipbuilding on the site for 60 years. Earle's legacy survives in the vessels it built, particularly Ollanta, which after retirement from scheduled ferry service was used for charter tourist cruises on Lake Titicaca.
History
Earle's Shipbuilding began in Hull in 1845 as the engineering and shipbuilding business of brothers Charles and William Earle. Hull's position on the North Sea made the firm well placed to serve local shipping companies and routes linking Britain with continental Europe. The yard built and repaired vessels for the Wilson Line and for other operators, including the Great Eastern Railway and the Hull & Netherlands Steamship Company. The company expanded beyond routine merchant construction. It produced yachts for prominent foreign clients, including Slavanka and Czarevna for Tsarevitch Alexander, and built Bosphorous for Khedive Isma'il of Egypt. It also undertook technically experimental work, including SS Bessemer, a paddle steamer fitted with a swinging-cabin arrangement intended to improve passenger comfort. The vessel proved unsuccessful and undertook only one public voyage. In 1871 Earle's became a joint-stock company. Sir Edward James Reed, a former chief constructor to the Admiralty, served as chairman and managing director for a period. His involvement supported the yard's pursuit of naval work. Earle's built the ironclads Almirante Cochrane and Blanco Encalada for Chile, later constructed the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Endymion and HMS St George, and built two Salmon-class destroyers. The yard also adopted triple-expansion engine technology at an early stage, installing such machinery in SS Draco for the Wilson Line in 1882. The death of Charles Earle and the illness of William Earle contributed to a difficult period in the 1890s. The firm faced cash-flow problems and a shortage of labor, and entered voluntary liquidation in 1900. Charles Wilson acquired the business for about £170,000 and operated it as a wholly owned Wilson Line subsidiary while preserving the Earle's name. Among the yard's most distinctive later projects were knock-down ships intended for assembly far from Britain. SS Inca was built for the Peruvian Corporation in 1904, taken apart after construction, and shipped in numbered sections to Peru. The parts were moved inland and reassembled with rivets before the vessel was launched on Lake Titicaca in 1905. Earle's later supplied a replacement bottom for Inca in the same general kit-built manner. The company followed this with the larger SS Ollanta, built in 1929, shipped in sections, and launched on Lake Titicaca in 1931. Economic decline in Britain during the Great Depression reduced demand. Following Ollanta, the yard completed only three additional ships. In 1932 National Shipbuilders Securities took over Earle's under a government-supported rationalization program. Its machinery and tools were sold, with the yard's large crane and other equipment transferred to Kowloon in Hong Kong. A restrictive covenant associated with the closure prohibited shipbuilding on the site for six decades. Earle's Shipbuilding therefore ended operations in 1932, although its vessels continued to represent the yard's commercial, naval, and engineering achievements. Ollanta is the best-known surviving Earle's-built vessel and was later used for tourist charter cruises on Lake Titicaca.
- 1932
Yard closes under industrial rationalization
[1]National Shipbuilders Securities takes over Earle's, sells its equipment, and ends shipbuilding at the Hull site.
- 1931
SS Ollanta launched
[1]After shipment and reassembly, Ollanta enters service on Lake Titicaca.
- 1929
SS Ollanta constructed
[1]Earle's builds a larger knock-down vessel for the Peruvian Corporation.
- 1905
SS Inca launched on Lake Titicaca
[1]The knock-down ship built by Earle's is reassembled and launched in Peru.
- 1900
Acquired by Charles Wilson
[1]Following voluntary liquidation, Charles Wilson acquires the business and makes it a Wilson Line subsidiary.
- 1895
Salmon-class destroyers built
[1]Earle's constructs two Salmon-class destroyers for the Royal Navy.
- 1892
HMS St George launched
[1]The yard launches the Edgar-class cruiser HMS St George.
- 1891
HMS Endymion launched
[1]Earle's launches the Edgar-class cruiser HMS Endymion for the Royal Navy.
- 1882
Triple-expansion engine installed in SS Draco
[1]The Wilson Line vessel SS Draco is built with triple-expansion engine technology, reflecting the yard's early adoption of advanced marine propulsion.
- 1875
Blanco Encalada completed for Chile
[1]Earle's completes the Chilean Navy ironclad Blanco Encalada.
Products and positioning
A technically capable regional shipyard serving commercial shipping, naval procurement, private yacht clients, and specialized overseas transport projects.
Commercial steamship · 1882
SS Draco
A Wilson Line steamship built by Earle's and completed in 1882. Draco is notable in the company's history because it used a triple-expansion engine, an advanced marine propulsion arrangement that the yard adopted relatively early.
Royal Navy cruiser · 1891
HMS Endymion
An Edgar-class cruiser built by Earle's for the Royal Navy and launched in 1891. Its construction demonstrates the Hull yard's participation in late-nineteenth-century British naval procurement.
Royal Navy cruiser · 1892
HMS St George
An Edgar-class cruiser launched by Earle's in 1892. The ship formed part of the yard's later naval portfolio, following earlier work for the Chilean Navy.
Knock-down lake steamer · 1905
SS Inca
Built for the Peruvian Corporation in 1904, Inca was assembled at Earle's, dismantled into marked sections, and shipped to Peru for inland transport and reassembly. It was launched on Lake Titicaca in 1905 and later received a replacement bottom supplied by Earle's in kit form.
Knock-down lake steamer · 1931
SS Ollanta
A larger vessel built by Earle's for the Peruvian Corporation in 1929. Like Inca, it was designed to be dismantled, transported in sections, and reassembled in Peru. Ollanta was launched on Lake Titicaca in 1931 and later used for charter tourist cruises after leaving scheduled ferry service.
Chilean Navy ironclad · 1874
Almirante Cochrane
An ironclad warship built by Earle's for the Chilean Navy in the 1870s. It was one of the company's important early naval contracts secured during Sir Edward James Reed's association with the firm.
Chilean Navy ironclad · 1875
Blanco Encalada
An ironclad constructed by Earle's for Chile and completed in 1875. Its construction illustrates the yard's ability to undertake substantial overseas naval orders.
Brand decisions
1932
Closure under shipbuilding rationalizationStrategyBackground
The Great Depression and declining British manufacturing reduced demand, and Earle's completed only three ships after Ollanta.
Action taken
National Shipbuilders Securities took over the company, sold its tools and machinery, and transferred major equipment including the yard crane to Kowloon.
Aftermath
The Hull yard ceased shipbuilding. Closure terms imposed a 60-year restriction against shipbuilding on the site.
1900
Acquisition by Charles WilsonM&ABackground
Earle's experienced cash-flow problems and labor shortages during the late 1890s and entered voluntary liquidation.
Action taken
Charles Wilson acquired the business for approximately £170,000, retained the Earle's name, and converted it into a wholly owned Wilson Line subsidiary.
Aftermath
The acquisition allowed the yard to continue operating, but its activities became closely tied to the Wilson Line and the declining British shipping economy.
Acquisition price. Approximately £170,000 purchase price (1900)
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