Ian Collard: 22 books

Although its first inhabitants were medieval monks, Birkenhead began to grow during the nineteenth century because of its links with Liverpool. Later, trade from all over the world began to flow through the docks and the town became a centre for shipbuilding, the first iron-built ship bought for the...

Wallasey Through Time is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this part of the country. Reproduced in full colour, this is an exciting examination of Wallasey, the famous streets and the famous faces, and what they meant to the people of this area throughout the 19th and into the 20th...

Birkenhead From Old Photographs offers a captivating glimpse into the history of Birkenhead, providing the reader with a visual representation of the town's intriguing and chequered history. Drawing upon an eclectic collection of over 200 photographs, Ian Collard presents the reader with an insight...

Since Arthur Anderson invited William Makepeace Thackeray to take a cruise in 1844, and to write about it, British shipping lines have offered passage for no other reason than leisure on their vessels. By the 1880s, passenger ships designed solely for cruising were being built and the cruise ships...

The Mersey has changed over the past thirty years. The famous ships and shipping lines have changed or gone altogether, the means of shipping goods has changed and the numbers of people working in the docks have drastically fallen. With the advent of box boats and superfast ferries, we no longer see...

Liverpool City Centre History Tour is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this famous old port city. Local author Ian Collard guides us through the streets and alleyways, showing how its famous landmarks used to look and how they’ve changed over the years, as well as exploring its lesser-known...

The Port of Holyhead has a long history and is now operated by Stena Line Ports Ltd. The company took over ownership of the port from Sea Containers in 1990, which only six years previously assumed control of the harbour as part of the Sealink privatisation. Ranked as the United Kingdom's third-busiest...

The Cunard Line’s Britannia was the first steamship to establish regular communication across the Atlantic. She sailed on her maiden voyage on 4 July 1840, setting in motion the first regular steamship line. Iron supplanted wood in hull construction and the screw propeller was gradually replacing...

Overshadowing the port of Chester, Liverpool grew in size from the 1800s on sugar and slavery. Expanding over the following two centuries, the port has grown to take over part of the other side of the Mersey, with docks at Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port and Wallasey, as well as along the coast from Liverpool....

The main role of the tug is to assist vessels in the river or within the dock system by moving them by pushing or towing. They are also used to tow barges or platforms which have no engines or methods of propulsion. Tugs are designed to be highly manoeuvrable and powerful as they normally work with...

A Mersey ferry was recorded in the Domesday Book, and for around a thousand years, they have plied between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral and Liverpool. The sail and man-powered craft gave way to steam ferries in 1815. In this book, Ian Collard tells the story of the Mersey ferries, concentrating...

P&O was established in 1837 and maintained a schedule of routes to India, the Far East and Australia, being the first choice for the majority of passengers travelling to that part of the world. P&O later took over the British India Line, the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, the New...

When Arthur Anderson invited William Makepeace Thackeray to take a cruise in 1844, and to write about it, British shipping lines offered passage on their vessels for no other reason than leisure. By the 1880s, passenger ships designed solely for cruising were being built, and the cruise ships kept...

Formed on Merseyside in 1913, Coast Lines grew from a small fleet of sixteen coastal ships operating in the Irish Sea to the world’s largest coastal fleet. At the time, over 4 million tons of shipping sailed from the Mersey on coastal voyages. At its height, the company included Powell, Bacon &...