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As one of the furthest English counties from the coast, Derbyshire is not generally recognised for its seafaring tradition. But it is not entirely devoid of ocean-going links, for a number of vessels have carried the name of the county. Here Peter Seddon considers the first of the breed - the good ship S.S. Derbyshire.

In the 1880s the celebrated Liverpool-based shipping company Bibby Line established a tradition which still continues today - the naming of vessels after the English shire counties.

Although the ships often had no particular link with their allotted 'shire', it was natural that the counties in question should in some small way adopt their namesakes - so it was not untypical for local newspapers to report on 'their' ship's progress and in time of war perhaps to back fund-raising.

The first vessel to carry the Derbyshire name was the Bibby Line passenger steamship 'SS Derbyshire', which was built for the company in 1897 - it weighed 6,635 tons and was constructed at a cost of £130,000.

The ship offered its passengers very comfortable facilities over the longer routes and operated as a one-class vessel.

In 1899 she was leased temporarily to the Dominion Line for four voyages only. The company brochure for 1899 lists the Derbyshire as part of its fleet, and that summer she conveyed Dominion Line passengers across the Atlantic between Liverpool and Boston for what now seems a rather attractive rate - 'fares from only £50'.

During the First World War the ship was requisitioned to serve as His Majesty's Troopship 'Derbyshire', and H.M.T. Derbyshire continued in that service into the 1920s.

When its troopship duties were ended the ship faced an uncertain future as passengers took to ever-bigger and more luxurious 'liners'.

By 1927 the Derbyshire was serving only as a cargo ship and in 1931 it was scrapped.

In only 34 years a ship that had begun life as a prestigious passenger vessel had been rendered obsolete by the rapid and relentless march of time and progress.

                                                                        S.S. Derbyshire
                                                                           1897 - 1931       

• The S.S. Derbyshire - A Brief Life At Sea

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County:  Derbyshire