When in 2024, John Shaw of Goole purchased a calf skin bound notebook from a dealer in rare books, he did not really know what he was getting. His purchase was largely driven by curiosity as mention had been made in the description of Goole, sloops and bills of lading.  The date of 1851 potentially made it a very early record of activity in the port which was only twenty five years old at the time the first entries were made. John has kindly allowed this Society to scan and publish his notebook and we hope that someone will be able to throw light on just what was being diligently recorded over 170 years ago.

In really good condition the handwriting of the original owner, principally in black but also red ink and even pencil, remains very clear, although the style presents a challenge to the modern eye used to reading printed material. Each page contains the record of a single event, helpfully written in a structured manner. 

We do know the 119 entries in the notebook each contain the name of a vessel, most described as sloops, a few as schooners, and the home port of the vessel is shown. The captain of each vessel is named. A price per ton is shown in shillings and pence but we don’t know what this price is for – purchase of the commodity being carried, a rate for carriage, or whatever? 

You may find it helpful to look at our transcription of the vessels and captains shown on each page. You are free to download a copy of  Extract from Shipping Agent’s Notebook  

The entry then becomes what appears to be a record of loads. It is tempting to suggest that these may have been quantities of coal which had been loaded aboard the vessel on different dates, but we  like to deal in facts, and nowhere in this notebook is there any mention of coal. Each “load” shows a quantity of what looks like “stones”, a name  and a date. A further quantity is also shown against each “load”. 

The sum of the quantities is converted into tons, hundredweights and quarters with the calculations, involving the lost art of long division, laid out on the page. 

Finally each page shows the date at which a Bill of Lading was despatched and to where. There may be separate mention of an invoice and the puzzling mention of what appears to be a “Dell of Lading”.

If you can throw light on what is being recorded, please contact YWHS using the form below.