William Laird (shipbuilder)
William Laird | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 February 1780 |
| Died | 27 October 1841 (aged 61) |
| Known for | |
| Children | |
William Laird (15 February 1780 – 27 October 1841) was a Scottish shipbuilder and developer who was responsible for what later became the Cammell Laird shipyard, and for starting the substantial development of its adjoining town, Birkenhead, on the Wirral in England.
Career
Laird's family were from Greenock near Glasgow, and in 1810 he moved from there to Liverpool to develop the family's rope manufacturing business. By 1822 he had developed wider engineering interests, and had set up a steamship company to run between Liverpool and Glasgow.
In 1824, with business partners William Hamilton and John Forsyth, he bought land on the south bank of
As landowner, Laird commissioned Edinburgh architect James Gillespie Graham to design an elegant new town close to the shipyard. This became the centre of Birkenhead, focused on Hamilton Square and, after Laird's death in 1841, Birkenhead Park.[1]
Laird's shipbuilding business moved in 1856 to a new site on the river bank at Tranmere, and in 1903 amalgamated with Charles Cammell & Company to become