CAXTON
The cargo vessel Caxton was built in 1958 and enjoyed a long career lasting well into the 1980s. Her first owner, Barberry’s Steamship Co, was established in 1940 as a result of the creation of Newsprint Supply Co Ltd by Lord Beaverbrook and others, who sought to guarantee a wartime supply of paper, sourced from Canadian mills, to meet the needs of the press.
BUILT 1958 by Blyth Drydock and Shipbuilding Co at Cowpen Quay to the order of Barberry’s SS Co Ltd (Runciman London Ltd as manager)
She replaced a 1943-built ship of the same name in Barberry’s fleet. Her design closely followed that of the 5,626gt Isaac Carter, another cargo vessel built at Blyth in 1952 for carrying newsprint. These ships were similar to others in the Barberry fleet, such as the 1946 Readheadbuilt Baskerville, which was sold in 1950, and the 1949 Govan-built Caslon.
TONNAGE 5,729grt (open shelter deck), 7,686grt (closed), 8,950dwt