Alfred Holt

[1] Holt is credited with establishing the long distance steamship by developing a type that replaced sailing clippers on the route from Britain to China.

Not only did Holt understand the well-known benefits of higher steam pressures running compound engines, but he also had the negotiating skills to gain the approval of the Board of Trade to put this into effect.

A few auxiliary steamships sailed to China round the Cape of Good Hope, using their steam engines in light winds.

Holt designed a compact double expansion engine that left the maximum amount of room in the hull for cargo.

The complete design package, including the higher boiler pressures, gave a ship that could steam from London to China with one coaling stop in Mauritius on the way out, and another on the return trip.

In 1871, the success of steamship routes to China was clear, with 45 steamers being built in Clyde shipyards for Far Eastern trade.

After Catherine's death in 1869, Alfred Holt married her cousin, Frances Long (in 1871), with whom he had two more sons.