Laird Brothers of Birkenhead were shipbuilders. In 1824, the Birkenhead Iron Works was established by William Laird, with the aim of manufacturing boilers, however in 1828 the yard moved into shipbuilding. William went into business with his son John as William Laird and Son, with John realising that the techniques of making boilers could be applied to making ships. The company soon became pre-eminent in the manufacture of iron ships and made major advances in propulsion.

In 1860 William Laird and Son changed its name to John Laird, Sons and Co, with John’s sons as additional partners. In 1862 the business changed its name again to Messrs. Laird Brothers and it was from this point that the yard built up a formidable reputation as a merchant shipbuilder. Between 1870 and 1900 over 270 merchant ships were made by the yard, as well as a number of other ships, including armour-clad battleships and torpedo boat destroyers for the Royal Navy. The armour plating had been manufactured by Charles Cammell and Co and the two companies merged in 1903 to become Cammell, Laird and Co. This meant that armoured warships could be built by one company, which was more convenient for the Royal Navy.