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Southend Excursion Vessels
Southend - Page 2
This page is under construction!
This is one of a series of pages devoted to the passenger boats of the Thames and Medway Estuaries. This page shows postcards and photographs of Southend excursion vessels. Page 1 covers the famous
Southend Pier
and its railway.
Small Southend Excursion Vessels
With the growth of Southend as a holiday resort, local fisherman would offer trips from the beach on both sailing and rowing boats. The boats used were sailing yawls, invariably clinker-built, which had originally been used by East Anglian beachmen for salvage and assistence to sailing vessels in difficulty on the treacherous sandbanks running along the coast. They were put out of work as ships became steam-powered, or steam tugs were available, and some of the yawls were moved to Clacton and Southend for use as excursion boats. They were re-rigged as gaff ketches, arriving at Southend from around 1890, where they were known locally as 'lifeboats'. New boats were later built for local owners, but these were usually carvel hulled. Subsequently, small motor boats would be used. Larger boats later sailed from the end of the pier. Larger steamers of the main Thames excursion companies,
General Steam Navigation
,
New Palace Steamers
,
Belle Steamers
etc also called at the pier, but these are all covered on separate pages.
An early regular visitor to Southend was the paddle steamer
The Mermaid
, which was owned by the Victoria Steamboat Association & successors (1891-1910), Rosherville Pier and Steam Packet Company (1911) and F.K.Tucker (1912-1914). Note that Rosherville was an estate of large houses adjacent to Gravesend, built to allow commuting into London when steam boats first became viable.
The Mermaid
was 160 feet long and 194 gross tons.
In 1909 Henry Cooney ran the
Sunbeam
as a ferry between Southend and Sheerness. Henry Cooney was also a director of the New Medway SP Co, so one assumes the
Sunbeam
ran in collaboration rather than competition with the larger company.
Sunbeam
was reportedly burnt out in 1911 and replaced by the
Duke of Abercorn
, which had also operated in Morecambe. They were marketed as the Southend SP Co. Henry Cooney also chartered the paddle steamer
Lord Nelson
. His next steamer was the
Essex (2)
of the
Great Eastern Railway
. She was laid up at the start of the war, and sold to the Goole & Hull SP co in 1916.
An important arrival at Southend was the
New Prince of Wales
in 1923, the first English motor pleasure boat of over 100 tons. She was joined by the slightly larger
Southend Britannia
the following year. The smaller
Dreadnought
and
New Skylark
were built just before the war, and were the mainstay of local services for many years afterwards. They were rivals until c.1987, when both were operated by Southend Water Pleasure.
Dreadnought
was soon sold, and
Maid of the Forth
and
Nemo II
were acquired, the former from South Queensferry, whilst
Nemo II
had been running cruises from nearby Brightlingsea.
c.1985, Invicta Line Cruises of Chatham began services between Southend and Strood, using the
Clyde
and
Thames Queen
.
Lady Essex
began cruises for M.Reis in 1987, and
Thames Queen
was sold by Invicta Line, to be replaced by
Clairest
in 1989. Invicta Line ceased operations c.1992.
Princess Pocahontas
was acquired by the
Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co
in 1989, and began regular calls at Southend from her base in Gravesend. She remains in service in 2006. In 1993,
New Skylark
joined the
Lady Essex
in the fleet of M.Reis, Southend Water Pleasure continuing with just
Maid of the Forth
. She was joined by
Duchess M
in 1997, which effectively replaced Invicta Line with ferry crossings to Strood and Queenborough. In 1999, only
Duchess M
,
New Skylark
and
Princess Pocahontas
were regularly serving Southend. Southend Water Pleasure sold the
Duchess M
to the
Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co
for use on the
Tilbury-Gravesend
ferry, but acquired
Devon Belle II
as a replacement.
Devon Belle II
and
New Skylark
remained in service in 2005,
New Skylark
now being owned by A.Richards.
Sections on this Page:-
Southend's Local Sailing Boats - 'Life Boats'
- beach-launched sailing boats referred to locally as 'life boats'
Southend's Local Excursion Motor Boats
Southend's Visiting Excursion Vessels using the Pier
Vessels on this Page:-
Anzio
Anzio I
Britannia I
-
(Built: 1921 - Southend: 1921-1958)
Champion
- sailing 'life-boat'
Coronation
- sailing 'life-boat'
Devon Belle II
Dreadnought
- (Built: 1936)
Duchess M
- (Built: 1956 - Southend Water Pleasure: c1997-2002)
Duke of Abercorn
- (Southend SP Co: 1911-1914 - 144 grt)
Grace Darling
- sailing 'life-boat'
Julia Freak
- motor 'life-boat'
Maid of the Forth
My Queen
New Prince of Wales
- (Built: 1923 - Southend Motor Navigation: 1923-19??)
New Skylark
- (Built: 1937)
Princess Pocahontas
San Toy 1
- motor 'life-boat'
Seafoam
- motor 'life-boat'
Sky-Lark
- sailing 'life-boat'
Southend Belle
- (Built: 1947 - Southend Belle Cruises: 1947-1958)
Southend Britannia
- (Built: 1924 - Charles & Arthur Myall:1924-1939)
Sunbeam
- (Southend SP Co: 1909-1911 - 85 grt)
Swanage Queen
The Mermaid
Other Thames, Kent & Essex Pages:-
Southend Pier
MV Balmoral
- 2006 cruise past Southend Pier
PS Waverley
- 2005 cruise past Southend Pier
Essex Piers
Kent Piers
Kent Excursion Vessels
General Steam Navigation
Invicta Line
Lower Thames & Medway Passenger Boat Co
New Palace Steamers
Tilbury-Gravesend Ferry
Associated Pages:-
UK Excursion Ships
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards
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Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards
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Home Page
References:-
Trip Out Guides
- Written and published by G.P.Hamer
- various editions from 1977 to 2005 consulted
Trip Out Guides are available from Geoffrey Hamer, PO Box 485, Southall, UB1 9BH
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Southend's Local Sailing Boats - 'Life Boats'
Local sailing and rowing boats gave visiters trips directly from the beach. These boats were described as 'life boats' on postcards, and many had names such as
Lifeboat Coronation
. Some contemporary postcards showing thses boats are shown below.
'Life boats' at Southend-on-Sea.
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'Life boats' at Southend-on-Sea.
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'Life boats' at Southend-on-Sea, posted 28/08/1917.
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East Beach with lifeboat
Champion
, posted 19/08/1917.
Lifeboat
Coronation
.
West Beach at Southend with life boats.
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East Beach at Southend with life boats.
Promenade at Southend with larger sailing boats.
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Passengers on 'Life boat'
Grace Darling
at Southend-on-Sea.
The name of the boat behind also starts wiyh 'Grace'
Passengers on 'Life boat'
Sky-Lark
at Southend-on-Sea.
Scan: Derek Windebank
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Passengers on a 'Life boat' at Southend-on-Sea.
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Marine Parade at Southend with larger fishing boats.
Marine Parade at Southend with larger fishing boats.
Marine Parade at Southend with larger fishing boats.
Later postcard of the lifeboat
Seafoam
at Westcliffe, which appears to be a motor boat.
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Motorised 'Life boat'
Julia Freak
at Southend-on-Sea.
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Photochrome postcard of motorised 'Life boat'
San Toy 1
at Southend-on-Sea.
Julia Freak
again in the background.
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Boats visiting the fleet at Southend.
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Southend's Local Excursion Boats
Sunbeam
(Southend SP Co: 1909-1911 - 85 grt)
The screw steamer
Sunbeam
served at Morecambe for the
Morecambe Steamboat C
o between 1885-1909. In 1909 Henry Cooney ran her as a ferry between Southend and Sheerness. Henry Cooney was also a director of the New Medway SP Co, so one assumes the
Sunbeam
ran in collaboration rather than competition with the larger company.
Sunbeam
was reportedly burnt out in 1911 and replaced by the
Duke of Abercorn
, which had also operated in Morecambe.
Photographic postcard of
Sunbeam
, probably at Southend, with P&O liner in the background.
Duke of Abercorn
(Southend SP Co: 1911-1914 - 144 grt)
The twin screw steamer
Britannia
was built for J.Brown, Robert Birkett and R.Wilson of Lancaster in 1888, and served at Morecambe for their Morecambe Steamboat Co until 1904.
Britannia
ran excurions to
Fleetwood
and Blackpool plus local trips. She then served in Dublin for Duke Shipping Co and was renamed
Duke of Abercorn
. She ran aground on Dalkey Island in 1910, but was refloated on the next tide. In 1911 she moved to Southend for Henry Cooney's Southend Steam Packet Co, where she replaced the burnt out
Sunbeam
. In 1914 she was bought by
David MacBrayne
for summer excursions. She also briefly operated the Ballachulish-Kinlochleven run but her boilers were troublesome and she was sold for scrap in February 1915.
Postcard of
Duke of Abercorn
, possibly at Southend Pier.
Britannia I
(Built: 1921 - Southend: 1921-1958)
Britannia I
ran at Southend from 1921 to 1958 and on the Thames for Thames Motor Boats as
Thames Britannia
to 1982. She was the first boat of
Plymouth Boat Cruises
as
Plymouth Princess
in 1982 She passed to
Sound Cruising
in 2005 and remained in the fleet in 2007.
Britannia I
running at Southend
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Plymouth Princess
at Phoenix Wharf in Sound Cruising ownership
Photo: © Graham Thorne , January 2007
Plymouth Princess
at Phoenix Wharf in Sound Cruising ownership
Photo: © Graham Thorne, 2006
New Prince of Wales
(Built: 1923 - Southend Motor Navigation: 1923-19??)
New Prince of Wales
is considered to be the first pleasure vessel of more than 100 gross tons to be driven by internal combustion engines - she had two paraffin engines totalling 150hp, made by John L.Thornycroft. (The
Royal Lady
at
Scarborough
was the first to be powered by diesels).
New Prince of Wales
was wooden hulled, and completed by Alec Fowler in Bosham in 1923 for the Southend Motor Navigation Co. She was 104 feet long and 137 gross tons. She was of very shallow draft, being used to to perform short cruises from a small jetty near Southend Pier at high tide.
New Prince of Wales
ran from the end of the pier at low tides. I have few details at present about her subsequent career, although she is listed as running for Jackson Brothers at Southend in 1957, along with the 1931-built
Britannia I
.
Postcard of
New Prince of Wales
.
The card was posted in 1937.
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Postcard of
New Prince of Wales
.
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Postcard of
New Prince of Wales
.
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Postcard of
Southend Britannia
(centre) and
New Prince of Wales
(left) at the pier head, plus smaller boats (right).
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Southend Britannia
(Built: 1924 - Charles & Arthur Myall:1924-1939)
The arrival of
New Prince of Wales
led to the completion of competing
Southend Britannia
for Charles & Arthur Myall the following year, 1924.
Southend Britannia
was 106 feet long and 147 gross tons - very slightly larger than
New Prince of Wales
(perhaps deliberately). She had similar paraffin engines by John L.Thornycroft, who also built the hull, with a distinctive slanting stern.
Southend Britannia
had two funnels, of which the forward was a dummy. Two masts and a prominent bridge gave her an imposing, if slightly ludicrous appearance.
Southend Britannia
attended the Dunkirk evacuation during the war.
After the war she served as
Brightlingsea Belle
on the Colne, and
Western Lady V
at Brixham. From 1960 to 1987 she was owned by Thames Television and moored at Teddington. She was later seen as the
Beverley
, moored in Docklands and Chelsea, but has probably since been scrapped.
Postcard of
Southend Britannia
.
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Postcard of
Southend Britannia
.
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Postcard of
Southend Britannia
with enclosed bridge.
Postcard of
Southend Britannia
with enclosed bridge.
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Postcard of
Southend Britannia
at the jetty.
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Busy scene of Southend sea-front with
Southend Britannia
and
New Prince of Wales
plus 'life boats'.
Publisher: Lansdown Productions
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Postcard of
Southend Britannia
(centre) and
New Prince of Wales
(left) at the pier head, plus smaller boats (right).
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Postcard of
Western Lady V
, ex-
Southend Britannia
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ex-Southend Britannia
in later years, moored on the Thames.
Dreadnought
(Southend Water Pleasure - Built: 1936)
Dreadnought
was built in 1936 as a sailing ship and was 60 feet long. She carried 120 passengers on short cruises from the jetty adjacent to the pier. She was owned by J.D.Polkington until passing to Southend Water Pleasure c.1987, but was soon sold.
Mason's 'Alpha Series' postcard of