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Queenborough
 
 
This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of the historic port of Queenborough. A list of sections on this page is shown below. The Table beneath gives links to complete history pages on selected individual ships.
 
 
A Brief History of Queenborough Port:-
Queenborough is situated on the Isle of Sheppey, at the confluence of the Rivers Medway and Swale in Kent, and despite a long history with many famous connections, it is little known due to its close proximity to Sheerness. Sheerness was a continental ferry port for Dutch mail services between 1876 and 1927, hence its inclusion on this website. Services were run by the Zeeland Steamship Company.
 
Queenborough owes its name to King Edward IlI who renamed the town of Bynne in honour of his wife Queen Phillipa, when it was upgraded to borough status. The king also built Oueenborough Castle in 1361, a constable of which was John of Gaunt, father of Henry IV, and where Queen Elizabeth I was often entertained. The castle was pulled down in 1650. Queenborough also had connections with Sir Francis Drake, Admiral Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton. In 1667 Queenborough surrendered to a raid by the Dutch. The English fleet moored here just before the attack of the Spanish armada and, more recently, the waters off Queenborough were chosen as an assembly point for the Dunkirk 'little ships'. Nelson was a communicant at the parish church and the artist Hogarth is believed te have stayed at the old Ship Inn in the High Street. Having become a 'new town' of the Middle Ages, Queenborough prospered for much of its early life, but its role as a port was later undermined by the growth of Rochester and Chatham and, ironically, neighbouring Sheerness (as a naval port). New industries gradually came to the town's rescue and there is much evidence, even today, of the impact made by the industrial expansion of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. 1933 maps show glue works, chemical works, glass works and a steel rolling mill in the vicinity of the railway at Queenborough. Four separate branch lines connected the Sittingbourne-Sheerness railway to various wharfs and piers in Queenborough. Only one remains, linking the Sheerness branch to a pier at Hope Reach, previously owned by Settle Speakman, and still used by industrial locomotives.
 
In 1667 Queenborough surrendered to a raid by the Dutch. The English fleet moored here just before the attack of the Spanish armada and, more recently, the waters off Queenborough were chosen as an assembly point for the Dunkirk 'little ships'. Nelson was a communicant at the parish church and the artist Hogarth is believed te have stayed at the old Ship Inn in the High Street. Having become a 'new town' of the Middle Ages, Queenborough prospered for much of its early life, but its role as a port was later undermined by the growth of Rochester and Chatham and, ironically, neighbouring Sheerness (as a naval port). New industries gradually came to the town's rescue and there is much evidence, even today, of the impact made by the industrial expansion of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. 1933 maps show glue works, chemical works, glass works and a steel rolling mill in the vicinity of the railway at Queenborough. Four separate branches connected the Sittingbourne-Sheerness railway to various wharfs and piers in Queenborough. Only one remains, linking the Sheerness branch to a pier at Hope Reach, used by industrial locomotives. The current map of Queenborough (shown on the left) shows the remaining branch to the Settle Speakman piers running from a triangular junction south of Queenborough station, past Rushenden. The start of the Queenborough Pier branch is also shown curving west from the Sheerness-Sittingbourne railway just north of the station. The railway pier was demolished in 1956, and was located where the "Wks" are shown on the map, on the West Swale just north of the town.
 
Queenborough became a continental ferry port in 1876 when a branch was built to a new pier from just north of the station. Services were operated by the Stoomvaart Maatschappij "Zeeland" (SMZ - the Zeeland SS Co) between 1876 and 1927, with various breaks due to pier fires, the First World War etc. The remaining SMZ services moved to Harwich in 1927. The port was used by the Admiralty in the Second World War as a base for Thames minesweepers. Their depot ship was the St Tudno (3) of the Liverpool & North Wales SS Co.
 
 
Photographic postcard of St Tudno (3) on war service.
She acted as depot ship for the Thames minesweeper squadron based at Queenborough.
Can anyone confirm the location of the picture below?
 
 
 
 
Sections on This Page:-
Queenborough Town Quay
Queenborough Pier Branch
Queenborough New Pier
Settle Speakman Pier Branch
 
Associated Pages:-
Zeeland Steamship Company - Ran mail services between Queenborough and Flushing 1876-1927
Kingswear Castle - Passenger carrying paddle steamer on the River Medway in Kent
Kingswear Castle - Official website of the passenger carrying paddle steamer
Monarch (3) - Passenger carrying paddle steamer near Canterbury in Kent
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
 
References:-
   
 
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Table of Ship Histories

Name

Other names

 Built
 Kingswear Castle  

 1921
 
 
 
 
 
 
Queenborough
 
 
Queenborough Town Quay
 
 
Queenborough Town Quay at low tide.
The boat in the foreground appeared to be a very small dredger used to maintain this narrow channel.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Queenborough Town Quay.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Queenborough Town Quay.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Queenborough Town Quay. Some small commercial fishing vessels still use the quay.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Queenborough Town Quay.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Queenborough Town Quay.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Queenborough Pier Branch
 
Queenborough became a continental ferry port in 1876 when a branch was built to a new pier from just north of the station. Services were operated by the Stoomvaart Maatschappij "Zeeland" (SMZ - the Zeeland SS Co) to Vlissingen (Flushing) in Holland, between 1876 and 1927, with various breaks due to pier fires, the First World War etc. The map below, from Railway Magazine, shows all the main railways in the area, with the short Pier Branch just north of Queenborough.
 
 
 
 
The 1878 map below shows the Queenborough Pier Branch, which had opened only two years earlier. In 1882, Queenborough Pier was seriously damaged by fire, and the passenger service moved to Dover for four months. Cargo services to Queenborough did not restart until 1885, and cargo steamers were chartered to operate into London in the interim. In 1897, a temporary transfer to Dover was made again, following damage to the railway to Queenborough. In 1900, Queenborough pier was damaged by fire a second time, and the service moved temporarily to Port Victoria, on the opposite bank of the River Medway, which is shown on the map. There was also a ferry service between Port Victoria and Sheerness, which connected to a rival service to London via the London Chatham & Dover Railway (Sheerness and Queenborough were served by the South Eastern Railway). The two railways later combined to form the South Eastern & Chatham Railway.
 
 
 
 
The 1908 map below shows the Queenborough Pier Branch and Queenborough Pier. It also shows two "tramways" north and south of the town linking the Sheerness Branch to wharves on the West Swale. It does not show the branch to the Settle Speakman Pier, which had not been built at this date. Steamer services were operated by paddle steamers until 1910, when three new turbines were delivered. The turbines were used on the night service, with the less competitive day service being operated by the displaced paddle steamers. After one year, the turbines were moved to Folkestone in 1911, since the Medway was unsuitable for their greater draft than the paddlers. The distance from Vlissingen (Flushing) to Folkestone was 92 miles, compared to 112 miles from Queenborough. The day service remained at Queenborough, operated by the paddle steamers, until 1927, when all services switched to Harwich.
 
 
 
 
The map below shows the Queenborough Pier Branch and the Settle Speakman Branch north and south of Queenborough town respectively. It also shows the Port Victoria Branch and Pier used by the Queenborough mail steamers in 1900. The Port Victoria branch still exists as a link to the Isle of Grain Power Station and adjacent Thamesport Container Terminal, which are on the site of the original pier.
 
 
 
 
Postcard of an SMZ paddle steamer at Queenborough Pier.
Click to see a larger image in new window
 
 
Photograph of Queenborough Pier, with a Zeeland paddle steamer.
 
 
Photograph of Queenborough Pier.
 
 
H.C.Casserley photograph of Queenborough Pier station, with a boat train.
 
 
Photograph of Queenborough Pier station (Lens of Sutton).
 
 
Photograph of Queenborough Pier station in 1950, after the tracks had been lifted (D.Cullum).
 
 
Photograph of Queenborough Pier station in 1953, after the tracks had been lifted (N.W.Sprinks).
The station was demolished in 1956.
 
 
The remains of Queenborough Pier - visible at low tide.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 10th October 2005.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Queenborough New Pier
 
A new passenger pier has been built at Queenborough, which floats at high tide. This pier has been used by the paddle steamer Kingswear Castle.
 
 
The new passenger pier at Queenborough.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
The new passenger pier at Queenborough, seen from Kingswear Castle.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th March 2005
 
 
Kingswear Castle at the new passenger pier.
Photo: © Pat Bushell, 10th June 1995.
 
 
Queenborough town, seen from Kingswear Castle.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th March 2005
 
 
 
 
 
 
Settle Speakman Pier Branch
 
A short branch line was built between the Sheerness-Sittingbourne line just south of Queenborough Station to some piers at Hope Reach. Despite the appalling condition of the track in some places, this appears to still be in occasional use, with a brand new section of track opened onto the concrete pier. A pier at this site had been established in 1896, although the branch is not yet shown on 1908 maps. The current concrete pier is later still, probably from 1953 when two large cranes were installed by Settle Speakman. The pier and branch have been used for a variety of traffics over the years, including coal, chalk and steel. Settle Speakman owned small saddle tanks and Aveling & Porter geared locomotives. In later years, ex-BR Class 03 shunters were used. The area around the pier was used for shipbreaking in the 1980s, and for exporting re-rolled steel in the 1990s.
 
 
This 1933 map shows the track layout on the pier and wharves.
 
 
Track looking towards the triangular junction with the Sheerness line.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Poor trackwork along the causeway to the pier - but the tracks still appeared to be in use.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Track along the causeway to the old port.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Track along the causeway to the old port. In 1897, services were transferred to Dover due to storm damage to these exposed tracks.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Track along the causeway to the pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Track along the causeway to the pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Modern wagons recently loaded.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Newly relaid track onto the concrete pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Newly relaid track onto the concrete pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Disel shunter on the branch, seen from Kingswear Castle.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th March 2005
 
 
The Settle Speakman pier, with cranes dating from 1953, seen from the town slipway.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
The Settle Speakman pier, with cranes dating from 1953, seen from the town slipway.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
The Settle Speakman pier, with cranes dating from 1953, seen from the branch line.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
The Settle Speakman concrete pier at Hope Reach.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
The concrete pier at Hope Reach.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Unloading scrap metal from the Tramp, seen from Kingswear Castle.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th March 2005
 
 
Unloading scrap metal from the Tramp, seen from Kingswear Castle.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th March 2005
 
 
Unloading scrap metal from the Tramp, seen from Kingswear Castle.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 26th March 2005
 
 
Ex-MSC (Manchester Ship Canal Company) barges.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2005
 
 
 
 
 
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