Woolwich Steam Packet Company
Encyclopedia
The Woolwich Steam Packet Company (later London Steamboat Company), operated between 1834 and 1888 and offered steamer services from central London
to Woolwich
and later to the Kent
, Essex
and Suffolk
. One of its ships, the sank after a collision near Woolwich with the loss of almost 700 lives in the greatest disaster in the history of British coastal cruising.
to Woolwich
and along the coasts along the Thames Estuary
. These were later extended to Kent
and southern Essex
; subsequently a London
to Ipswich
packet service which inaugurated calls at Clacton in 1871.
The company amalgamated with several smaller concerns, including the Watermen's Steam Packet Company, in 1876 to form the London Steamboat Company, which was the dominant force in the Thames estuary excursion business at that time.
1878 saw the greatest disaster in the history of British coastal cruising when sank after a collision near Woolwich with the loss of almost 700 lives.
The Thames and Channel Steamship Co are understood to have been a closely associated company who sold their two steamers Vale of Clwyd and Glen Rosa to the London Steamboat Co in 1883.
The company struggled financially and was put up for sale at the end of 1884, becoming the River Thames Steamboat Company, which operated for three years. Their vessels were taken over by the Victoria Steamboat Association in time for the 1888 season.
Built in 1862 at Glasgow
Dimensions : 171.6 ft x 18.5 ft
165 Gross Registered Tonnes
Operated a packet service from London to Ipswich for the Woolwich Steam Packet Company
Inaugurated the new Clacton Pier
on July 18, 1871. Renamed PS Fairy Queen. Withdrawn in 1891
Queen of the Thames
Built in 1861 at Woolwich
, London
Dimensions : 158 ft x 19 ft
143 Gross Registered Tonnes
Operated a packet service from London to Ipswich for the Woolwich Steam Packet Company, scrapped in 1889.
Duke of Connaught
Built in 1866 by R Duncan & Co
Dimensions : 150 ft x 16.2 ft, lengthened to 159 ft in 1875
Engines: Oscillating, 2 cylinder 28 x 36 in by Rankin & Blackmore
127 Gross Registered Tonnes (after lengthening)
Built for the new Gareloch service from Greenock
, but sold to the Campbell family in 1869. Placed on the Glasgow
to Dumbarton run, with an afternoon cruise to the Gareloch. Sold after the 1875 season by Keith & Campbell to the London Steamboat Company with three other ex-Greenock & Helensburgh vessels. Scrapped in 1888 when taken over by the Victoria Steamboat Association.
Duke of Cambridge
Built in 1866 by L Hill & Co, Port Glasgow
Dimensions : 150.8 ft x 16.1 ft
Engines: Oscillating, 2 cylinder 28 x 36 in by Rankin & Blackmore
92 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for the new Gareloch service from Greenock, but sold to Keith & Campbell in 1871 after the dissolution the Greenock company. Sold after the 1875 season by Keith & Campbell to the London Steamboat Company with three other ex-Greenock & Helensburgh vessels. Survived on the Thames until approximately 1898.
Duke of Teck
Built in 1866 by Kirkpatrick, McIntyre & Co, Port Glasgow
Dimensions : 150.2 ft x 16.2 ft
Engines: Oscillating, 2 cylinder 28 x 36 in by Rankin & Blackmore
93 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for the new Gareloch service from Greenock, but sold to Keith & Campbell in 1871 after the dissolution the Greenock company. Sold after the 1875 season by Keith & Campbell to the London Steamboat Company with three other ex-Greenock & Helensburgh vessels. Survived on the Thames until approx. 1889
Duke of Edinburgh
Built in 1870 by R Duncan & Co, Port Glasgow
Dimensions : 175 ft x 17.1 ft
Engines: Oscillating, 2 cylinder 28 x 36 in by Rankin & Blackmore
123 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for the new Gareloch service from Greenock, but sold to Keith & Campbell in 1871 after the dissolution the Greenock company. Sold after the 1875 season by Keith & Campbell to the London Steamboat Company with three other ex-Greenock & Helensburgh vessels. Survived on the Thames until approximately 1898.
Alexandra
Built in 1865 at Port Glasgow
Dimensions : 230.5 ft x 22.2 ft
279 Gross Registered Tonnes
Scrapped after being wrecked without loss of life near London Bridge in September 1889.
Built in 1865 by Caird & Co
Engines : 2 cylinder oscillating, 44 in x 45 in. 2 haystack boilers
Dimensions : 219.4 ft x 20.2 ft
Built as PS Bute for the failed Wemyss Bay company which provided steamer connections to a new railhead in the 1865 season. Sold for service on the Thames in 1866 by the Watermans Company, eventually becoming part of the London Steamboat Co., renamed Princess Alice. Had a successful career on the Thames excursion trade from London until sinking with the loss of almost 700 lives on September 3, 1878.
Albert Edward
Built in 1865 by Caird & Co
Engines : 2 cylinder oscillating, 44 in x 45 in. 2 haystack boilers
Dimensions : 219.4 ft x 20.2 ft
Built for the failed Wemyss Bay company which provided steamer connections to a new railhead in the 1865 season. Sold for service on the Thames in 1866 by the Watermans Company, eventually becoming part of the London Steamboat Co. Had a successful career on the Thames until scrapped in 1888 after passing into the control of the Victoria Steamboat Association
Vale of Clwyd
Built in 1865 by T B Seath & Co at Rutherglen
Engines : 2 cylinder simple, steeple & diagonal 16 and 49 in x 48 in, single crank by A Campbell
Dimensions : 186.5 ft x 18.1 ft
Built for service on the North Wales coast but taken into the Seath & Steele fleet on the Clyde in 1866. Operated summer excursions to Ayr
. Reboilered in 1869 and 1876. Sold to the Thames & Channel Steamship Company in 1881 and on to the London Steamboat Company in 1883. Scrapped in 1888 after her owners were taken over by the Victoria Steamboat Association.
Glen Rosa
Built in 1877 by Caird & Co
Engines : Simple diagonal 50 x 72 in by Rowan
Dimensions : 206.1 ft x 20 ft
223 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for service on the Clyde by the Shearer Brothers, for whom she sailed for four seasons on the Arran
trade. Sold in 1881 to the Thames and Channel Steamship Company. Sailed along the Kent
and East Anglian coasts and frequently visited the French
ports of Calais
, Boulogne
and Dunkerque. Despite a reputation for unreliability, she was purchased in 1883 by the London Steamboat Company. Financial problems led to the London Company putting its assets up for sale - they passed to the River Thames Steamboat Company. The River Thames company struggled financially itself and its fleet passed to the new Victoria Steamboat Association in 1888. Spent the 1892 season on charter to the Hastings
, St Leonards-on-Sea
and Eastbourne
Steamboat Company on the South Coast. Inaugurated new service from Great Yarmouth
to Harwich
in 1893, connecting with Victoria's service from London by PS Koh-i-Noor. Stationed at Rochester on the Medway
for the 1895 season as company finances had required a fleet retrenchment. At the end of the 1896 season, the fleet was sold off and Glen Rosa was bought by Captain Alexander Campbell. Transferred to P and A Campbell ownership in 1898 and stationed on the South Coast. Stationed at Brighton
from 1903 to 1912. New funnel and round ports fitted in 1911, Laid up at Bristol in 1914 but reactivated for the Cardiff-Weston ferry in 1915 and 1916. Requisitioned for minesweeping duty in 1917, serving at Portland, Swansea and on the Thames. Returned to Bristol in May 1919, but laid up as reconditioning was not judged economical. Broken up by Pugsley at Bristol in 1921.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
and later to the Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. One of its ships, the sank after a collision near Woolwich with the loss of almost 700 lives in the greatest disaster in the history of British coastal cruising.
History
The company was established in 1834 with services from central LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
and along the coasts along the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
. These were later extended to Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and southern Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
; subsequently a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
packet service which inaugurated calls at Clacton in 1871.
The company amalgamated with several smaller concerns, including the Watermen's Steam Packet Company, in 1876 to form the London Steamboat Company, which was the dominant force in the Thames estuary excursion business at that time.
1878 saw the greatest disaster in the history of British coastal cruising when sank after a collision near Woolwich with the loss of almost 700 lives.
The Thames and Channel Steamship Co are understood to have been a closely associated company who sold their two steamers Vale of Clwyd and Glen Rosa to the London Steamboat Co in 1883.
The company struggled financially and was put up for sale at the end of 1884, becoming the River Thames Steamboat Company, which operated for three years. Their vessels were taken over by the Victoria Steamboat Association in time for the 1888 season.
Main Excursion Vessels
Queen of the OrwellBuilt in 1862 at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Dimensions : 171.6 ft x 18.5 ft
165 Gross Registered Tonnes
Operated a packet service from London to Ipswich for the Woolwich Steam Packet Company
Inaugurated the new Clacton Pier
Clacton Pier
-Development:Officially the first building of the new resort of Clacton-on-Sea, the pier was officially opened on 27 July 1871, as a wooden structure in length and wide...
on July 18, 1871. Renamed PS Fairy Queen. Withdrawn in 1891
Queen of the Thames
Built in 1861 at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Dimensions : 158 ft x 19 ft
143 Gross Registered Tonnes
Operated a packet service from London to Ipswich for the Woolwich Steam Packet Company, scrapped in 1889.
Duke of Connaught
Built in 1866 by R Duncan & Co
Dimensions : 150 ft x 16.2 ft, lengthened to 159 ft in 1875
Engines: Oscillating, 2 cylinder 28 x 36 in by Rankin & Blackmore
127 Gross Registered Tonnes (after lengthening)
Built for the new Gareloch service from Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
, but sold to the Campbell family in 1869. Placed on the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to Dumbarton run, with an afternoon cruise to the Gareloch. Sold after the 1875 season by Keith & Campbell to the London Steamboat Company with three other ex-Greenock & Helensburgh vessels. Scrapped in 1888 when taken over by the Victoria Steamboat Association.
Duke of Cambridge
Built in 1866 by L Hill & Co, Port Glasgow
Dimensions : 150.8 ft x 16.1 ft
Engines: Oscillating, 2 cylinder 28 x 36 in by Rankin & Blackmore
92 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for the new Gareloch service from Greenock, but sold to Keith & Campbell in 1871 after the dissolution the Greenock company. Sold after the 1875 season by Keith & Campbell to the London Steamboat Company with three other ex-Greenock & Helensburgh vessels. Survived on the Thames until approximately 1898.
Duke of Teck
Built in 1866 by Kirkpatrick, McIntyre & Co, Port Glasgow
Dimensions : 150.2 ft x 16.2 ft
Engines: Oscillating, 2 cylinder 28 x 36 in by Rankin & Blackmore
93 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for the new Gareloch service from Greenock, but sold to Keith & Campbell in 1871 after the dissolution the Greenock company. Sold after the 1875 season by Keith & Campbell to the London Steamboat Company with three other ex-Greenock & Helensburgh vessels. Survived on the Thames until approx. 1889
Duke of Edinburgh
Built in 1870 by R Duncan & Co, Port Glasgow
Dimensions : 175 ft x 17.1 ft
Engines: Oscillating, 2 cylinder 28 x 36 in by Rankin & Blackmore
123 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for the new Gareloch service from Greenock, but sold to Keith & Campbell in 1871 after the dissolution the Greenock company. Sold after the 1875 season by Keith & Campbell to the London Steamboat Company with three other ex-Greenock & Helensburgh vessels. Survived on the Thames until approximately 1898.
Alexandra
Built in 1865 at Port Glasgow
Dimensions : 230.5 ft x 22.2 ft
279 Gross Registered Tonnes
Scrapped after being wrecked without loss of life near London Bridge in September 1889.
Built in 1865 by Caird & Co
Engines : 2 cylinder oscillating, 44 in x 45 in. 2 haystack boilers
Dimensions : 219.4 ft x 20.2 ft
Built as PS Bute for the failed Wemyss Bay company which provided steamer connections to a new railhead in the 1865 season. Sold for service on the Thames in 1866 by the Watermans Company, eventually becoming part of the London Steamboat Co., renamed Princess Alice. Had a successful career on the Thames excursion trade from London until sinking with the loss of almost 700 lives on September 3, 1878.
Albert Edward
Built in 1865 by Caird & Co
Engines : 2 cylinder oscillating, 44 in x 45 in. 2 haystack boilers
Dimensions : 219.4 ft x 20.2 ft
Built for the failed Wemyss Bay company which provided steamer connections to a new railhead in the 1865 season. Sold for service on the Thames in 1866 by the Watermans Company, eventually becoming part of the London Steamboat Co. Had a successful career on the Thames until scrapped in 1888 after passing into the control of the Victoria Steamboat Association
Vale of Clwyd
Built in 1865 by T B Seath & Co at Rutherglen
Engines : 2 cylinder simple, steeple & diagonal 16 and 49 in x 48 in, single crank by A Campbell
Dimensions : 186.5 ft x 18.1 ft
Built for service on the North Wales coast but taken into the Seath & Steele fleet on the Clyde in 1866. Operated summer excursions to Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
. Reboilered in 1869 and 1876. Sold to the Thames & Channel Steamship Company in 1881 and on to the London Steamboat Company in 1883. Scrapped in 1888 after her owners were taken over by the Victoria Steamboat Association.
Glen Rosa
Built in 1877 by Caird & Co
Engines : Simple diagonal 50 x 72 in by Rowan
Dimensions : 206.1 ft x 20 ft
223 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for service on the Clyde by the Shearer Brothers, for whom she sailed for four seasons on the Arran
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...
trade. Sold in 1881 to the Thames and Channel Steamship Company. Sailed along the Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and East Anglian coasts and frequently visited the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
ports of Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
and Dunkerque. Despite a reputation for unreliability, she was purchased in 1883 by the London Steamboat Company. Financial problems led to the London Company putting its assets up for sale - they passed to the River Thames Steamboat Company. The River Thames company struggled financially itself and its fleet passed to the new Victoria Steamboat Association in 1888. Spent the 1892 season on charter to the Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
and Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
Steamboat Company on the South Coast. Inaugurated new service from Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
to Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
in 1893, connecting with Victoria's service from London by PS Koh-i-Noor. Stationed at Rochester on the Medway
Medway
Medway is a conurbation and unitary authority in South East England. The Unitary Authority was formed in 1998 when the City of Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with Gillingham Borough Council and part of Kent County Council to form Medway Council, a unitary authority independent of Kent County...
for the 1895 season as company finances had required a fleet retrenchment. At the end of the 1896 season, the fleet was sold off and Glen Rosa was bought by Captain Alexander Campbell. Transferred to P and A Campbell ownership in 1898 and stationed on the South Coast. Stationed at Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
from 1903 to 1912. New funnel and round ports fitted in 1911, Laid up at Bristol in 1914 but reactivated for the Cardiff-Weston ferry in 1915 and 1916. Requisitioned for minesweeping duty in 1917, serving at Portland, Swansea and on the Thames. Returned to Bristol in May 1919, but laid up as reconditioning was not judged economical. Broken up by Pugsley at Bristol in 1921.