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Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
Mersey Estuary
There
are records of ferrymen active on the Mersey Estuary going back to the
12th century. Traffic gradually increased and received a major boost
with the development of Liverpool, on the eastern Lancashire shore as a
major port, which would rise to international importance in the
18th century. Settlements developed along the western shore on the
Wirral, then part of Cheshire and the town of Birkenhead, directly
across from Liverpool, was to develop rapidly after William Laird
moved south from Greenock to establish and iron works in 1824. With his
son he established a shipbuilding company in 1828 which was to
become John Laird, Sons & Co and from 1903, Cammell, Laird & co, a major
name in international shipbuilding for much of the 20th century.
The
first record of a steamship on the River Mersey was in 1815 when the
paddle steamer Elizabeth sailed between Liverpool and Runcorn. The
first regular paddle steamer service between Liverpool and Birkenhead
started in 1822 with the locally-built Royal Mail. The rapid expansion
of industry and population on both sides of the Mersey estuary called
for greater ferry capacity and several private operators entered the
business. A major rationalisation took place in 1861 when the municipal
authorities of Birkenhead and its neighbour to the north Wallasey took
control of services from their town to Liverpool. The Birkenhead ferry
terminal at Woodside remains today as does the nearby Seacombe terminal
which came under Wallasey jurisdiction. Piers existed further north on
the Wirral at Egremont and New Brighton from where Wallasey's ferries
also ran.
From 1862 until 1876 six new passenger
paddlers were introduced on to the Woodside service to augment the
existing fleet before screw steamers became standard. Two further
paddlers did come in to service : Cheshire, built locally in Birkenhead, in 1889 and Birkenhead,
built by J Scott & Co at Kinghorn, Fife, in 1894. In the same
period, sixteen came new to the Wallasey services with the final examples, John Herron and Pansy, also coming from J. Scott & Co in 1895/6.
John
Herron (1896-1919) was sold to the locally-based Cunard Steam Ship Co
and found a future use as a tender to their ocean liners at the port of
Cherbourg as Satellite, serving until 1924
Extant Vessels on Municipal takeover : Woodside
Nun (1841-1868)
Queen (1844-1881, double-ended)
Prince (1844-1881)
Wirral (1846-1889)
Lord Morpeth (1847-1870)
Woodside (1853-1864)
Liverpool (1855-1882)
New Vessels : Municipal Ownership : Woodside
Newport (1862-1864, luggage ferry)
Cheshire (1863-1888)
Woodside (1865-1891)
Lancashire (1865-1891)
Birkenhead (1872-1890)
Claughton (1876-1894)
Cheshire (1889-1894)
Birkenhead (1894-1907)
Extant Vessels on Municipal takeover : Wallasey
Seacombe (1822-1863)
Ramsgate Packet (1853-1866)
Liscard (1858-1861, double-ended) : returned to the service as Gem
New Vessels : Municipal Ownership : Wallasey
May Flower (1862-1884)
Water Lily (1862-1892)
Wild Rose (1862-1883)
Heather Bell (1865-1891)
Seymour (1872-1882)
Swallow (1872-1882)
Gem (1873-1881, double-ended)
Primrose (1879-1906)
Daisy (1879-1911)
Sunflower (1879-1905)
Violet (1884-1901)
Crocus (1884-1909, double-ended luggage ferry )
Snowdrop (1884-1906, double-ended luggage ferry)
Thistle (1891-1911)
Shamrock (1891-1902, luggage ferry)
John Herron (1896-1919)
Pansy (1896-1916)
Acknowledgement : friendsoftheferries.org.uk
Other ferry services did exist on the Mersey estuary :
Eastham Ferry Operated an extensive paddle steamer ferry service until 1929
Independently-owned Mollington. Purchased
by the Davies family of Mollington and operated 1892-1894. Ordered
as a private yacht from John Reid & Co of Port Glasgow and first
launched in 1879, the vessel was available as the original buyer
defaulted. 125.2 ft long, she had a steeple engine built by
Walker, Henderson & Co of Glasgow. The vessel is reported to
have moved to Portugal in 1904 as Guadiana
Tug/Tenders
The
Cunard Steam Ship Co and their predecessors, the British & North
American Royal Mail Steam Packet Co until 1878, operated the tug tender
Satellite (1848-1902) and Jackal (1853-1893, serving at
Queenstown, now Cobh, between 1878 and 1887)
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