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Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
South
Coast of England : Southampton, Bournemouth,
Weymouth & Isle of Wight
The South Coast of
England was to become one of the main areas of excursion steamer
operation in the United Kingdom. With a mild climate, the resorts of
Bournemouth and Weymouth became popular holiday destinations and the
Isle of Wight equally so. Regular ferry services to the Isle of Wight
continue to be provided from the major mainland ports of Southampton
and Portsmouth as well as the small Dorset town of Lymington.
Paddle Steamers and excursion services were effectively discontinued
in the 1960s in favour of point-to-point car ferry operations and the
so-called "Fast Ferries" (hydrofoils), but PS Waverley has, in recent
years, ensured that the area does have approximately two weeks of
traditional sailings in the Autumn of each year.
Railway owned steamers provided the connections from Portsmouth to
Ryde and what was come to be known as the "Red Funnel" fleet served
Cowes from Southampton. Whilst the railway owned steamers offered
excursions, the Red Funnel fleet at Southampton owned a large fleet
of paddlers offering excursions along the south coast including to
Brighton and the Sussex piers and across the English Channel to
France. The Cosens company (latterly as a subsidiary of the Red
Funnel Fleet) operated a large excursion fleet out of Weymouth and
Bournemouth into the mid 1960s.
Southampton was and remains Britain's main port for cruise liners,
and in earlier times, cross-Atlantic passenger services, and vessels
were regularly used to tender (and view) these ships. Portsmouth is
the main base for the British Navy and the frequent assembly of large
parts of the Fleet at Spithead off Portsmouth provided paddlers with
very popular duties sailing amongst the battleships at these naval
Reviews. Smaller paddle steamers also served the short ferry service
from Southampton to Hythe
SOUTHAMPTON - COWES FERRY and CRUISES FROM SOUTHAMPTON, BOURNEMOUTH
and
WEYMOUTH
Southampton,
Isle of Wight & South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Co Ltd
(1861-date)
Antecedents of the above company:
Isle of Wight Royal Mail Steam
Packet Company (1820-1861)
Isle of Wight Steam Packet Company
(1826-1861)
Subsidiaries / Companies taken over
Southampton,
Isle of Wight & Portsmouth Improved Steam Boat Company
(1861-1862-1865)
Bournemouth, Swanage
& Poole Steam Packet Co/Bournemouth and South Coast Steam Packet
Co (1877-1909)
John Tizard (1853-1876)
Cosens & Co.(1876-1966)
Other Operators:
Southsea & Ventnor Steamship Co
Southsea, Ventnor, Sandown & Shanklin Steamboat Co
P and A Campbell (1897-1902)
Herbert Jennings (1961)
Coastal Steamers (Weymouth)
Ltd
Captain Shippick
George Burt : operated excursions out of Swanage (1870-1876) with paddle steamer Heather Bell (1858)
Bibliography
Pleasure
Steamers
By Bernard Cox
Published in 1983 by David & Charles
ISBN 0 7153 8333 7
A survey of pleasure steamers around the England & Wales coast
devotes a chapter to developments on the South
Coast.
Red Funnel and Before - Ships of the
Southampton, Isle of Wight & South of England Royal Mail Steam
Packet Company
By R. B. Adams
Published in 1986 by Kingfisher Railway Productions, 188 Bitterne
Road, Southampton, SO2 4BE
ISBN 0 946184 21 6
History of the fleet latterly known as "Red Funnel" with detailed
vessel histories covering ferries, pleasure steamers, tugs and
tenders.
Cosens of Weymouth 1918-1996
By Richard Clammer
Published in 2001 by Twelveheads Press
ISBN 0-906294-47-9
The definitive history of the later years of the well-known south coast operators by a well-known steamer expert
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Database