PS Monarch
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PS Monarch
PS ''Monarch'' is one of the three active paddle steamers in the United Kingdom. Construction started in 1984 and it was launched in 1994, although the steam plant originated as a 19th-century tar pump from Caerphilly gas works. At only 42 feet long, 8 feet wide and with a capacity for only 12 passengers, she is the world's smallest commercial paddle steamer. The Monarch was designed and built by Brian Waters, who was a key volunteer in finally restoring the paddle steamer Kingswear Castle. It was a dream of his to construct his own paddle steamer from scratch. Construction was originally started in 1984, but it took him almost twenty years before she was finally finished, entering commercial service in 2003. The PS Monarch was based at Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight for three seasons from 2008 until 2010, offering excursions in the River Medina. The vessel now operates from Wareham on the River Frome, Dorset The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of ...
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The Quay Arts
The Quay Arts Centre is located at the head of the River Medina, in Newport in the centre of the Isle of Wight. It is the island's leading art gallery and venue for live events. The complex features three art galleries, a crafts shop, a 134 capacity theatre, conferencing facilities and a cafe and was fully refurbished in 1997 by architect Tony Fretton. The Quay Arts owns and operates Jubilee Stores, also located on Newport Quay. History The Quay Arts was first proposed in 1974 by a painter Anne Lewington and graphic designer Nigel Lewington, who proposed the idea of a building to house an arts centre for the island. Disused brewery warehouses on the Quay side at Newport Harbour were first identified as a suitable site, and is the location of the Quay Arts Centre today. In 1976 the buildings were sold to the Isle of Wight Council for £14,000. Since the centre opened in 1982 flooding has been a recurring problem to facilities on the ground floor, and in 1993 a flood wall ...
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Newport, Isle Of Wight
Newport is the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island county off the south coast of England. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, and is in the civil parish of Newport and Carisbrooke. It has a quay at the head of the navigable section of the River Medina, which flows northwards to Cowes and the Solent. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 26,109. History Mousterian remains, featuring tools made by Neanderthals at least 40,000 years ago, were found at Great Pan Farm in the 1970s. There are signs of Roman settlement in the area, which was probably known as ''Medina''. They include two known Roman villas, one of which, Newport Roman Villa, has been excavated and opened to the public. Information on the area resumes after the Norman Conquest. The first charter was granted in the late 12th century. In 1377 an invading French force burnt down much of the town while attempting to take Carisbrooke Castle, then under the command of Sir Hugh Tyrill. A gro ...
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ...
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Paddle Steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans. In the early 19th century, paddle wheels were the predominant way of propulsion for steam-powered boats. In the late 19th century, paddle propulsion was largely superseded by the screw propeller and other marine propulsion systems that have a higher efficiency, especially in rough or open water. Paddle wheels continue to be used by small, pedal-powered paddle boats and by some ships that operate tourist voyages. The latter are often powered by diesel engines. Paddle wheels The paddle wheel is a large steel framework wheel. The outer edge of the wheel is fitted with numerous, regularly spaced paddle blades (called floats or buckets). The bottom quarter or so of the wheel travels under water. An e ...
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PS Kingswear Castle
PS ''Kingswear Castle'' is a steamship. She is a coal-fired river paddle steamer, dating from 1924 with engines from 1904. After running summer excursions on the River Medway and the Thames for many years she returned to the River Dart in Devon in December 2012 to run excursions from 2013 onwards on the river she was built on and for. ''Kingswear Castle'' is listed as part of the National Historic Fleet of ships of "Pre-eminent National Significance". History The ''Kingswear Castle'' was built by Philip & Sons of Dartmouth in 1924 for service on the River Dart, following sister ships ''Compton Castle'' and ''Totnes Castle'', and was operated by the River Dart Steamboat Co. Her predecessor of the same name from 1904 is now a rotted and barely recognisable hulk in the River Dart, but the engines were re-used in the current steamboat. ''Kingswear Castle'' was chartered to the United States Navy during World War II, and was used for carrying stores and personnel at Dartmouth. In ...
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Island Harbour Marina
Island Harbour Marina, on the Isle of Wight, UK, is a commercial marina on the River Medina in the small hamlet of Binfield. It is located approximately halfway between Cowes and the County Town of Newport. Visiting yachtsmen will find it just past the Folly Inn on the East bank. Being a relatively small marina, it best suits pleasure craft of up to 20 metres in length. The marina accommodates both annual berthholders and short-term visiting craft. As the River Medina is tidal, the marina has lock gates to maintain a sufficient operational depth. It also means that access to the marina by boat is dependent on the state of the tide and the draught of the vessel concerned. A table showing the approximate access times is shown below. Island Harbour Marina was built in 1966 on the site of a demolished water mill, with the main part of the marina being formed by enlarging the original millponds. The marina's creators and first owners were cousins Alan and Colin Ridett, together wit ...
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Isle Of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of Wight has resorts that have been popular holiday destinations since Victorian times. It is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland and chines. The island is historically part of Hampshire, and is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The island has been home to the poets Algernon Charles Swinburne and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Queen Victoria built her summer residence and final home, Osborne House at East Cowes, on the Isle. It has a maritime and industrial tradition of boat-building, sail-making, the manufacture of flying boats, hovercraft, and Britain's space rockets. The island hosts annual music festivals, including the Isle of Wight Festival, which in 1970 was the largest rock music ...
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River Medina
The River Medina is the main river of the Isle of Wight, England, rising at St Catherine's Down near Chale, and flowing northwards through the county town Newport, towards the Solent at Cowes. The river is a navigable tidal estuary from Newport northwards, where it takes the form of a ria (a drowned valley). This occurred because the Medina used to be a tributary of what was once the "River Solent", with a larger catchment area. As the Solent valley flooded, the river received less water and more sediment, causing it to become more tidal. The river is bridged at Newport. Cowes is connected to East Cowes by a chain ferry known as the Cowes Floating Bridge. The river also has several small ferries which cater mainly for sailors. The name ''Medina'' comes from the Old English ' meaning "the middle one", and the current pronunciation was first recorded as 'Medine' in 1196. The river's only named tributary is Lukely Brook. The navigation of the river was improved in the nineteent ...
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River Frome, Dorset
The River Frome is a river in Dorset in the south of England. At 30 miles (48 km) long it is the major chalkstream in southwest England. It is navigable upstream from Poole Harbour as far as the town of Wareham. Geography The river rises in the Dorset Downs at Evershot, passes through Maiden Newton, Dorchester, West Stafford and Woodsford. At Wareham it and the parallel River Piddle flow into Poole Harbour via the Wareham Channel. The catchment area is , approximately one sixth of the county. East of Dorchester the river runs over sands, clays and gravels which overlie the chalk; as the valley gradient is gentle the Frome has deposited much sediment here and thus created a broad floodplain. Historically this contained marshes and gave the name to the Durotriges, ''water dwellers'', the Brittonic Celtic tribe who inhabited Dorset. The river forms a wide, shallow ria at its estuary, Poole Harbour. Prior to the end of the last ice age, the Purbeck Hills were continuou ...
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Paddle Steamers Of The United Kingdom
A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by pushing water in a direction opposite to the direction of travel (i.e. paddling). It is different to an oar (which is similar in shape and performs the same function via rowing) in that the latter is attached to the watercraft via a fulcrum. However, the term "paddle" can also be used to describe objects of similar shapes or functions: *A rotating set of paddle boards known as a paddle wheel is used to propel a steamboat (i.e. paddle steamer). *A number of games (e.g. ping-pong), a "paddle" or "bat" is a small racket used to strike a ball. *A mixing paddle is an agitator device used to stir and more thoroughly mix separate ingredients within a mixture. *A spanking paddle is used in corporal punishment, typically to forcefull ...
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