''William Fawcett'' was the name of two
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 wer ...
s that operated in British waters from the late 1820s into the mid-1840s. The first ship, built in 1828, is generally recognized as the first ship in the service of what became the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O).
1828 ship
In 1828,
William Fawcett William or Bill Fawcett or ''variation'', may refer to:
People
* William Fawcett (actor) (1894–1974), American actor who was awarded the ''Légion d'honneur''
* William Fawcett (author) (1902–1941), English journalist and writer on horses, hun ...
of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and Joseph Robinson Pim of
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
commissioned the construction of a paddle steamer named ''William Fawcett''. The ship was built by Caleb and James Smith at the
Queen's Dock, Port of Liverpool
Queen's Dock is a dock on the River Mersey and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Wapping Dock to the north and Coburg Dock to the south.
History
The dock was designed by Henry Berry and op ...
. As built, the ship was long, with a cargo capacity of 185
tons. In 1835 the ship's length was given as , with a
gross register tonnage of 206. The firm of Fawcett, Preston and Company, of which William Fawcett was part-owner and manager, provided the steam engines, rated at 130
horsepower
Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are the ...
, for the ship. The ship was employed in the
packet trade
Generally, packet trade is any regularly scheduled cargo, passenger and mail trade conducted by ship. The ships are called "packet boats" as their original function was to carry mail.
A "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post ...
between
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
and Dublin. The ship was sold to Richard Bourne and associates in 1832 for service with the Dublin and London Steam Packet Company.
In 1835 Bourne partnered with
Brodie McGhie Willcox
Brodie McGhie Willcox (1786–1862) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP) and the co-founder of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, one of the United Kingdom's largest shipping businesses.
Career
Having established himself ...
and
Arthur Anderson to charter the ''William Fawcett'' for five voyages between London and the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. This service is regarded as the beginning of the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company, which later became the P&O. The first four trips of the ''William Fawcett'' for the Peninsular company in 1835 turned around at Lisbon. The fifth trip reached
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. In 1837 and again in early 1838, the ship was chartered by the Peninsular company for a trip from London to northern Spain and return. The ship was refitted later in 1838, and afterwards chartered by the Peninsular company for two trips between London and
Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
. The ''William Fawcett'' had been
broken up
Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...
by April 1845.
[
]
1829 ship
The second ''William Fawcett'' was a paddle steamer built in 1829 in Liverpool by Mottershead and Hayes. It was long, with a capacity of 48 tons. It had a 26 (or 30) horsepower engine supplied by Fawcett, Preston and Company. The ship worked as a ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
between Liverpool and Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
for at least twenty years.
Notes
{{reflist
P&O (company)
Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom
Mersey Ferries