PS ''Kingswear Castle'' is a steamship. She is a coal-fired river

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 ...

, dating from 1924 with engines from 1904. After running summer excursions on the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance ...

and the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

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

Paddle box, Kingswear Castle 28-4-1973 during restoration at Rochester

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 A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

. ''Kingswear Castle'' was chartered to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II, and was used for carrying stores and personnel at Dartmouth. In 1965 ''Kingswear Castle'' was withdrawn from service and became the first purchase of the

Paddle Steamer Preservation Society The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS) is a United Kingdom-based registered charity and owner of two working paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the ...

(PSPS) two years later. She was then taken to the

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 Is ...

and was moored at

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 jus ...

from August 1967 to June 1971. However, due to her deteriorating condition, she was then taken to the

. After various difficulties and a great deal of restoration work she was finally brought into service again in 1985, and was operated by the Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust based at

Chatham Historic Dockyard The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, South East England. Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km²) and was one of the Royal Navy's main facil ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, in association with the PSPS. On 18 December 2012 she returned to the River Dart again, under charter to the Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat Company, to run passenger trips around Dartmouth Harbour and up river to Totnes.

References

External links

Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle TrustPaddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingswear Castle Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Tourist attractions in Devon 1924 ships Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet

History

See also

References

External links