I am delighted to have discovered the wonderful Paddlesteamers.info – a must-read for anyone with an interest or affection for these smooth-running, shallow draft vessels.
I developed a liking for them as a kid, when the (now sadly demolished) Lincoln Castle and the Tattershall Castle were working as ferries across the Humber, before the mighty and reliable but rather less interesting bridge was built.
There are pages about paddlesteamers in and out of service around the world, but I’ll include these links to working vessels around the UK: the lovely Kingswear Castle, the little Monarch (to my shame, I didn’t know she was built at Hoo in Kent) and the mighty Waverley.
Great website indeed – but it is somewhat out of date. But as far as I am concerned Tattershall Castle might also have been described as ‘demolished.; Gone are most (all?) of the features that made her a paddle steamer. I see her every day on my way to the Southbank and am saddened that her owner should have been so crass and insensitive to even remove her paddle wheels and boxes. The interior has also been well gutted. Her unique ‘selling points’ have all been well removed.
paddlesteamers.info is my website, so thank you for your kind comments. It is kept up-to-date constantly however with whatever information I get, so if I am missing anything, please let me know ! Regarding Tattershall Castle, she is still recognisably a paddle steamer – much changed of course – so cannot be described as anything other than statically preserved. She would have had much-reduced (and unsustainable) revenue earning potential in her original state, so what remains is better than nothing ….. and at least she is cosy inside! Remarkably her engines remain even if not her wheels. Her sponson areas do remain (just about) but at least have been put to commercial use. It is rare for any ship like this to have a commercial future so we have to be grateful even if we would have liked a more historically accurate ship !