This page is devoted to
postcards and photographs of the excursion ships and ferries
of the River Thames company Joseph Mears, whose business passed
to Thames Launches in 1947. Page 2 shows
Joseph Mears and Thames Launches publicity
Joseph Theophilus .'JT'
Mears (1871-1935), was an English businessman, most notable for
co-founding Chelsea Football Club. He was born in 1871 in Hammersmith,
London, the elder son of Joseph Mears, a builder. In 1896, Mears and his
brother Gus purchased the Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground and went on
to found Chelsea Football Club in 1905. Though he was never chairman,
Joseph was the 'dominant influence' at the club after the death of his
brother in 1912 with his son, Joe, and grandson, Brian, both later
serving as chairman of the football club.
In addition to has river
operations detailed below, he formed Joseph Mears Cinemas Ltd which
built up a group of cinemas around the Richmond area. He was Mayor of
Richmond from 1931 to 1932. He died in October 1935 and is buried in
Richmond Cemetery in London. Mears left an estimated fortune of £30m.
Joseph Mears was one of
the main operators on the Thames up from 1907 until the Second World War.
In 1907, he acquired the business of the Thames Electric &
Motor Launch Co at Eel Pie Island. His headquarters were at Richmond
and he set about building up the largest fleet of passenger launches
on the Thames. Boats acquired included The Victory, Halcian
and England, which he put into service between
Westminster and Hampton Court in competition with the large paddle
steamer Queen
Elizabeth (2)
(which he later acquired in 1913). In 1908, Joseph Mears bought
the first of nine large launches built for him by Salter Brothers, the
Viscount of 106ft and 395 passengers. She was one of the
largest launches of the middle Thames when built. In 1911, Joseph
Mears had the similarly-sized
Connaught built, also by
Salter
Brothers. She had
a steel hull and tunnel stern (developed to protect the screw
from weeds and other obstruction). In 1913, Mears bought the
large paddle steamer
Queen
Elizabeth (2),
which was kept until 1917, and the
Duke of York from Harry Tagg. In the same year, the Viking
was added to the fleet, and the
Royalty was ordered from
Salter Brothers. In the spring of 1914, the
Princess Beatrice was purchased from Harry Tagg. Hurlingham and
Kingwood arrived from
Salters yard in 1915. His Majesty was purchased from Bonds of Maidenhead
in 1917.
In 1919, Joseph Mears
formed his business into Joseph Mears Launches & Motors Ltd,
and acquired a garage in Richmond, along with several motor coaches.
He added another Salters-built steamer in 1923, the Marchioness. He also acquired his first internal
combustion powered vessel, the open boat
Mutt, used on the Westminster-London Bridge route.
She was soon joined by
Jeff.
Salters delivered
Queen
Elizabeth (3)
and Abercorn in 1924 and 1925. The last tunnel-stern
steamer built by
Salters for Mears, the Viscountess, was delivered in 1926.
The
Salters boats built for Mears were the Viscount (1908),
Connaught (1911),
Royalty (1913),
Hurlingham (1915),
Kingwood (1915),
Marchioness (1923),
Queen
Elizabeth (3)
(1924), Abercorn (1925) and
Viscountess (1926). All remain in service in 2006, except
the Marchioness, which was lost in an accident in 1989, and Abercorn which suffered a major fire in
2005 whilst at her moorings.
Joseph Mears died in 1935.
39 different boats had been registered in his name since 1907,
and the fleet had consisted of a maximum of 28 boats between
1933-35. The company continued until 1945, when it passed to
a newly-formed company, Thames Launches Ltd, with a transferred
fleet of 19 launches. In 1948 the fleet was:-
Thames Launches Steam
Boats in 1948
Abercorn (1925: 110 ft - 92 gross tons),
Connaught (1911: 106 ft - 78 gross tons),
Kingwood (1915: 101 ft - 79 gross tons),
Queen Elizabeth
(3) (1924:
110 ft - 91 gross tons),
The
King (1902:
81 ft - 50 gross tons),
Viscount (1908: 101 ft - 69 gross tons)
Thames Launches Large
Motor Boats in 1948
His Majesty (1896: 84 ft - 53 gross tons),
Hurlingham (1915: 101 ft - 79 gross tons), Marchioness (1923: 85 ft - 46 gross tons),
Princess
Beatrice (1896:
75 ft - 52 gross tons),
Princess
Mary (1912:
60 ft - 25 gross tons - later
Putney),
Royalty (1913: 101 ft - 79 gross tons),
Viscountess (1926: 110 ft - 83 gross tons)
Thames Launches Small
Motor Boats in 1948
Jeff (1926: 40 ft - 7 gross tons),
Kingston (?: 42 ft - ? gross tons),
Mutt (1926: 40 ft - 7 gross tons), Twickenham (?: 36 ft - 6 gross tons)
All of the large motor
boats in the 1948 fleet had been converted from steam to diesel
between 1945-48. The remaining steam vessels followed suit soon
afterwards.
In 1958 the Thames Launches
fleet consisted of:-
Abercorn (1925), Cardinal Wolsey,
Connaught (1911),
Hurlingham (1915),
His
Majesty (1906),
Kingwood (1915),
The King (1902),
Marchioness (1923), Petersham (1913),
Princess
Beatrice (1896),
Princess Marina (1928),
Queen Elizabeth (3) (1924),
Royalty (1911),
Viscount (1908) and
Viscountess (1926).
In the early 1960s, Thames
Launches experimented with hovercraft services on the Thames,
using a Denny
D2 carrying 88
passengers.
By 1977, the Thames Launches
fleet had declined to
Hurlingham (1915),
Marchioness (1923),
Queen
Elizabeth (3)
(1924), Royal
Princess (1935),
Vesta (1956) and
Viscountess (1926). Most of this fleet passed
to
Tidal
Cruisers which later became Thames Cruises, the last vessel to be transferred
being Royal
Princess (1935)
in 1984. In 1985 the Tideway was listed as the sole boat in the Thames
Launches fleet.
The following is an attempt
to list all vessels owned by Joseph Mears and/or Thames Launches
based on the fleet lists in Frank L.Dix and other sources. I
am working to find images of the vessels not in bold type.
Ships on this Page:-
Abercorn - Joseph Mears (1925-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1976), Catamaran
Cruisers
- built: 1925
Balmoral - Joseph Mears (1917-1940) - built:
1892
Brunel - Thames Launches (1969-1975) - built:
1969
Cardinal Wolsey
- Thames
Launches
(1951-1956) - built: 1969
Cliveden (1)
- Joseph
Mears
(1915) - built: 1892
Connaught - Joseph Mears (1911-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1959),
Colliers
Launches
- built: 1911
Day Dream -
Joseph
Mears
(1914-1921) - built: 1898
Denny
D2-002 Hovercraft
- Thames
Launches
Diamond Queen
- Joseph
Mears
(1916-1921) - built: 1897
Duchess of Kent
- Joseph
Mears
(1930-1939) - built: 1893
Duke
of York
- Joseph
Mears
(1914-1941) - built: 1894
England - Joseph Mears (1905-1914) - built:
1900
Fordson - Thames Launches (1968-1977) - built:
1949
Formosa - Joseph Mears (1930-1941) - built:
c.1882
Halcian - Joseph Mears (1907-1939) - built:
1907 - later Kingston
His Majesty - Joseph Mears (1917-1945), Thames Launches (1946-1966) - built:
1906)
Hurlingham - Joseph Mears (1915-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1977), Tidal
Cruisers,
Thames
Cruises
- built: 1915
Jeff - Joseph Mears, Thames Launches - built: 1923
Kingston - Thames Launches (1947-1951) - built:
1907 - ex-Halcian
Kingstonian - Joseph Mears (1930) - ex-La Marguerite - built: 1903
Kingwood - Joseph Mears (1915-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1976),
King
Cruises
- built: 1915
La
Burgoine
- Joseph
Mears
(1910-1913) - built: 1902
Lady Emily -
Joseph
Mears
(1911-1912) - built: c.1890
Marchioness - Joseph Mears (1923-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1977) - built:
1923
Margherita -
Joseph
Mears
(1927-1940) - built: 1922
Marion - Joseph Mears (1922-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1952) - built:
1922
Merrie Thames
- Joseph
Mears
(1917-1924) - built: 1890
Mutt - Joseph Mears (1922-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1952) - built:
1922
Oleander - Thames Launches (1965-1969) - built:
1937 - ex-Titlark II
Petersham -
Thames
Launches
(1950-1969) - built: 1913
Prefect - Thames Launches (1973-1975) - built:
1949
Princess
Beatrice
-
H.G.Tagg, Joseph Mears (1914-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1964) - built:
1896
Princess Marina
- Thames
Launches
(1952-1965) - built: 1928
Princess
Mary
- Joseph
Mears
(1926-1946),
Thames
Launches
(1947-1951) - built: 1912 - later
Putney
Putney
(1) -
Joseph
Mears
(19??-19??) - built: 1913
Putney
(2) -
Thames
Launches
(1953-1954) - built: 1912 - ex-Princess Mary
Queen
Elizabeth (2)
- Joseph
Mears
(1913-1917) - built: 1895
Queen
Elizabeth (3)
- Joseph
Mears
(1925-1946),
Thames
Launches
(1947-1977),
Colliers
Launches
- built: 1924
Queen May -
Joseph
Mears
(1910-1915) - built: c.1891
Richmond
Belle
- Joseph
Mears
(1907-1946),
Thames
Launches
(1947) - built: c.1896
Royal
Princess
- Thames
Launches
(1984-c.1998) - built: 1935
Royal Swan -
Thames
Launches
(1961) - built: 1921
Royal Thames
- Joseph
Mears
(1916-1946) - built: c.1896
Royalty - Joseph Mears (1913-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1976), Wheeler Launches, Absolute
Pleasure Boats
- built: 1913
Sovereign -
Joseph
Mears
(1933-1946),
Thames
Launches
(1947-1949) - built: 1903
The Countess
- Joseph
Mears
(1930-1934) - built: 1889
The
King
-
H.G.Tagg, Joseph Mears (1916-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1977) - built:
1902
The Victory
- Joseph
Mears
(1907-1913) - built: c.1905
Tideway - Thames Launches (1985) - built: 1973
Twickenham - Thames Launches (1948-1961) - built:
1942
Vesta - Thames Launches - built: 1956
Vigilant - Joseph Mears (1913-1915) - built:
c.1890
Viking - Joseph Mears (1912-19??) - built:
c.1905
Viceroy - Gosport Ferry (1902-1929), Thames Launches (1965-1970), Catamaran
Cruisers
(1971-1981) - built: 1902
Viscount - Joseph Mears (1908-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1970), Thompson
Launches,
Campion
Launches
- built: 1908
Viscountess - Joseph Mears (1926-1946), Thames Launches (1947-1976), Catamaran
Cruisers
(1977-1981),
Tidal
Cruisers,
Thames
Cruises
- built 1926
Wincomblee -
Thames
Launches
(1955-1959) - built: 1920
Yarmouth
Belle
- Thames
Launches
- built: 1892
Zodiac - Thames Launches (1978-1979) - built:
1950
Thames Passenger Boat Pages:-
River
Thames Header Page - other operators
Salter
Brothers
Associated Pages:-
Ferry
Postcards
Cruise
Ship Postcards
Ocean
Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards
Home Page
References:-
Royal River
Highway: Written
by Frank L. Dix - published David & Charles 1984
Trip Out Guides
-
Written and published by G.P.Hamer - various editions from 1977
to 2005 consulted
Trip Out Guides
are available from Geoffrey Hamer, PO Box 485, Southall, UB1
9BH
Search Simplon Postcards
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Table
of Individual Boat Pages
Joseph Mears
Thames
Launches
England
(built:
1900)
The England was
one of the earlier boats acquired by Joseph Mears. She was built
in 1900 in Reading for A.J.Bona, also of Reading. Between 1905-1914
she served with Joseph Mears. The card below was posted in 1908.
The steamer on the right is The King.
Postcard
of England (left) and The King at Richmond in Joseph Mears service.
Click to open larger
image in new window
Joseph
Mears brochure image of England
Click to open larger
image in new window
Richmond Belle
(J.Mears:
1907-1946 - built: 1907)
Joseph Mears (1907-1946),
Thames Launches (1947) - built: c.1896
Joseph
Mears brochure image of Richmond Belle
Click to open larger
image in new window
Joseph
Mears brochure image of Richmaond Belle
Scan:
Howard Webb
Click to open larger
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Unidentified Joseph Mears
launch at Richmond Bridge c1915, which looks similar to Richmond
Belle.
If you
can help please: Contact Simplon - Scan: Howard Webb
Click to open larger
image in new window
Viscount
(J.Mears:
1908-1946 - built: 1908)
In 1908, Joseph Mears
bought the first of nine large launches built for him by Salter Brothers, the Viscount of 106ft and 395 passengers. She was one of the
largest launches of the middle Thames when built. Viscount
passed to Thames launches with the rest of the Mears fleet in
1947, and ran for Thompsons Launches from 1971 until 1991. After
three seasons laid up, she passed to Campion Launches. In 2006 she passed to Ed Langley and runs with
Henley for Complete Pleasure Boats.
The complete list of Salters boats built for Mears were the
Viscount (1908), Connaught (1911), Royalty (1913), Hurlingham (1915), Kingwood (1915), Marchioness (1923), Queen
Elizabeth (3)
(1924), Abercorn (1925) and Viscountess (1926). All remain in service in 2006, except
the Marchioness, which was lost in an accident in 1989,
and Abercorn which suffered a major fire in
2005 whilst at her moorings.
More
images of Viscount
Postcard
of Viscount
Scan:
Tony Langford
Click to open larger image in new window
Joseph
Mears brochure image of Viscount
Click to open larger
image in new window
Viscount approaching Teddington
Lock from upstream (c.1951)
Photo:
© David
Lord
Click to open larger image in new window
Viscount at Canary Wharf in Campion
Launches ownership
Scan:
www.riverthames.co.nr
Viscount at Tower Bridge acting
as tender to the cruise ship Deutschland
Photo:
© Ian Boyle, 15th September 2007
Click to open larger
image in new window
Viscount at Tower Bridge acting
as tender to the cruise ship Deutschland
Photo:
© Ian Boyle, 15th September 2007
Click to open larger
image in new window
La Burgoine
(J.Mears:
1910-1913 - built: 1902)
La Burgoine was built in 1902 by her owner
Alfred Burgoine (spelt Burgoyne by Dix, but clearly Burgoine
on the second card below). Burgoine had run steamers on the upper
Thames from the 1880s, and was one of the few owners to run as
far down as Westminster. She was bought by Joseph Mears in 1910,
and retained until 1913.
Photo
of La Burgoine - with full length saloon
Postcard
of La Burgoine - with open side sections and raised deck
Click to open larger image in new window
Connaught
(J.Mears:
1911-1946 - built: 1911)
77grt
- 106ft long - 250 passengers
Connaught was built in 1911 by Salter Brothers for Joseph Mears of Richmond.
After WW2, she was operated by Thames Launches (1947-59), H.G.Hastings
(Kingston, 1960-62), Thames Motor Boats (1963-79), Metcalf &
Aldrich and Colliers
Launches.
The complete list of Salters boats built for Mears were the
Viscount (1908), Connaught (1911), Royalty (1913), Hurlingham (1915), Kingwood (1915), Marchioness (1923), Queen
Elizabeth (3)
(1924), Abercorn (1925) and Viscountess (1926). All remain in service in 2006, except
the Marchioness, which was lost in an accident in 1989,
and Abercorn which suffered a major fire in
2005 whilst at her moorings.
More
images of Connaught
Joseph
Mears brochure image of Connaught
Click to open larger
image in new window
Connaught leaving Teddington Lock
for Kingston (c.1951)
Photo:
© David
Lord