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This website has no connection with any shipping company, cruise line, boat operator or other commercial organisation. There are no postcards for sale on this website
Belle Steamers
This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of Belle Steamers. Belle Steamers was the marketing name for the steamer company created by various interests connected with the development of the east coast resorts of Clacton, Walton, Southwold, Felixstowe and Lowestoft. Belle Steamers was the actual name of the company for about one year only, in 1897.
Steamer services from London had been provided by the ailing River Thames Steamboat Company, but in 1887 they were refused permission to land due to non-payment of pier dues. 25000 visitors a year were arriving at Clacton by steamer at this time. Various influential locals, including those with interests in the pier, decided to run their own boat and formed the London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea Steamship Company. They had the paddle steamer
Clacton
built by J.Scott of Kinghorn, entering service in 1888. She ran successfully for one season, but was then sold for service in Turkey as the
Aidin
. The successor to the River Thames Steamboat Company, the Victoria Steamboat Association (VSA) ran services to Clacton in 1889. However, the Company decided to run their own steamers again, and had four fine paddle steamers built for them by Denny Bros. of Dumbarton, between 1890-1896. The first was the
Clacton Belle
, 246 feet long and 458 gross tons. In 1890 the
Clacton Belle
ran successfully from London to Southend and Clacton in competition with the Victoria Steamboat Association, who had the
Glen Rosa
and
Lord of the Isles
on east coast routes in that year. The London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea SS Co decided to expand, an their second ship was the smaller
Woolwich Belle
of 1891. At this time the
General Steam Navigation (GSN)
also was running a direct service from London to Great Yarmouth, using the
Hoboken
and their new 'classical birds'
Halcyon
,
Mavis
,
Oriole
,
Philomel
and
Laverock
. The was intended for use on the Orwell from Ipswich, but initially joined
Clacton Belle
on her services from London to Clacton, since there was adequate traffic for two ships. In 1892, the Victoria Steamboat Association received the large new
Koh-I-Noor
, and the London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea SS Co ordered a larger steamer to match her. This was the
London Belle
of 1893, which at 280 feet and 738 gross tons was to remain the largest vessel in the Belle Steamers fleet. From 1893, the Victoria Steamboat Association provided a connecting service through to Great Yarmouth by running the old
Glen Rosa
(replaced by
Victoria
the year after) from Clacton in connection with
Koh-I-Noor
. The arrival of the
London Belle
allowed the
Woolwich Belle
to take up her intended River Orwell service from Ipswich to Harwich, Felixstowe and Clacton. At the end of 1894, the Victoria Steamboat Association lost their three largest steamers, including
Koh-I-Noor
which ran to Clacton, when their builders Fairfields re-possessed them. The Victoria Steamboat Association continued to compete with
Lord of the Isles
in 1895, but
Koh-I-Noor
concentrated on Kent services for her new owners
New Palace Steamers
from 1896. The lingering parts of the Victoria Steamboat Association had also ceased by 1897, leaving Belle Steamers with a virtual monopoly of Essex services.
In 1896 the London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea Steamship Company was retitled as Belle Steamers Limited, but the following year, it was merged as part of Coast Development Company along with the Clacton and Walton Pier Companies and various other east coast concerns. The ships continued to be known as Belle Steamers for publicity purposes. The 249 foot
Southend Belle
joined the fleet in 1896, and the first Belle excursions to Great Yarmouth, an indication of their future plans. The fifth member of the fleet, the
Walton Belle
, was delivered in time for the 1897 season, and Belle's expansion plans became apparent. They used the
Walton Belle
to connect with their London (
London Belle
) and Harwich/Ipswich (
Woolwich Belle
) sailings at Clacton, as the VSA had done with
Glen Rosa
and
Koh-I-Noor
.
Southend Belle
was used to open a another new Belle express service from London direct to the Kent coastal resort of Margate, in competition with
New Palace Steamers
and the
General Steam Navigation
. The sixth Belle steamer, the
Yarmouth Belle
, joined the fleet in 1898, to expand services to Great Yarmouth. The largest fleet member
London Belle
remained in use on the busy London-Clacton route. However, traffic justified the use of a second steamer on this route, which then continued to Yarmouth from Clacton each day. The steamer returned to Clacton and London the following day. The new
Walton Belle
and
Yarmouth Belle
ran these services, now in direct competition with the through services of the
General Steam Navigation
and their elderly 'classical birds'. Belle Steamers parent, the Coast Development Company, was expanding in other areas too, extending the pier at Walton-on-the-Naze to allow regular steamer visits. Since two vessels could berth simultaneously, this made a more logical terminus and connection point for their services, with boats from London sailing past Clacton to call at Walton first, which did not please the traders in Clacton. The
General Steam Navigation
could not benefit from the building of new piers, since they were all owned by the Coast Development Company, and their sailings continued to run directly to Yarmouth. The
General Steam Navigation
boats were so old and slow, that the new Belle steamers could generally beat them to Yarmouth, despite their pier calls on the way. Harwich was the only east coast pier that
GSN
called at between Southend and Yarmouth, which they used for excursions. The fine new steamer
Eagle (3)
did join the
GSN
fleet in 1898, but she was used on their more profitable Kent services. Her arrival allowed the ancient
Hoboken
to be scrapped. The Coast Development Company expanded further in 1899, with the purchase of land in Southwold. Work on a new pier was started and the final new delivery was named the
Southwold Belle
. She first visited the new Southwold Pier in July 1900. The good people of Southwold were not as enthusiastic as other towns to receive an influx of visitors, and relations were occasionally strained between themselves and the Coast Development Company.
The progressive chairman of the Coast Development Company, Abel Penfold, died in February 1900. This seemed to be the point from which the company went into slow decline, although initially it was a period of stability in the steamship industry. However, it was railways and later motor coaches that were the new competition, particularly on the longer coastal runs of the Belle boats.
GSN
concentrated on the shorter and more profitable Kent routes, plus their cross-channel sailings on which Belle never competed. A further new pier was built at Lowestoft, although it was not completed until 1903. Previously, passengers for Lowestoft were unloaded by small boats. In 1902, the
Walton Belle
,
Yarmouth Belle
and
Southwold Belle
visited the south coast for the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead. The coronation itself was postponed due to the King being taken ill, but the steamers visited the already assembled fleet as planned. By 1905 the Coast Development Company's finances were causing concern, and the company was restructured as the Coast Development Corporation. In the same year, their last new pier was opened at Felixstowe. The
GSN
received their new turbine
Kingfisher
in 1906, but again she was used on Kent and cross channel services, not venturing further north than Southend. The
GSN
was finding their direct service to Yarmouth to be increasingly uneconomic, and it continued to be served by the remaining 'classical birds, of which
Halcyon
was the first to be sold on 1904, followed by
Philomel
in 1907 and
Laverock
in 1908. The last two,
Mavis
and
Oriole
went in 1910 and 1912, after the new paddle steamer
Golden Eagle
had arrived in 1909. In 1910, just a limited
GSN
Yarmouth service was provided by
Oriole
, and no services were run from 1911. Belle Steamers had a complete monopoly between Southend and Yarmouth for the first time, but traffic in the area was declining. By the end of this year, urgent action was required, and their latest steamer, the
Southwold Belle
, sold to the Hamburg-America Line for use as a tender as the
Westerland
. A year later and she was running from Cherbourg as the
Bon Voyage
. She went to Italy in 1922, and was scrapped in 1925, the first Belle Steamer to be dismantled. The financial situation did not improve over the next few years, although services surprisingly continued as normal until the end of the season after the outbreak of war in 1914. The Coastal Development Corporation could see no way of meeting their heavy liabilities, and the company went into voluntary liquidation in May 1915.
After the war, a Mr A.W.Pickard and two Shankland brothers Robert Robertson and John Hamilton bought the
Royal Sovereign (2)
(
New Palace Steamers
did not survive the war either) for their newly registered Royal Sovereign Steamship Company.
Royal Sovereign (2)
was the first Thames steamer to return to service after the war. In 1920, a Mr E.Kingsman successfully chartered the
London Belle
and
Walton Belle
for east coast service. By the summer of 1921, Mr Kingsman had purchased many Coast Development Corporation assets, including all the paddle steamers except the
Woolwich Belle
. He also purchased the five piers, but resold Walton, Felixstowe, Southwold and Lowestoft individually to locals concerns, retaining ownership of Clacton. Mr Kingsman would return to the story in 1929.
Woolwich Belle
was purchased by her builders Dennys, for refurbishment. The directors of the Royal Sovereign Steamship Company, along with a Mr Harold De Mattis, formed various and numerous paper companies around this time, one of which was called the P.S.M.Syndicate. Another was called Belle Steamers Limited. The P.S.M.Syndicate bought the five steamers from Robert Kingsman, and operated them on routes similar to those run by the pre-war Belle Steamers. P.S.M. were still running the
Royal Sovereign (2)
, again on similar itinerary to pre-war years. The four directors proceeded to perform numerous financial dealings with the ownership of their fleet of six steamers
Clacton Belle
,
London Belle
,
Southend Belle
,
Walton Belle
,
Yarmouth Belle
and
Royal Sovereign (2)
, with ownership changing to the Royal Sovereign Steamship Company and later the East Anglian Steamship Company, all basically owned by the four P.S.M. directors. Meanwhile, after a sojourn on the south coast, the
Woolwich Belle
(as
Queen of the South
) was bought by the
New Medway SP Co
, in 1924, who ran her until 1932 when she was scrapped. The
New Medway SP Co
had been formed in 1919, and used the three old paddle steamers
Princess of Wales
,
City of Rochester
and
Audrey
. In addition to the
Queen of the South
, 1924 saw the introduction of their new paddle steamer
Medway Queen
, the first new Thames paddler since the
Golden Eagle
of 1909. Despite their largely quite elderly fleet, the
New Medway SP Co
was a dynamic forward-looking company, much as Belle Steamers had been in its heyday. The post-WW1 Belle Steamers was not such a company, probably due to financial restraints, and it suffered increasing competition on both Kent and east coast routes. The
New Medway SP Co
opened a new route from the Medway to Felixstowe using their popular new
Medway Queen
in 1925, whilst in the same year the
GSN
acquired their new oil-fired
Crested Eagle
, which competed directly with the old
Royal Sovereign (2)
. At the end of this year, the East Anglian Steamship Company (the then favoured title of the P.S.M. directors) decided to sell the
Walton Belle
. She was bought by the competing
New Medway SP Co
and renamed
Essex Queen
. In 1926 she ran from the Medway to Southend and Margate, whilst the remaining Belle Steamers operated on their usual routes, as they did in 1927 and 1928. Competition grew more fierce, with the
Essex Queen
(old
Walton Belle
) competed on her old Yarmouth to Clacton route (with ownership of the piers dispersed the steamer company could not protect berthing rights). The East Anglian Steamship Company was wound up at the end of the 1928 season. The
Clacton Belle
and
London Belle
were sold for scrap at the Grays yard of T.W.Ward.
Yarmouth Belle
was sold to the
New Medway SP Co
and renamed
Queen of Southend
. She was later renamed
Thames Queen
and she was scrapped in 1947.
Royal Sovereign (2)
was sold to the
General Steam Navigation
and run on her usual route for the 1929 season only before being scrapped.
Southend Belle
was sold to Mr E.Kingsman, the owner of Clacton pier, and who had chartered the steamers in 1920. He renamed her
Laguna Belle
and ran her to Clacton between 1930 and 1935, sailing from the new Tower Pier via Greenwich and Woolwich. She was purchased by the
General Steam Navigation
in 1935, who ran her from 1936 on her usual route to Clacton, in competition with
Queen of Southend
. The
General Steam Navigation
purchased the
New Medway SP Co
in 1937, thereby placing all Thames services in the hands of one company. They continued running Thames excursions until 1966.
Ships on this Page:-
Clacton
- London, Woolwich & Clacton: 1888-1889
Clacton Belle
- Belle Steamers: 1890-1929
Woolwich Belle
- Belle Steamers: 1891-1922
London Belle
- Belle Steamers: 1893-1929
Southend Belle
- Belle Steamers: 1896-1929
Walton Belle
- Belle Steamers: 1897-1925
Yarmouth Belle
- Belle Steamers: 1898-1928
Southwold Belle
- Belle Steamers: 1900-1912
Associated Pages:-
General Steam Navigation
New Medway SP Co
New Palace Steamers
UK Excursion Ships
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Belle Steamers
Clacton
(London, Woolwich & Clacton: 1888-1889)
Steamer services from London had been provided by the ailing River Thames Steamboat Company, but in 1887 they were refused permission to land due to non-payment of pier dues. 25000 visitors a year were arriving at Clacton by steamer at this time. Various influential locals, including those with interests in the pier, decided to run their own boat and formed the London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea Steamship Company. They had the paddle steamer
Clacton
built by J.Scott of Kinghorn, entering service in 1888. She ran successfully for one season, but was then sold for service in Turkey as the
Aidin
.
Postcard of
Clacton
as
Aidin
in Turkish service.
Click to open larger image in new window
Clacton Belle
(Belle Steamers: 1890-1929)
Steamer services from London had been provided by the ailing River Thames Steamboat Company, but in 1887 they were refused permission to land due to non-payment of pier dues. 25000 visitors a year were arriving at Clacton by steamer at this time. Various influential locals, including those with interests in the pier, decided to run their own boat and formed the London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea Steamship Company. They had the paddle steamer
Clacton
built by J.Scott of Kinghorn, entering service in 1888. She ran successfully for one season, but was then sold for service in Turkey as the
Aidin
. The successor to the River Thames Steamboat Company, the Victoria Steamboat Association (VSA) ran services to Clacton in 1889. However, the Company decided to run their own steamers again, and had four fine paddle steamers built for them by Denny Bros. of Dumbarton, between 1890-1896. The first was the
Clacton Belle
, 246 feet long and 458 gross tons. She had compound engines giving a speed of 17 knots. In 1890 the
Clacton Belle
ran successfully from London to Southend and Clacton in competition with the Victoria Steamboat Association, who had the
Glen Rosa
and
Lord of the Isles
on east coast routes in that year.
Clacton Belle
was easily distinguished in the Belle fleet having a very tall funnel, which was originally telescopic to pass under London Bridge. She was also built without a fore saloon, but one was added later. She was ran on the London to Clacton service until the arrival of the larger
London Belle
, and was employed principally on the Margate and Ramsgate route thereafter. After war service she passed to the P.S.M. Syndicate in 1921, passing to the associated East Anglia Steamship Company in 1925. She did not operate that year, but was re-activated in 1926 after the sale of
Walton Belle
. She was for breaking up in 1929.
Belle Steamers postcard of
Clacton Belle
.
Telescopic funnel replaced and fore saloon added.
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Postcard of
Clacton Belle
.
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Postcard of
Clacton Belle
.
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Postcard of
Clacton Belle
at Great Yarmouth.
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Postcard of
Clacton Belle
passing through Tower Bridge
Postcard of
Clacton Belle
passing through Tower Bridge
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Modern Pamlin postcard of
Clacton Belle
.
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Photographic postcard of
Clacton Belle
.
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Woolwich Belle
(Belle Steamers: 1891-1922)
Woolwich Belle
was built for Belle Steamers by William Denny & Bros in 1891. Actual ownership of
Woolwich Belle
was London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea Steamboat Co (1891), Belle Steamers (1897), Coast Development Company (1898) and Coast Development Corporation (1905).
Woolwich Belle
was the smallest of the Belle Steamers, and was used mainly on feeder services from Ipswich and Harwich to Clacton, connecting with the London boats. She originally had a telescopic funnel, painted black, for passing under London Bridge. She was later given a full width fore saloon, similar to that of
Southwold Belle
.
The Coast Development Corporation failed in 1915, and after her war service,
Woolwich Belle
was acquired by her builders Dennys for refurbishment at their works to provide employment. She was not ready until the spring of 1922, and she was used by
Channel Excursion Steamers
as
Queen of the South
for excursions from
Brighton
, a year in which P.& A.Campbell could not spare vessels for south coast services. P.& A.Campbell were back the following year, and
Queen of the South
was withdrawn and laid up in September 1923. She was bought by
The New Medway SP Co
in November 1924, entering service the following summer, mainly on Strood-Southend services, but also general excursion work.
Queen of the South
was laid up at the end of the 1931 season and sold for scrap the following July.
Postcard of
Woolwich Belle
with original black funnel.
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Belle Steamers postcard of
Woolwich Belle
.
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Postcard of
Woolwich Belle
.
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Postcard of
Woolwich Belle
on the River Orwell.
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Postcard of
Woolwich Belle
at Ipswich.
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Postcard of
Woolwich Belle
.
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Art postcard of
Woolwich Belle
with fore saloon.
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London Belle
(Belle Steamers: 1893-1929)
In 1892, the Victoria Steamboat Association received the large new
Koh-I-Noor
, and the London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea SS Co ordered a larger steamer to match her. This was the
London Belle
of 1893, which at 280 feet and 738 gross tons was to remain the largest vessel in the Belle Steamers fleet. She was the first Thames steamer to have triple expansion engines, which were fitted to all subsequent Belle Steamers. She operated the main daily sailing from London to Clacton for most of her Belle Steamers career, later joined by a smaller steamer which would continue to Yarmouth. After war service she did not return to servoce until 1923, making no sailing for the P.S.M. syndicate. She ran for the Royal Sovereign Steamship Company and the associated R.S Steamship Company mainly from London to Margate and Ramsgate (the other remaining Belle Steamers passed to the connected East Anglian Steamship Company which ran the Essex services). She was for breaking up in 1929.
Belle Steamers postcard of
London Belle
.
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Belle Steamers postcard of
London Belle
on the Thames.
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Postcard of
London Belle
on the Thames.
Postcard of
London Belle
.
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Postcard of
London Belle
at
Tilbury
.
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Postcard of
London Belle
at Walton.
Postcard of
London Belle
at Clacton.
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Postcard of
London Belle
.
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Postcard of
London Belle
.
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Postcard of
London Belle
.
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Postcard of
London Belle
at Great Yarmouth.
Valentine's postcard of
London Belle
passing through Tower Bridge.
Variations of this card were issued over many years - this one dated 1949
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Valentine's postcard of
London Belle
passing through Tower Bridge.
Variations of this card were issued over many years
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Valentine's postcard of
London Belle
passing through Tower Bridge.
Variations of this card were issued over many years - this one dated 1912
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Valentine's postcard of
London Belle
passing through Tower Bridge.
Variations of this card were issued over many years
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Valentine's postcard of
London Belle
passing through Tower Bridge.
On this variation, posted in 1961, the horse-drawn vehicles have been replaced by modern LT buses
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Postcard of
London Belle
passing through Tower Bridge.
A similar card using a different image
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Photographic postcard of
London Belle
.
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Photographic postcard of
London Belle
.
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Southend Belle
(Belle Steamers: 1896-1929)
Southend Belle
was the last steamer delivered to the London, Woolwich & Clacton-on-Sea Steamship Company, Belle Steamers Ltd being formed the following year.
Southend Belle
was not built for a specific service, working as required on all belle Steamers routes. She remained unused after the war until purchased by the East Anglian steamship Company in 1925.
Southend Belle
was sold to East Anglian Hotels in 1929, the owners of Clacton Pier, who feared a reduction in visitors after the demise of her former owners. She was overhauled and re-boilered and returned to service as the
Laguna Belle
, with ownership ttransferred to H.E.Kingsman (a director of the Clacton Pier Company). She also received a full width fore saloon and carried the unusual combination of a yellow funnel with a blue band, and a unique chevron on her bow.
Laguna Belle
ran direct from London to Clacton, without the usual stop at Southend, and was very successful. She was bought by the
General Steam Navigation
in 1936, continuing on the same service, but later substituting Port of London dock cruises on certain days.
GSN
purchased the
New Medway Steam Packet Company
in the same year, given them a monopoly of Thames excursion sailings.
Belle Steamers postcard of
Southend Belle
.
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Postcard of
Southend Belle
.
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Postcard of
Southend Belle
at Ramsgate.
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Postcard of
Southend Belle
at Margate.
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Postcard of
Southend Belle
.
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Postcard of
Southend Belle
at Great Yarmouth.
Yarmouth Belle
in the distance
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