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The New Medway SP Co
General Steam Navigation - Page 4
This page is devoted to postcards and photographs of The New Medway SP Co, which became part of the General Steam Navigation Company (GSN) in 1936.
A list of ships on this page
is shown below.
The New Medway Fleet List
is shown beneath. The
GSN Header Page
gives links to complete history pages on selected individual ships in the GSN fleet.
The origins of The New Medway Steam Packet Company date back to the formation of the Medway Steam Packet Company in 1837, which was formed to link Chatham with Sheerness before the arrival of the railways. Few details survive of the early steamers of this company, but around 1871 they acquired the first
City of Rochester
, which extended the Medway route to Southend. She was joined by the
Lady of Lorne
in the same year. The second Medway Steam Packet Company was formed in 1881 as a successor to the original company, and they added the
Lady Margaret
in 1888. Subsequent deliveries, the
Princess of Wales
and the
City of Rochester (2)
, were new ships built in 1896 and 1904. Older ships were disposed of, leaving these two vessels to run the Strood-Southend service until the First War.
The New Medway SP Co formed in 1919 to take over the assets of the 1871 company, along with the
Princess of Wales
and the
City of Rochester (2)
. Additional tonnage was acquired, starting with the
Audrey
in 1922. The fine new steamer
Medway Queen
joined the fleet in 1924. She is still in existence and is under restoration on the Medway. Around this time the company began to market themselves as the Queen Line in publicity. Three vessels from the Belle Steamers fleet were acquired between 1924 and 1928, originally the
Woolwich Belle
,
Walton Belle
and
Yarmouth Belle
, which became
Queen of the South
,
Essex Queen
and
Queen of Southend
(later
Thames Queen
). Two ex-minesweepers were bought for cross-channel excursions in 1927, the
Queen of Kent
and
Queen of Thanet
. In 1935, the magnificent diesel vessel
Queen of the Channel (1)
joined the fleet for longer services, and a second larger vessel was ordered, reportedly to be named
Continental Queen
. The New Medway Steam Packet Company was taken over by the
General Steam Navigation
in 1936 giving them a monopoly of the Thames excursion business. The new diesel vessel on order was delivered as the
Royal Sovereign (3)
, and served Oostende. Unfortunately, both the
Queen of the Channel (1)
and
Royal Sovereign (3)
were lost in 1940. The new owners retained the original identities of both companies, although in post-war years the cross-channel services were all marketed by the
General Steam Navigation
, even though some of the vessels were nominally owned by The New Medway company. The last New Medway steamer was the
Medway Queen
, whose last season was in 1963. Cross-channel services by the large
General Steam Navigation
motorships ended in 1966.
Ships on this Page:-
Audrey
(1922-1929)
City of Rochester (1)
(1871-1897)
City of Rochester (2)
(1904-1938)
Clacton Queen
(1933-1935)
Essex Queen
(1925-1946)
- ex-
Walton Belle
- later Pride of Devon
Lady of Lorne
(1871-1899)
Lady Margaret
(1888-1903)
Medway Queen
(1924- )
Princess of Wales
(1896-1925)
Queen of Kent
(1927-1949)
Queen of Southend
(1928-1938)
- ex-
Yarmouth Belle
- later
Thames Queen
Queen of Thanet
(1927-1949)
Queen of the Channel (1)
(1935-1940)
Queen of the South
(1924-1932)
- ex-
Woolwich Belle
Rochester Queen (1)
(1932-1933)
Rochester Queen (2)
(1947-1960)
Royal Sovereign (3)
(1937-1940)
Royal Daffodil (1)
(1934-1938)
Thames Queen
(1928-1938)
- ex-
Queen of Southend
Other GSN Pages:-
GSN Header Page
GSN Paddle Steamers
GSN Freighters
GSN Passenger Motorships
The New Medway SP Co
- this page!
Normandy Ferries
Associated Pages:-
P&O Ferries Header Page
Ferry Postcards
Simplon Postcards Home Page
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The New Medway SP Co
Medway SP Co (1881-1919)
City of Rochester (1)
(Medway SP Co: 1871-1897)
The origins of The New Medway Steam Packet Company date back to the formation of the Medway Steam Packet Company in 1837, which was formed to link Chatham with Sheerness before the arrival of the railways. Few details survive of the early steamers of this company, but around 1871 they acquired the first
City of Rochester
, which extended the Medway route to Southend. She was joined by the
Lady of Lorne
in the same year.
Photograph of the first
City of Rochester
Click to open larger image in new window
Lady of Lorne
(Medway SP Co: 1871-1899)
The origins of The New Medway Steam Packet Company date back to the formation of the Medway Steam Packet Company in 1837, which was formed to link Chatham with Sheerness before the arrival of the railways. Few details survive of the early steamers of this company, but around 1871 they acquired the first
City of Rochester
, which extended the Medway route to Southend. She was joined by the
Lady of Lorne
in the same year.
Photograph of
Lady of Lorne
Click to open larger image in new window
Lady Margaret
(Medway SP Co: 1888-1903)
The second Medway Steam Packet Company was formed in 1881 as a successor to the original company, and they added the
Lady Margaret
in 1888.
Photograph of
Lady Margaret
Click to open larger image in new window
Princess of Wales
(Medway SP Co: 1896-1919)
(The New Medway SP Co: 1919-1928)
The
Princess of Wales
was built in 1896 by R.Craggs & Sons of Middlesbrough for the Medway Steam Packet Company. She was initially used to operate the Strood-Southend service. Between 1917 to 1920 she ran on the naval ferry service between Chatham and Sheerness as the
Padua
.
Princess of Wales
returned to The New Medway SP Co and ran with them until 1925, replaced by the
Queen of the South
. She was chartered for use on the Forth, but returned in 1927 and was sold for scrap the following year.
Princess of Wales
was 139 feet long and had a gross tonnage of 163.
W.H.Herbert postcard of the
Princess of Wales
Click to open larger image in new window
Fantastic Thornton Bros postcard of
Princess of Wales
of the
New Medway SP Co
leaving Upnor Pier
Click to open larger image in new window
Postcard of the
Princess of Wales
at Strood Pier
Click to open larger image in new window
Medway Studios postcard of the
Princess of Wales
Click to open larger image in new window
City of Rochester (2)
(The New Medway SP Co: 1904-1938)
City of Rochester
was the last and largest paddle steamer bought by the Medway Steam Packet Company. She was built by J.Scott & Co of Kinghorn, and was 160 feet long and 235 gross tons. She spent most of her career on the Strood-Southend run, apart from acting as a tender a Chatham during the First War. She passed to The New Medway SP Co in 1919, and returned to her Strood-Southend run. In 1931 she was moved to an Ipswich, Felixstowe, Harwich and Clacton run, as The New Medway Company expanded into the old Belle Steamers territory. She was superseded on this in 1934 by the
Clacton Queen
, and returned to the Medway. She passed to the
General Steam Navigation
in 1936 and was sold for scrap in 1938.
Postcard of
City of Rochester
With original black funnel top
Click to open larger image in new window
Postcard of
City of Rochester
Without black funnel top
Click to open larger image in new window
Postcard of
City of Rochester
Same image to the card above, but the unfortunately placed factory chimney has been removed
Click to open larger image in new window
Advertising postcard showing
City of Rochester
Modern Pamlin postcard of
City of Rochester
Click to open larger image in new window
Audrey
(The New Medway SP Co: 1922-1929)
Audrey
was the first addition to the New Medway fleet in 1922. She was built by Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1897 for the Tyne General Ferry Company, with whom she served until 1909 when she was sold to the famous City of Cork Steam Packet Company for local services around Cork. She was considered to be an ugly steamer, but certainly had character. In 1913
Audrey
passed to the Cork Blackrock & Passage Railway which ran a 3 ft gauge system from Cork. She ran as a cargo and passenger steamer from Monkstown, Queenstown (Cobh) and Aghada during the week, plus excursions from Cork on Sundays. In early 1914
Audrey
was bought by Captain Shippick who used her on excursions from Bournemouth to Swanage, Studland and Poole until taken over by the Admiralty. When returned to her owner he sold her to The New Medway Steam Packet Company who used her on Medway services and to and from Southend, Herne Bay, Margate and Ramsgate.
Audrey
was sold for scrap in 1929.
F.Scrivens (Herne Bay) postcard of
Audrey
Click to open larger image in new window
Photographic postcard of
Audrey
Click to open larger image in new window
Medway Queen
(The New Medway SP Co: 1924-1963)
Medway Queen
was the only new paddle steamer acquired by The New Medway Steam Packet Company, being delivered by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company in 1924. She was the last steamer in the New Medway fleet when withdrawn in 1963. She was subsequently restored and used as a clubhouse on the Isle of Wight, but allowed to fall into disrepair. She was moved to the Medway, where restoration has made slow but steady progress ever since, with some National Lottery money made available on 2006.
Postcard of
Medway Queen
Postcard of
Queen of the South
(ex-
Woolwich Belle
)
, Medway Queen
and a third steamer at Chatham
Click to open larger image in new window
Postcard of
Medway Queen
Postcard of
Medway Queen
Photographic postcard of
Medway Queen
Postcard of
Medway Queen
J.Arthur Dixon postcard of
Medway Queen
in the Isle of Wight
Click to open larger image in new window
Photograph of
Medway Queen
in the Isle of Wight
Photo: © Ian Boyle
Photograph of
Medway Queen
in the Isle of Wight
Photo: © Ian Boyle
Photograph of
Medway Queen
in the Isle of Wight
Photo: © Ian Boyle
Photograph of
Medway Queen
in the Isle of Wight
Photo: © Ian Boyle
Photograph of
Medway Queen
after being moved to Chatham
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 1986