Harwich Port - Page-1


Page 1: Piers, Local Ferries and Excursions


This page is one of a series devoted to postcards and photographs of the shipping and piers at Harwich. This page gives a brief overview of the local ferries to Felixstowe and Shotley, local excursion vessels, piers and the waterfront. Harwich - Page 2 covers the continental ferry service from Harwich. Harwich - Page 3 covers Trinity House and the Harwich lifeboats.

An alphabetical list of ships shown on this page is shown below. The Table beneath gives links to complete postcard history pages on selected individual ships associated with Harwich.


A Brief History of Harwich Port
Harwich lies at the end of the Tendring peninsular, at the confluence of the Rivers Stour and Orwell. The superb natural harbour created has been used since Roman times. In Norman times the current grid layout of Harwich Town was already in existence, and it may date back further still. The current Navyard was building ships for the Royal Navy from 1543 until 1730, when the yard was leased to private shipbuilders. It was eventually sold by the Admiralty in 1827.

Harwich had been used for passenger and freight sailings to the Continent since the thirteenth century, and mail packets began running to Holland in 1661. They sailed from a quay just west of the Navyard, and connected with coaches for London. The mails had previously run from Folkestone in Kent, and they reverted to that county when transferred to Dover in 1836.

Harwich is now the headquarters of Trinity House, who began operations from the port in 1669. The first high- and low-lighthouses had been in service since 1664 (initially privately-owned). They were not bought out by Trinity House until 1837, the surviving higher- and lower-lights having been built in 1817. The lower-light is now used as a small museum. They were replaced in 1863 by new higher- and lower-lights in Dovercourt, since changes in the channels had made the Harwich lights misleading.

The Admiralty briefly maintained a lifeboat at Harwich from 1845-1851, but it was little-used. After two serious wrecks, a lifeboat was stationed there in 1876. Steam lifeboats were introduced in 1890, but they were removed in 1912 and 1918, the area being covered from Clacton and Walton. In 1965, an inshore boat was stationed in Harwich, joined by a modern diesel boat in 1967. The original lifeboat house is now a lifeboat museum.

The railway reached Harwich in 1854, and the tracks ran beyond the current Harwich Town station to the waterfront, where a new Town Pier had been built in 1851. The port was in decline at this time, with much traffic diverting to new installations at Ipswich and Lowestoft, whilst the mail packets had moved to Dover in 1836. The Great Eastern Railway (GER) obtained powers to run steamships in 1862, and connecting services began the following year, using chartered tonnage. The GER built a new Continental Pier at the end of the railway tracks, and used their own ships from 1865, sailing to Rotterdam and Antwerp. The Great Eastern Hotel was built across the road. This later served as the town hall, and is now private flats. Unfortunately the GER regularly found itself in dispute with Harwich Corporation, due to the limited quay space, and so between 1879 and 1883 a vast reclamation project was undertaken a mile and a half further west, outside the jurisdiction of the local council. This was opened as Parkeston Quay, named after the GER chairman Charles Parkes. The railway was diverted onto a new loop round to the new quay, where a station, hotel and goods yard were laid out. A small township, also known as Parkeston, was built for the railway and port workers. Many improvements to the quays have been made over the years, adapting them to container traffic, ro-ro ferries, and more recently a new cruise ship terminal.

In the 1850s there were ambitious plans to make Dovercourt into a rival to Brighton. John Bagshaw, local MP and owner of the Harwich shipyards, had grand plans to create a new town, with impressive terraces. Only Orwell Terrace was completed in 1857, but Mr Bagshaw was bankrupt a couple of years later and died in 1861. No further work was undertaken, and the land acquired for the new town was sold off in smaller lots.

To be completed


Sections on This Page:-
Excursion Ships
Local Ferries
Piers
Waterfront

Vessels on This Page:-
Brightlingsea - Harwich-Felixstowe/Shotley Ferry
Explorer 12 - Harwich-Felixstowe/Shotley Ferry
Gay Commodore - Ipswich-based local excursion vessel
Glen Rosa - Thames-based paddle steamer
Norfolk - Great Eastern Railway excursion paddle steamer
Orwell Lady - Ipswich-based local excursion vessel
River Lady - local excursion vessel
River Lady II - local excursion vessel
Torbay Prince - local excursion vessel
Waverley - Operating PSPS paddle steamer visiting Harwich

Harwich-related Simplon Pages:-
Harwich - Page 1 - Piers, Local Ferries, Excursions - this page!
Harwich - Page 2 - Continental Ferry Services
Harwich - Page 3 - Trinity House, Lifeboats, Lighthouses
Harwich - Page 4 - Tugs
m.s.Brightlingsea - Page 1 - Harwich Services 2007
m.s.Brightlingsea - Page 2 - History as ferry 1925-1993
m.s.Brightlingsea - Page 3 - Restoration and Service 2002-
DFDS - Services to Denmark, Sweden and Germany
Great Eastern Railway - Continental Ferry Services
Great Eastern Railway - Local Ferry & Excursion Services
London & North Eastern Railway - Continental Ferry Services from Harwich
Prinz Ferries - Services to Germany
Stena Line BV - Stena Line Harwich-Hook services
Zeeland Shipping Company - Harwich-Hook services

Harwich Photo Diary Pages:-
Harwich - 31st May 2008 - Discovery, Celebrity Constellation, Brightlingsea
Harwich - 8th May 2008 - Alexander von Humboldt, Trinity House
Harwich - 14th April 2008 - Funchal, Trinity House, Stena Line, Train Ferry Pier
Harwich - 20th May 2007 - Stena Line, DFDS, Trinity House
Harwich - 25th February 2007 - RNLI, container ships, lighthouses
Harwich - 28th January 2007 - Stena Line, Trinity House
Harwich - 9th December 2006 - Stena Line, Trinity House and the Harwich lifeboat returning from a rescue
Photo Diary - Header Page

Associated Simplon Pages:-
UK Excursion Ships
Ferry Postcards
Cruise Ship Postcards
Ocean Liner Postcards
Simplon Postcards - Recent Updates
Simplon Postcards - Home Page

Associated Pages On Other Web Sites:-
Harwich, Felixstowe & Shotley Foot Ferry Society
RNLI Harwich Lifeboat Station




Table of Ship Histories
Name Owner Other names Built Brightlingsea LNER, BR 1925 Dana Anglia DFDS Seaways Duke of Scandinavia 1978 Explorer 12 19-- Koningin Beatrix SM Zeeland Stena Baltica 1986 Prinses Beatrix SM Zeeland Duc de Normandie 1978 St Nicholas Sealink Prinsessan Birgitta (2), Stena Normandy, Normandy 1974 Harwich Waterfront & Piers


Aerial view of Harwich with Prinz Hamlet at Harwich Navyard.




Postcard of lifeboats alongside the Halfpenny Pier at Harwich
The sailing lifeboat (front) is the Anne Fawcett, whilst the steam-powered City of Glasgow is behind
There is a Chatham class cruiser in the background




Postcard of Brightlingsea alongside the Halfpenny Pier at Harwich.
There is a Trinity House tender and a Sealink train ferry in the background..




Photo Precision postcard PT8120 of Brightlingsea alongside the Halfpenny Pier at Harwich.
Behind Brightlingsea is the Torbay Prince, which joined her in 1967, but later sold.
The Sealink dredger Landguard is also at the pier, and the funnel of Prins Oberon is visible on the right.




The Halfpenny Pier, looking towards Harwich Navyard, with an ArgoMann ro-ro ferry.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th March 2003.




Freighter Leptis Star at Harwich Navyard.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 19th November 2005.




The Halfpenny Pier, looking towards Trinity Pier, with the Trinity House tender Patricia alongside.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th March 2003.




The Halfpenny Pier.
The benches have been multiplying.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 28th May 2005.




The Halfpenny Pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 28th May 2005.




A.C.E, (Cambridge) postcard HH36 of the offices on the Halfpenny Pier.
The pier was originally twice as long as currently, but was partially destroyed by fire.
The name is derived from the original toll on pedestrians.




The offices on the Halfpenny Pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 22nd January 2005.




The offices on the Halfpenny Pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 22nd January 2005.




The new pontoon running from the Halfpenny Pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th March 2003.




The Trinity House Pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 19th November 2005.




The Great Eastern Hotel (now flats), opposite the Halfpenny Pier.
The blue building is the Pier Hotel.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 22nd January 2005.




The Great Eastern Hotel.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 28th May 2005.




The Great Eastern Hotel.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 28th May 2005.




The Pier Hotel.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 28th May 2005.




Inshore fishing vessels are still registered at Harwich.
HH99 Allison Theresa at the Halfpenny Pier, with MSC Flaminia & COSCO Hamburg berthed at Felixstowe in the distance.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 28th May 2005.




The Treadwheel Crane.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 28th May 2005.




The Treadwheel Crane.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 17th September 2005.




Government House.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 17th September 2005.




Government House and church.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 17th September 2005.




Government House and church.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 17th September 2005.




Houses and church.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 17th September 2005.





Dovercourt.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 17th September 2005.




Cliff Hotel at Dovercourt.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 17th September 2005.




Orwell Terrace at Dovercourt.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2006.




Orwell Terrace at Dovercourt.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2006.




Orwell Terrace at Dovercourt.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 2nd January 2006.





View of piers at Shotley from Harwich
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 19th November 2005.




View of HMS Ganges at Shotley from Harwich
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 19th November 2005.




View of marina at Shotley from Harwich
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 19th November 2005.




Enlarged view of marina and Martello tower (base of green tank).
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 19th November 2005.







Excursion Ships


Norfolk

The Great Eastern Railway ran a small fleet of paddle steamers from Ipswich, which regularly called at Harwich.
This is a postcard of the double-ended Norfolk.







Glen Rosa

Thames-based steamers called at Harwich - this the the much-travelled Glen Rosa of the Victoria Steamboat Association at Harwich.







Torbay Prince

The Devon Star Shipping Co is believed to have run their their new Torbay Prince from Ipswich in 1946. She was replaced by the 1941 built Fairmile "B" motor launch River Lady II, converted at Brixham, for the 1947 season.

The Harwich & Orwell Navigation Company was formed in 1962 to run the Harwich/Felixstowe ferry service following its closure by British Railways. It was owned by George Goodhew and A.R.Grey. They used the ex-LNER/BR Brightlingsea on the ferry, and they also acquired River Lady II to run excursions. River Lady II was sold in 1963, and was replaced with Torbay Prince again for a few years.


Torbay Prince on the Orwell or Stour.
Photo: © Philip Cone, 1968
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A.Duncan photo of Torbay Prince at Harwich




Torbay Prince at Harwich, towering over Brightlingsea.
Publisher: Photo Precision PT8120







River Lady
(RML511)

River Lady was built by J.W.& A.Upham of Brixham in 1941. She was part of the 61st Flotilla from 1942 to 1945, and was sent for disposal at Harwich in 1946. She was bought by The Devon Star Shipping Company, but was initially used locally on the River Orwell for excursions in 1946. She had a sister ship River Lady II, which was converted at Brixham and ran the Orwell excursions from 1946 until 1963. River Lady was bought by the Western Lady Ferry Service and retained her name. She was used as a cruise and charter boat until 1973. She was then used as a diving support vessel at Plymouth as Western Diver until 1985. Although sold for scrap, she passed to a Dutch company. She subsequent fate is unknown.


Coastal Cards Ltd postcard of River Lady on Torbay service
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River Lady II

River Lady II was based at Ipswich though commenced her cruises from both Ipswich and Halfpenny Pier, Harwich. The Ipswich company was known as the Devon Star Shipping Co Ltd, formed in 1946. River Lady II's sister River Lady, also ran from Ipswich before moving to Torbay for the Western Lady Ferry Service where she retained her name. It has also been suggested that Devon Star initially used their Torbay Prince from Ipswich in 1946. She was replaced by the 1941 built Fairmile "B" motor launch River Lady II, converted at Brixham, for the 1947 season.

The Harwich & Orwell Navigation Company was formed in 1962 to run the Harwich/Felixstowe ferry service following its closure by British Railways. It was owned by George Goodhew and A.R.Grey. They used the ex-LNER/BR Brightlingsea on the ferry, and they also acquired River Lady II to run excursions. River Lady II was sold in 1963, and was replaced with Torbay Prince again for a few years. After a brief period at Holyhead, River Lady II spent many years abandoned at Glasson Dock. By 1981 River Lady II had become just River Lady, and was a hulk on the mud at low water at St Georges Quay, Lancaster. The Lancaster Auto Spares Company were using blow touches to remove any parts of use to them when the hulk caught fire (21-08-1981).

The River Lady II at Harwich.
Photo: © Philip Cone, August 1952
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The River Lady II at Harwich.
Photo: © Philip Cone, August 1952
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Postcard of Brightlingsea at her berth in Felixstowe Dock, with River Lady II.
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The River Lady II at Harwich - deck saloon removed.
Photo: © Philip Cone, March 1963
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Gay Commodore

Gay Commodore was part of the Commodore Cruises fleet of ex-Navy Fairmile 'B' launches. Gay Commodore has not been identified and reportedly went to Qatar as Shellex in 1948. However the photo below of her at Harwich is dated 1952. I have no further information about her use in the Ipswich/Harwich area. For the record, her sisters were White Commodore (ex-ML445), Silver Commodore (ex-RML499), Fleet Commodore (ex-RML534) and Red Commodore (ex- RML537).

The Gay Commodore off Harwich.
Photo: © Philip Cone, August 1952
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Waverley

Paddle steamers still call at Harwich, and Waverley's first visit was in 1988.


Waverley prior to departure on a single trip to Clacton, Tilbury and London Tower Pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th October 2004.




Waverley at Harwich prior to departure.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th October 2004.




Waverley at Harwich prior to departure.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 9th October 2004.







Orwell Lady

Orwell Lady (118 passengers) is based at Orwell Quay in Ipswich, and is operated by Orwell River Cruises. In 2005 she operates from Easter Saturday until the 28th September, running 3.5 hour cruises to Harwich Docks on 72 days at 14:00, and 2.5 hour cruises to Pin Mill on Sundays at 10:30 on Sundays in July.

Orwell Lady was built in Twickenham in 1979 and operated on the Thames from Westminster Pier. She is 57 ft (17.13m) long and 14 ft (4.26m) in the beam and weighs 42 tonnes. Before being purchased by Orwell River Cruises in 2001, she was based in Poole, Dorset, and was brought to Suffolk as her previous owner was retiring from his business.


Orwell Lady photographed visiting Harwich on a cruise from Ipswich.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 3rd August 2003.




Orwell Lady passing Harwich on a cruise
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 18th July 2007
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Orwell Lady passing Harwich on a cruise
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 18th July 2007
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Local Harwich Ferries

The Harwich-Felixstowe ferry had been inaugurated in 1912 by the GER, using the small launch Pin Mill. Later GER additions were the Hainault and Epping. The Brightlingsea was built for the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1925, by the Rowhedge Ironworks near Colchester (although her hull was wooden). She was the first new vessel delivered to the LNER, which had been formed in 1923 by the amalgamation of the Great Eastern (GER), Great Central (GCR), Great Northern (GNR), North Eastern (NER) and other railways. Brightlingsea was 51 gross tons, and had saloons for 152 passengers.

Brightlingsea passed to British Railways in 1948. From May 1964, the service was assigned to George Goodhew's Orwell & Harwich Navigation Co, for which Brightlingsea operated during the summer. The smaller launch Orwell Haven was used in winter. In 1967, Brightlingsea was joined by the Torbay Prince of 91 gross tons, which was generally used on excursions. When I first visited Harwich in June 1976, Torbay Prince had moved on.

In 1979, the Goodhew concern was taken over by the Felixstowe Dock & Railway Co, which was owned by European Ferries (who also owned Townsend-Thoresen). In 1983/84, Brightlingsea was re-engined. In 1984, the Orwell Bridge was opened, providing faster road links to Felixstowe, and passenger numbers declined significantly. In 1985, Brightlingsea was sold to Harry Rodger, former superintendent of the Orwell & Harwich Nav.Co. She was withdrawn on August 15th of the same year due to engines problems, but reappeared the following year.

Brightlingsea continued to maintain the route until the mid-1990s when she was denied access to her protected berth in Felixstowe Dock, due to port re-development. Eventually, the service re-opened with the landing-craft style ferry Explorer 12, which could run up on the beach at Felixstowe. However this location is very exposed, and the Harwich, Felixstowe & Shotley Foot Ferry Society continue to campaign for a protected jetty at Felixstowe, and a return to full year operations.

On 12th August 2007 Brightlingsea resumed harbour cruises from Harwich Halfpenny Pier, being featured on Anglia TV. The 90 minute cruise costs £12 and sails from the ferry pontoon, Halfpenny Pier, at Harwich. The tour sails out towards Landguard Point, turning back to pass close along the container terminals at Felixstowe, before turning again in the River Orwell to round Shotley Point and sail towards Harwich International Port (previously Parkeston Quay) and finally back to Halfpenny Pier. She operated for two seasons, but a 12 passenger license was inadequate and she did not reappear for a third season.





Brightlingsea

Complete history of Brightlingsea

A.Duncan photographic postcard of Brightlingsea in railway service, arriving at Harwich.




Postcard of Brightlingsea at her berth in Felixstowe Dock.




Postcard of Brightlingsea inside Felixstowe Dock.




Photograph of Brightlingsea at Harwich Halfpenny Pier.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 1987.




Photograph of Brightlingsea at Harwich Halfpenny Pier, with the DFDS ferry Hamburg passing behind.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 1987.




Brightlingsea back in service on a Harbour Tour from Harwich in 2007 - Contact:- www.msbrightlingsea.com
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 25th August 2007
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More images of Brightlingsea at Harwich in 2007






Explorer 12

In recent years the ferry has been operated by the landing craft Explorer 12, which can run up on the beach at Felixstowe. She also runs short cruises upriver towards Harwich International Port. Explorer 12 carries 12 passengers.

More images of Explorer 12


Explorer 12 arriving at Harwich from Shotley.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th May 2004.




Explorer 12 at Felixstowe.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 27th July 2003.




Explorer 12 leaving Harwich for Felixstowe.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 16th May 2004.




Explorer 12 at her berth at Harwich.
Photo: © Ian Boyle, 28th May 2005.




Summer and winter 1999/2000 timetables for Explorer 12 on the Harwich-Felixstowe ferry.
The winter service (weekends only) was later dropped altogether.







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�1999-2011 Copyright Ian Boyle/Simplon Postcards (all pages on web site) All Rights Reserved Free Web Counter Times viewed since 20/08/2007:

Name	Owner	Other names	Built
Brightlingsea	LNER, BR		1925
Dana Anglia	DFDS Seaways	Duke of Scandinavia	1978
Explorer 12			19--
Koningin Beatrix	SM Zeeland	Stena Baltica	1986
Prinses Beatrix	SM Zeeland	Duc de Normandie	1978
St Nicholas	Sealink	Prinsessan Birgitta (2), Stena Normandy, Normandy	1974