Tattershall Castle
When I worked in Westminster one might be able to spot me on a nice summer’s day evening having a glass of something cool and refreshing on the deck of this ship after work, quite possibly with an attractive girl. But that was a long time ago.....
The ship is the Tattershall Castle, one of three paddle steamers built for LNER Railway’s Hull - New Holland ferry service maintaining a year-round service for passengers, cars, cattle and cargo. She was officially launched on 24 September 1934 and named after Tattershall Castle in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. [Of her sister ships, PS Lincoln Castle was scrapped in 2010, while the PS Wingfield Castle is on display in Hartlepool Historic Quay.]
During World War Two she was commandeered to ferry troops and supplies along the Humber to wherever they were needed. It was also used as a tether for barrage balloons. After the war, with the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, she became part of British Rail's Sealink service.
In 1948, due to the heavy fogs often encountered on the Humber, the Tattershall Castle was fitted with radar, becoming one of the first civilian ships to have this facility. After years of continual service by 1973 urgent work was needed on the ship’s boilers to keep it operational but it was deemed too costly to carry out, and the Tattershall Castle was retired. [At this time construction work on the Humber Suspension Bridge was underway, the opening of which in 1981 sealed the fate of the Humber ferries that were known to have existed since at least Roman times]. During its 39 years of service, the Tattershall Castle had carried more than a million passengers. In 1975 it left the Humber for the first time, and was towed to the berth on London’s Embankment it occupies today. Opened by the then Lord Mayor of London as the capital’s first floating Art Gallery and Conference Centre.
In 1981 she was sold to the Chef & Brewer pub restaurant group, taken to the river Medway for major hull repairs, reopening as a bar and restaurant in August 1982. In 2003 she was taken to Great Yarmouth for a refit, which included having her paddle wheels removed and her bridge totally rebuilt [again] and enlarging the windows in the forward lounge to give a better view of the London Eye opposite. The refurbishment cost a total of £4.75million. Two years later she was bought by a newly-formed pub group, which named itself the Tattershall Castle Group. The company has since changed its name to TCG, but its logo still incorporates a boat design and the ‘Tatts’ is one of the ‘jewels in the crown’ of their nationwide estate of pubs and bars.
On 19th January 2015 the ship was taken back to Hull, where it received a major refurbishment, including reinforcing its hull.
Back in London, the ‘Tatts’ is back with a brand-new look. Me, I just look older……
Tattershall Castle
When I worked in Westminster one might be able to spot me on a nice summer’s day evening having a glass of something cool and refreshing on the deck of this ship after work, quite possibly with an attractive girl. But that was a long time ago.....
The ship is the Tattershall Castle, one of three paddle steamers built for LNER Railway’s Hull - New Holland ferry service maintaining a year-round service for passengers, cars, cattle and cargo. She was officially launched on 24 September 1934 and named after Tattershall Castle in Sleaford, Lincolnshire. [Of her sister ships, PS Lincoln Castle was scrapped in 2010, while the PS Wingfield Castle is on display in Hartlepool Historic Quay.]
During World War Two she was commandeered to ferry troops and supplies along the Humber to wherever they were needed. It was also used as a tether for barrage balloons. After the war, with the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, she became part of British Rail's Sealink service.
In 1948, due to the heavy fogs often encountered on the Humber, the Tattershall Castle was fitted with radar, becoming one of the first civilian ships to have this facility. After years of continual service by 1973 urgent work was needed on the ship’s boilers to keep it operational but it was deemed too costly to carry out, and the Tattershall Castle was retired. [At this time construction work on the Humber Suspension Bridge was underway, the opening of which in 1981 sealed the fate of the Humber ferries that were known to have existed since at least Roman times]. During its 39 years of service, the Tattershall Castle had carried more than a million passengers. In 1975 it left the Humber for the first time, and was towed to the berth on London’s Embankment it occupies today. Opened by the then Lord Mayor of London as the capital’s first floating Art Gallery and Conference Centre.
In 1981 she was sold to the Chef & Brewer pub restaurant group, taken to the river Medway for major hull repairs, reopening as a bar and restaurant in August 1982. In 2003 she was taken to Great Yarmouth for a refit, which included having her paddle wheels removed and her bridge totally rebuilt [again] and enlarging the windows in the forward lounge to give a better view of the London Eye opposite. The refurbishment cost a total of £4.75million. Two years later she was bought by a newly-formed pub group, which named itself the Tattershall Castle Group. The company has since changed its name to TCG, but its logo still incorporates a boat design and the ‘Tatts’ is one of the ‘jewels in the crown’ of their nationwide estate of pubs and bars.
On 19th January 2015 the ship was taken back to Hull, where it received a major refurbishment, including reinforcing its hull.
Back in London, the ‘Tatts’ is back with a brand-new look. Me, I just look older……