Institution news
Dartmouth’s Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle has today (Tuesday 20 May) received Devon’s first Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Engineering Heritage Award.
The award was in recognition of PS Kingswear Castle’s unique status as Britain’s last operational coal-fired paddle steamer. PS Kingswear Castle was built in 1924 by Philip & Son of Dartmouth and is powered by a 1904 Cox & Co compound diagonal steam engine.
The Engineering Heritage Awards recognise artefacts of special engineering significance and previous winners of these awards include Concorde 101, Tower Bridge and the Jaguar E-type.
The award was presented by John Wood, Chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Heritage Committee, to Jeremy Gold, Chairman of Kingswear Castle Trust, at a special ceremony at the South Embankment in Dartmouth.
John Wood, Chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Heritage Committee, said:
“The PS Kingswear Castle is a fantastic surviving example of the type of paddle steamer that was in popular use in seaside and river tourist resorts in the first half of the 20th century.
“Kingswear Castle allows us to see, at first hand, the intricate and elegant machinery used to power these excursion steamers. It is also particularly heartening that this steamer isn’t just beautiful to look at, but is fully functioning and still enjoyed by hundreds of passengers every year.
“This award pays tribute not just to the wonderful artefact but also to the hugely valuable work of the Kingswear Castle Trust and the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society to restore and maintain the steamer.”
Jeremy Gold, Chairman of Kingswear Castle Trust, said:
“We are delighted to receive this prestigious award from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in recognition of the effort and support of all those who have contributed to restoring and maintaining Kingswear Castle. The result of these combined efforts has resulted in the splendidly presented ship sailing on the River Dart today.”
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The Kingswear Castle was built by Philip & Son of Dartmouth in 1924 for the River Dart Steamboat Co. Her engines are older than the paddle steamer itself, having been taken from her predecessor of the same name, built in 1904. She was one of three ships built for the River Dart in the 1920s, the other two being the Compton Castle and Totnes Castle.
Kingswear Castle was chartered to the United States Navy during World War II, and was used for carrying stores and personnel at Dartmouth. In 1965 Kingswear Castle was withdrawn from service and became the first purchase of the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society two years later.
After various difficulties and a great deal of restoration work, Kingswear Castle was once again brought back into service in 1985 where she ran summer excursions on the River Medway and Thames. In 2012, the paddle steamer returned to the River Dart and now runs a summer cruises alongside the Dartmouth Steam Railway.
The PS Kingswear Castle is owned by a charitable trust under the wing of the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS). PSPS also owns PS Waverley, the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world, which was presented with an Engineering Heritage Award in 2011.