William Watkins Paddle Tugs

See also William Watkins (of London)

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William Watkins Paddle Tugs.

ALTHOUGH tugs are not strictly relevant to the subject of this book, the reason for including a chapter on the oldest English firm of tug owners is that several of these have been used from time to time on seasonal excursion and other passenger work.

In years gone by, the tug was a very important vessel, but since the disappearance of die sailing ship, its former chief activity is now very seldom called for, and today the work of tugs is confined to towing barges and assisting big ships in and out of dock.

The first steam tug that came to the London river was the LADY DUNDAS in 1832; she came from the Tyne and was followed soon after by the WEAR which came from Sunderland. The latter was a failure on the Thames, not being sufficiently powerful to work against the tide, much less to take a ship in tow.

In 1833 the firm of W. Watkins was founded and this company is the only one of the pioneer English tug-owners to survive, although in Scotland the Clyde Shipping Co., still one of the most important tug owners in Britain, was started in 1819. On the Thames the Watkins tugs are conspicuous with their black and green hulls, white paddle boxes and black funnels with a deep red band painted well down from the top.

The first tug owned by Watkins was the MONARCH, needless to say a paddler; with two exceptions all the firm’s tugs were paddlers until 1880, when the screw was finally adopted. The MONARCH hailed from the North. Built of wood and nearly 65 feet in length, 14 ft. beam and a draught of 7 ft. 5 in. She was clincher built, having a cut-away bow and counter stern. Tonnage just over 26. The engine registered 20 N.H.P. being built by Wait of N. Shields. In 1845, the original flue boiler was replaced by a tubular boiler which greatly reduced the fuel consumption as the original boiler was stated to have been a regular “ fuel eater.”

In 1856, in spite of her age, new patent paddle wheels were fitted and the engine, boiler and hull were overhauled, at a cost of £1,000, by Wigram’s at Blackwall.

In 1861 the MONARCH was again given a new boiler, and in 1876, she was sold for scrapping, the sale realising £40

FIDDLER, 1840. In 1840 came the FIDDLER, but no details of this tug have survived, beyond the fact she could take on jobs that were beyond the capabilities of the MONARCH.

LORD WARDEN. The LORD WARDEN followed the FIDDLER, but little is known about her, except that her engine was put into another tug when her hull was worn out.

PUNCH (I), 1846. In 1846, the PUNCH was acquired, afterwards she went out to Constantinople, being one of the first tugs in Turkish waters.

PAUL PRY, 1847. The PAUL PRY was built at Millwall in 1847, clincher built and 80 ft. in length with a beam of 15 ft. 5 in. and a gross tonnage of 83. In 1858, she was overhauled and fitted with a new boiler and patent paddles which gave her another lease of life, as the hull was perfectly sound, although she had been laid up since the close of the Crimean War as obsolete. In 1865, she was in again for general overhaul and in the year following was sold to the Commercial Towing Co., but after that did not survive on the river long.

JOHN BULL, 1849. In 1849, JOHN BULL was added to the fleet, she was carvel built by Wigram’s, Blackwall. Length 96 ft. having an 18 ft. 2 in. beam and a gross tonnage of 114. In 1853, Mr. Watkins Junr. who was setting up in business as a tug owner at Birkenhead on the Mersey took over the JOHN BULL. In 1859, the JOHN BULL returned to the Thames and then had new side-lever engines and boilers installed.

UNCLE SAM, 1849. The UNCLE SAM came in 1849, built by C. J. Mare and Co., West Ham, 10i ft. 7 in. in length by 18 ft. 3 in. beam. This veteran survived until 1900, when she was sold to Dutch shipbreakers.

SAUCY JACK / JOHN LEE, 1850. This tug was built in 1844 by A. Woodhouse of South Shields. She was clincher built 90.2 ft. long by 17 ft. beam with a registered tonnage of 28. When she came round to the Thames she was not very successful and in consequence was sold to the Southampton Dock Co. for handling big steamers. In December, 1850, she was purchased by the Watkins firm and re-named SAUCY JACK, but after a time she reverted to the original name of JOHN LEE.

BRITANNIA (I), 1852. In 1852, the BRITANNIA was built by Money, Wigram and Co. at their Northam shipyard. This tug was a wooden paddler 100.5 'ft- in length having a beam 16.7 ft. and carried a figure-head and bowsprit. It may be said there were two classes of Thames tugs, those mainly confined to the river and the sea-going fraternity. The sea-going tugs frequently went far down into the Channel and across to Continental ports; early in 1855 the BRITANNIA was put on this work and one of her first long tows was to take the 735 ton COLUMBIA from Deptford to Calais Roads. The BRITANNIA proved to be one of the best tugs on the Thames. Late in 1855 she was sold to Constantinople.

VICTORIA, 1853. The VICTORIA was built in 1853, and was by far the largest and most powerful tug on the river for some years. She was built of teak and oak and had a gross tonnage of 152. She had a clipper bow and one of her improvements was a steam windlass which saved a great deal of time in hauling in the anchor.

The VICTORIA was one of the few boats at the time to have two funnels athwart but soon after the practice of having two boilers side by side became general. In 1859, she was given new boilers and patent paddle wheels. However, the new boilers did not give satisfactory results and in 1864 another new set of boilers were put in and at the same time a general overhaul was given. A fourth set of boilers was put in in 1875. In January, 1906, this fine did tug was taken to Mill wall for scrapping.

PUNCH (2), 1854. In 1854, Money, Wigram of Blackwall launched the PUNCH - the second of her name. She was a fine little iron paddler of 115 tons gross drawing 6.5 ft. of water. At her bows she carried a fine carved wooden figure-head of Punch which she lost in a heavy sea in a gale in the Channel. However it was salvaged and afterwards graced the “ Blue Anchor ” public house in High Street, Newhaven until that hostelry was pulled down.

The PUNCH was the first mercantile vessel to pass under Tower Bridge after the opening in June, 1894. In November, 1895, this famous tug was sold to North Shields owners for £1,600 in spite of her age, and remained hard at work until November, 1911, when she was in collision off Shields, but although she was salved she never worked again and was scrapped.

DON, 1855. Early in 1855, this little wooden paddler was purchased for river use only. She was clincher-built of 45.9 tons and 72.2 ft. in length with a 14 ft. 9 in. beam; a single cylinder engine provided the motive power. The DON was built as far back as 1841. She was broken up in 1865.

TOBY, 1855. The composite built TOBY hailed from Greenwich in 1855. Length 80.3 ft. by 17 ft., and of 73 tons. In 1862, she was sold to Jersey, in 1879 she went over to France, and in 1882 she returned to England to go to Hull, remaining on the East coast until she was cut up in 1904.

DEFIANCE, 1856. The DEFIANCE was an iron paddler built at South Shields. She commenced work on the Thames in 1856. In 1869, she was modernised and re-boilered, and in 1871 sold to the East and West India Dock Company.

NAPOLEON, 1857. In 1857, the carvel-built paddler NAPOLEON was purchased, having been built at Southampton. This tug was specially designed for taking Jong tows and had all the latest refinements of her day. She had two funnels abreast and twin engines thus introducing the double engine principle on the Thames. Unfortunately her twin engines proved to be too powerful for her wooden hull resulting in continuous expense. The gross tonnage was 157. In July, 1870, the NAPOLEON was re-boilered and practically re-engined at Wigram’s. In 1881 she foundered at sea.

ANTAGONIST, 1857. The ANTAGONIST was an iron-built paddler by Lungley’s of Deptford, built in 1857; a vessel 91.6 ft. in length. About 1863, the ANTAGONIST was chartered for a time by the Isle of Wight Steam Packet Co. to ply between Littlehampton and Ventnor. In August, 1867, she was sold to Dutch owners at Amsterdam.

VICTOR, 1859. In 1859, clipper stemmed tug VICTOR was bought, having been built at Deptford in 1857. To enable the VICTOR to undertake long distance tows, she was fitted in 1866 with a surface condenser, new boilers and the engines given a thorough overhaul. On one occasion, she towed a dredger from the Thames to Cadiz and on another occasion took a dredger to Ferrol from the Victoria Docks. In 1880, she was again re-boilered and considerable repairs to the hull and engines carried out giving her another lease of life; she lasted until 1894.

TIMES, 1861. The TIMES, a wooden clincher-built paddler was purchased in 1861, being built at South Shields in 1857. She was a tug of 78 gross tons. In May, 1874, the TIMES was run down in the Thames, was salved and almost entirely rebuilt. She continued in service until broken up in 1887.

ANNETTE, 1862. The ANNETTE, an iron paddler built in 1862 by James Ash of London. She was fitted with Stewart engines, having 29 in. diameter cylinders. The boilers were in advance of their time being fitted with superheaters and surface condensers instead of the old jet type. In the 186o’s the ANNETTE was chartered by Messrs. Brett to run in a competitive service between Ryde and Stokes Bay. In 1869 the ANNETTE was sold and went to the Danube.

BRITANNIA (2), 1862. The BRITANNIA, which had been built in 1855, was purchased by Watkins in 1862. A useful little paddler of 97 tons gross. She was sold in 1875 to the ship-breakers, the boilers being put into the EXPRESS.

EXPRESS, 1864. In 1864, the EXPRESS was bought, an iron paddler of 94 gross tons, she was built in 1856 on the Tyne. Her dimensions were 88.9 ft. long with an 18.6 ft. beam. In 1876, the EXPRESS underwent a large refit and received the boilers taken out of the BRITANNIA (2) which had been repaired and classed as equal to new. In 1880, she was disposed of to owners at Milford where she worked until she was broken up in 1898.

ANGLIA, 1866. The year 1866 saw the introduction of the very famous tug ANGLIA, the pioneer of all first-class long-distance tugs. The ANGLIA was in many ways a very noteworthy vessel, firstly she had two funnels abreast abaft the paddle boxes and one forward of them and as such was known on the river as "Three Fingered Jack" and was always conspicuous at sea. The ANGLIA had three boilers, a funnel to each boiler; the original intention was to have four boilers and four funnels, an arrangement only equalled by the celebrated BEN-MY-CREE the large paddle steamer owned by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. at one time. The ANGLIA carried the largest bunkers ever put in a tug and she needed them as she was very extravagant on coal. Her boilers were tubular and the side lever engines developed 700 I. H. P. thus making her the most powerful tug on the London river and probably in the World. The ANGLIA was a fine sea-boat but she wanted careful handling in steering owing to her full lines aft. In 1872, she went to the Naval Review at Spithead held in honour of the visit of the Shah of Persia, conveying a party of guests. In 1880, she was thoroughly modernised and tackled some very big jobs, one being a tow to Malaga.

In 1894, the ANGLIA was sold as tugs of her date were obsolete, but it was not the end of her career as Messrs. Palmer’s, the ship-builders, bought her. The engines, boilers and paddle wheels were scrapped and she was converted into a towing lighter to carry iron from the Tees to the Tyne.

When the 1914 war broke out she was employed working to and from the North East coast and France, generally in tow of a French warship, carrying coal for munition works and the railways. An event which made the ANGLIA conspicuous took place in 1875 and was referred to by every paper interested in shipping matters when she undertook the most difficult tow of the broken down Union Steamship Co. liner SYRIA from St. Helena to Southampton. Later she towed a dredger from Cardiff to St. Petersburg.

ALBION (I) ex FRIEND OF ALL NATIONS, 1868. The paddle tug FRIEND OF ALL NATIONS was purchased in 1868 and almost at once renamed ALBION. This tug was built at Newcastle in 1851 and was of 168 gross tons. Her usual work was to steam down Channel to pick up sailing craft and go as far west as Land’s End. Her time with the Watkins firm was short as she was underpowered for their requirements. She was sold in 1869 and went to Trieste.

CAMBRIA, 1870. The CAMBRIA was built by the Thames Iron Works in 1870 and was a big improvement on the ANGLIA. She was fitted with two cylinder side-lever engines by Stewart and was a vessel of 209 gross tons; she had two funnels abreast, the mizen mast being placed close to the rear of the funnels but the foremast was fixed well forward. The CAMBRIA was distinguishable from the other paddle tugs as she had side houses on the front only of the paddle boxes. In 1876, the CAMBRIA was chartered by the Duke of Bedford to visit the yachting regattas round the coast and for this purpose she was painted white and the funnels yellow. With her clipper bows she was a handsome craft, and in view of long sea-going trips was built with large cabins enabling the crew to sling hammocks. In 1887, the CAMBRIA had the novel experience of being placed under arrest at Cherbourg for violating the French law. The CAMBRIA had towed a vessel from Dunkirk, the law being that all coastal trade must be undertaken by French vessels. The CAMBRIA, excepting the IONA, was the last remaining paddle tug on the London river.

ALBION (2), 1870. The second ALBION was purchased in June, 1870, a small vessel of 109 tons, fitted with Stewart engines which gave a speed of 12 knots. One of the ALBION’S first duties was to cruise between Falmouth and the coast of Ireland to give warning to French ships of the outbreak of the Franco-German war. This duty was also performed by CAMBRIA. Although a handy vessel the ALBION was not up to requirements as owing to her light draught she did not have a proper grip on the water when engaged on a heavy tow, so in January, 1872, she was disposed of to Belgian owners at Antwerp.

ROBERT BRUCE, 1872. To replace the ALBION, the ROBERT BRUCE was purchased in 1872, a tug which had been built in 1865 for the Caledonian Steam Towing Co. at Poplar. The ROBERT BRUCE was a powerful iron-built vessel of 192 tons, a conspicuous feature was her very large paddle boxes. In 1892, she was laid aside and sold to the shipbreakers; she was not, however, broken up, but the boilers and engines were removed and the hull sold to the Port Sanitary Authority, London, who moored her off Gravesend as a medical hulk and named her HYGEIA. As such she remained until she was broken up in 1910.

ATLAS (I), 1873. In 1873, a small wooden carvel-built paddle tug of 100 gross tons was bought from Bristol. She was getting on in years, as 1854 was her date, but in spite of that she was a handy acquisition. In 1879, the ATLAS had a thorough overhaul and was given two second-hand tubular boilers and continued in service until broken up in 1887.

HIBERNIA, 1874. The HIBERNIA an iron vessel was added to the Watkins fleet in 1874, and was very similar to the CAMBRIA, she was fitted with side-lever engines and had a gross tonnage of 238. In 1883, the HIBERNIA was re-boilered and in the following year was solid to Havre and after many changes of ownership she returned to her original owners in 1911.

SCOTIA, 1874. The SCOTIA was a similar tug to the HIBERNIA and with the CAMBRIA were regarded as Watkins’ best tugs.

TITAN ex ATLAS, 1874. Following the SCOTIA, in the same year, was purchased the Dundee-built tug ATLAS for river work; she was immediately renamed TITAN, as there was already a tug named ATLAS belonging to the General Steam Navigation Company. The TITAN was built in 1865. In 1888, the TITAN was sold to tug owners at North Shields where she spent many years, being specially suitable for the narrow river.

RENOWN, 1874. In the same year, 1874, the RENOWN was purchased. She had been built at Deptford in 1863 and had Stewart- built engines and was an iron clipper bow paddler of 165 tons gross. The RENOWN was a light draught vessel. Prior to Watkins taking her over she had already seen service on the London river and prior to that was engaged at the Port of Fleetwood. In 1903, the RENOWN was sold to shipbreakers in Holland.

PILOT, 1875. In the autumn of 1875, this wooden clincher-built paddler of 71 tons gross with engines of 30 n.h.p. was purchased from South Shields. This tug had been built as far back as 1858, and in 1864 had been fitted with new engines and boilers. A considerable amount of money was spent on her when purchased but she was a source of trouble nevertheless as the engines were too powerful for the hull and she was soon disposed of.

INDIA, 1876. In 1876, Watkins placed an order with Westwood & Baillie for a sea-going tug, to be named the INDIA. She had a gross tonnage of 218 and was fitted with Stewart’s side-lever engines. Unfortunately, lack of power was her main drawback. She was a fine sea boat and during the summer months of 1890-3 was employed on sea excursions running from Margate which proved a profitable undertaking. In 1894, she was sold to the Tees, and ten years later was turned into a hulk.

FOX, 1877. The FOX was acquired in October, 1877, and disposed of in the following February.

MALTA, 1886. In the year 1886, Watkins purchased three of the Ben tugs, the first being the small tug BEN ACHIE, which was renamed MALTA. This vessel did not remain long on the Thames. Whilst undergoing repairs at Newcastle in 1888 due to a broken paddle shaft she was sold.

BURMAH and IONA, 1866. The other two Ben tugs, which were sisters, were the BEN LOMOND and the BEN NEVIS immediately renamed BURMAH and IONA respectively. When purchased they were in a poor condition and it was not until 1887 after they had been thoroughly overhauled that they were put in service. In 1899, the BURMAH was sold. The IONA had the distinction of being the last paddle tug to work on the Thames.

CYNTHIA, 1892. In 1892, Messrs. Watkins influenced by the success of the INDIA in making sea trips from Margate, decided to have a steamer built especially for excursion work. So the CYNTHIA was built at South Shields by J. T. Eltringham and Co. and was an exceptionally handsome little vessel.

After running for some seasons from Margate, competition became too keen and she was withdrawn and for a time went North but came back later to the Thames for a while. For three seasons the CYNTHIA was running from Hastings and in 1930 she went to Ireland. In 1934 during a severe gale, whilst she was in Kingstown, she broke away from her moorings and was driven against the harbour wall becoming a total loss.

The advent of the screw tug in 1880 brings this chapter to a close.

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