paddlesteamers.info : The Internet's leading website for
Side-Wheeled Paddle Steamers
Liverpool
and North Wales Steamship Company
(1891-1962)
Formed in 1891 when New North Wales
Steamship Company (est 1890) took over the Liverpool, Llandudno and Welsh Coast
Steamboat Co and their paddler Bonnie Princess
St Tudno (1889-1890) was the New North Wales Company's
only ship, built in Glasgow by Fairfields who owned the new company and she
was a big success, but was sold to Germany.
She
was renamed Cobra, the name she had been given on launch for first
owners G&J Burns. The vessel was replaced by a second St Tudno after
only one year in service
The
Snowdon Passenger Steamship Company (established in 1892) and its vessel Snowdon was
acquired in 1899, to augment their fleet of paddlers St
Tudno and St Elvies. In 1904, they purchased La Marguerite, a favourite on the
Thames and cross-channel services to Boulogne and Calais. La
Marguerite, regarded as the second largest passenger paddler on
British short-sea and coastal service, set a pattern for size and
grandeur but was an extremely expensive vessel to run. Her replacement was
the large turbine St Tudno (2300
GRT), to which the company added a smaller second turbine
(St Seiriol - 1586 GRT). These ships maintained
the service until the company went into voluntary liquidation after
the 1962 season along with the much smaller motor vessel St Trillo. The turbine
steamers quickly went to the breakers. St Trillo found further service with
P & A Campbell on the Bristol Channel.
Above : La Marguerite was the largest paddle steamer ever on
coastal excursions in the UK although she was initially designed for
taking passengers from the Thames across to France and Belgium.
Shipbuilders Fairfield Engineering & Shipbuilding of Govan found
they had to use her in one of their company-owned shipping lines after her first owners defaulted, so she
was allocated to the Liverpool & Northwestern Steamship Company.
She ran for twenty years out of Liverpool to Landudno and piers in the
Menai Straits. She was probably too large and definitely too expensive
but offered a great degree of luxury on this popular tourist route. Phote : From a post card view off Bangor
Disposed of on establishment of the company : St Tudno (to Albert Ballin at Hamburg as Cobra), Prince Arthur (1851, ex- City of Dublin SP Co)
Acquired on establishment from company taken over
Bonnie Princess (1891-1895, sold to Dutch owners)
New Build (by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering, owners of the company)
St Tudno (1891-1912)
St Elvies (1896-1931)
Acquired when a company was taken over
Snowdon (1899-1931)
Allocated by Fairfield after ship was returned to builders by liquidated owners
La Marguerite (1904-1925)
Second-hand purchases
St Elian (1907-1915)
St Trillo
(1909-1921)
For postcard images of the vessels - please see Ian Boyle's
Simplon Postcasrds website : http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/LNWSS.html
Other vessels (For
details of the Turbine Steamers - TS - Go to the sister website : Clyde
Turbine Steamers
TS St Seiriol - never
sailed for company - lost in 1918
SS St Elian (1922-1927)
TS St Tudno (1926-1962)
TS St Seiriol (1931-1962)
MV St Silio / St Trillo (1936-1962)
Bibliography
The Liverpool and North Wales
Steamship Company
By John Shepherd
Published
in 2006 by Ships in Focus Publications, 18 Franklands, Longton, Preston, Lancashire,
PR4 5PD
ISBN: 1 901703 67 3
Illustrated review of the shipping company
and its vessels
Return
to:
North Wales and
Lancashire
Clyde
Turbine Steamers