SS ''Robin'' is a 350 gross registered ton (GRT) steam coaster, a class of

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

designed for carrying bulk and general cargoes in coastal waters, and the oldest complete example in the world. One of a pair of coasters built in Bow Creek,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1890, the ship was built for British owners, but spent most of her long working life on the Spanish coast as ''Maria''. In 1974, she was purchased for restoration as ''Robin'' and is listed by

National Historic Ships National Historic Ships UK is a government-funded independent organisation that advises UK governments and others on matters relating to historic ships.

as part of the National Historic Fleet (the nautical equivalent of a Grade 1 Listed Building). She is situated at Trinity Buoy Wharf in east London, opening as the SS ''Robin'' museum, theatre and educational centre in 2014.

Specification

As built, ''Robin'' was long, her beam is , her depth is and her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on '' tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a cal ...

is . She carried about 450 tons of cargo. The engine is a three-cylinder triple expansion steam engine, developing , and made in 1890 by Gourlay Brothers & Co of

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, Scotland. Her maximum speed was . In

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited, trading as Lloyd's Register (LR), is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research ...

she was described as a "steel screw 3-masted schooner", and had indeed been provided with sails for all three masts when first built.

History

''Robin'' was ordered from Mackenzie, MacAlpine & Co of

Orchard House Yard Orchard House Yard (known as Orchard Yard and Hercules Wharf) was an English shipbuilding yard located at Leamouth, on the River Lea at Bow Creek (England), Bow Creek . Forming part of the Orchard House estate, a number of shipbuilders occupied t ...

, Hercules Wharf, Blackwall, London, situated in Bow Creek at the mouth of the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

, by London shipowner Robert Thomson, and launched on 16 September 1890. However, she and her sister ''Rook'' were completed by Thomson himself, though the reason is unknown. After fitting out in the East India Dock, ''Robin'' was towed to

to have her engine, boiler and auxiliary machinery installed by Gourlay Brothers & Co. When completed she was registered in London with

Official number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

98185 and in the ownership of Arthur Ponsonby of Newport, then in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

1890 to 1900

On 20 December 1890, ''Robin'' commenced her career in the British coastal service at Liverpool, with a crew of 12 signing the Articles for her maiden voyage. As a coaster her range was normally limited to the Home Trade limits (broadly from the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

to Brest). However, on her first voyage she went further, to

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

; the owners had to replace the Master's mate with another, who held the correct certificate, until the ship returned to

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

on 10 January. Her second voyage began at

on 14 January 1891, visiting

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsf ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, Eastham and Garston on the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, Rochester, Newport,

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

arriving in

by 5 April 1891. This would be typical of her trading under the

Red Ensign The Red Ensign or Red Duster is the civil ensign of the United Kingdom. It is one of the British ensigns, and it is used either plain or defacement (flag), defaced with either a Glossary of vexillology#Flag elements, badge or a Glossary of v ...

, carrying bulk cargoes of grain, iron ore, scrap steel, pit props, china clay, railway steel, general cargoes of casked and baled goods such as herring barrels, and even granite blocks for the

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The can ...

. In 1892, ''Robin'' was sold to Andrew Forrester Blackater of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, where she was re-registered.

1900 to 1974

In 1900 ''Robin'' was sold and renamed ''Maria''; for the next 74 years she had three different Spanish owners: * 1900–1913 Blanco Hermanos y Compañia of

Ribadesella Ribadesella () is a small municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Known for its location on the Cantabrian Sea, at the outlet of the River Sella, Ribadesella is a town that forms part of the Picos de Eur ...

. * 1913–1965 Hijos de Angel Perez y Compañia of Santander. During World War I she carried iron slabs for the French government from the foundry at

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, escorted by two

destroyers In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

to protect her from German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s. From 1935 to 1939 (the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

) the ship was laid up at San Esteban de Pravia. * 1965–1974 Eduardo de la Sota Poveda of

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, working around Bilbao and the north coast of Spain until 1974, carrying coal for the bunkering of liners. Until 1965, ''Maria''s structure stayed mainly unchanged; in 1966 she had a major refit with the

whaleback A whaleback was a type of cargo steamship of unusual design, with a hull that continuously curved above the waterline from vertical to horizontal. When fully loaded, only the rounded portion of the hull (the "whaleback" proper) could be seen a ...

(at the stern) and the

mizzen mast The mast of a sailing ship, sailing vessel is a tall spar (sailing), spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median plane, median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, givi ...

removed, the foremast and the funnel shortened, and the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...

extended. The coal-fired furnaces were modified for oil fuel. After this she resumed trading.

1974 to 2002

''Maria'' was discovered by the Maritime Trust in 1972. Following an inspection, it was decided that she was worth preserving, and in May 1974 she was purchased, on the brink of being sold to Spanish breakers. In June 1974 she came home to

St Katharine Docks St Katharine Docks is a former dock in the St Katherine and Wapping ward of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies in the East End of London, East End on the north bank of the River Thames, immediately downstream of the Tower of London an ...

under her own steam and was renamed ''Robin''. She was restored at a cost of £250,000, with most work taking place in 1974 and 1975 at the Doust & Co shipyard at

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about east-southeast of London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, ...

, and was subsequently moored in St Katharine Docks. She was moved to new moorings in 1991 at West India Quay but fell into disrepair. In 2000 David and Nishani Kampfner were looking for a unique space to be transformed into an area for innovation and learning. They bought ''Robin'' for £1. In 2002, SS Robin Trust was created to bring awareness to the general public about the importance of the ship. With the help of many volunteers they began restoration on this coastal steamer.

2002 to 2008

Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

provided SS Robin Trust with a £1.9 million loan to enable her to move to dry dock for restoration works to commence. Before she was able to be moved, her masts, funnel, lifeboats and davits were dismantled and removed by Cutty Sark Enterprises. She was then towed from West India Quay down the

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

locks to South Quay for temporary mooring. Around this time the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

had also been approved and SS Robin Trust was awarded a grant of just under £1 million.

2008 to 2010

In June 2008, ''Robin'' was to undergo her first seaward journey in 35 years from South Quay to

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

for structural restoration using, so far as was practicable, the same craft skills with which she was built in 1890, conserving her Victorian technology. Once at Lowestoft a detailed examination revealed that after 118 years she was now considered too fragile to be able to float again. Initially it was thought that ''Robin'' would need a 40% steel replacement, but after the examination it showed that she would need an 80% steel replacement thereby essentially ruining her historical value. These new findings urged SS Robin Trust to find a less destructive approach maintaining ''Robin''. It soon became clear that a pontoon would be the most innovative and least destructive method to keep her floating and to preserve and display her original riveted fabric. It also provided a wealth of more space. In 2010, ''Robin'' was lifted by two cranes and placed onto her new pontoon. She was then towed to

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

where she was moored for a year.

2010 to present

After 3 years of conservation work in

, in July 2011 ''Robin'' returned to east London, where she was originally built, to undergo further internal restoration and preparation before opening as the SS Robin museum, theatre and educational centre in the

Royal Victoria Dock The Royal Victoria Dock is the largest of three docks in the Royal Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped London Docklands, Docklands. History Although, the structure was in place in the year 1850, it was opened in 1855, on a pre ...

in Newham borough in 2014, with the support of a grant of just over £950,000 from the

. She was then subsequently moved to the Millennium Mills Dock, where she was temporarily berthed for further restoration and development before reopening to the public, at the western end of the Royal Victoria Dock (close to the

London Cable Car The London cable car, also known as the Dangleway and officially as the IFS Cloud Cable Car for Naming rights, sponsorship reasons, is a Aerial lift, cable car link across the River Thames in London, England. The line was built by Doppelmayr Gar ...

), in 2015. In 2023, she was moved to Trinity Buoy Wharf.

Arts & Education Centre and Museum

In 2002, David and Nishani Kampfner bought ''Robin'' and founded the SS Robin Trust as a registered charity (

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

is an honorary member, and Jim Fitzpatrick MP, and Channel 4 news reader Jon Snow are patrons). The Trust converted her into an educational centre and photographic gallery; in this restoration, the original beams, structures, fittings and engine were preserved and restored by her volunteer crew. She operated as a learning centre and photojournalism gallery from 2003, with an extensive programme of exhibitions, talks, seminars and workshops designed to build bridges between communities and interacting with local schools and businesses. The gallery, with a flexible classroom and exhibition area, was accommodated within the original cargo hold.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robin Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Museum ships in the United Kingdom Ships built in Leamouth Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet 1890 ships