SS ''Shieldhall'' is a preserved steamship that operates from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. She is one of the last reciprocating steam engined ships built, using technology that dated back to the last quarter of the 19th century and which was obsolete at the time of her construction. She spent her working life as one of the "Clyde

sludge Sludge is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. For example, it can be produced as a settled suspension obtained from conventional ...

boats", making regular trips from

Shieldhall Shieldhall is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated directly south of the River Clyde and is part of the wider Govan area. Location and history Taking its name from the country estate which occupied the territory until the ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, down the River Clyde and

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

past the Isle of Arran, to dump treated sewage sludge at sea. These steamships had a tradition, dating back to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, of taking organised parties of passengers on their trips during the summer. SS ''Shieldhall'' has been preserved and the accommodation is again being put to good use for cruises.

History

The 1,972-ton ''Shieldhall'' was laid down in October 1954, built by Lobnitz & Co. of Renfrew who also constructed the two triple expansion steam engines which are set vertically in a similar way to the much larger engines on the RMS ''Titanic''. By the 1950s Lobnitz usually built its engines with enclosed crankcases but the Shieldhall was deliberately fitted with traditional open-crank engines. Glasgow Corporation had long allowed day-trippers access to the engine room of its ships while at sea and the older-style engines allowed passengers to see the workings of the engines in operation. She was built on the classic lines of a 1920s steam tanker with a traditional wheelhouse of riveted and welded construction, a slightly raked stem and a cruiser stern. Her length is and breadth . Accommodation was provided for 80 passengers. She entered service in October 1955 and was operated by

Glasgow Corporation The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Local government As one o ...

to transport treated sewage sludge down the Clyde to be dumped at sea. She and her sister ships were jocularly known as Clyde banana boats as the livery resembled that of a well known banana shipping company. In 1976 after 21 years of service on the Clyde, ''Shieldhall'' was laid up, and in the following year was bought by the

Southern Water Authority Southern Water is the private utility company responsible for the public wastewater collection and treatment in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent, and for the public water supply and distribution in approximately ...

to carry sludge from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, to an area south of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

Preservation

Due to rising fuel prices she was withdrawn from service in 1985, then was taken over by a preservation society, The ''Solent Steam Packet Limited'', which operates as a charity. All work associated with the Society and ''Shieldhall'' is carried out by unpaid volunteers. The remaining Glasgow sludge boats kept going into the 1990s, when changing environmental standards led to new ways of treating the sludge. She has been restored to sea-going condition, and is listed as part of the

National Historic Fleet The National Historic Fleet is a list of historic ships and vessels located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register. National Historic Ships UK is an advisory body which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media ...

. ''Shieldhall'' is now a frequent sight around the Solent running excursions, crewed by volunteers. She has been to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

for the

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

Steam Festival and has been at ''International Festivals of the Sea'' at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. Passengers are encouraged to visit the bridge and see the engine room, getting an understanding of the days of steam. In 1999, the ship was used in Rede Globo's Brazilian telenovela " Terra Nostra", playing a fictional Italian ship ''Andrea I''. In July 2005, ''Shieldhall'' made a return visit to the Clyde, taking part in the ''River Festival'' in Glasgow, and berthing at Custom House Quay, Greenock. She made a number of excursions, taking passengers on cruises from Greenock on her old route down the Clyde to Arran. Sheildhall in Southampton

In 2012, to mark the centenary of the sinking of , ''Shieldhall'' was repainted in the same

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

livery of black hull, white upper works, and buff funnel as the liner. A £1.4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was announced, in April 2013, for essential hull works to meet modern regulations, improved passenger facilities and interpretation. Further grants were made in 2019 and 2020.

References

External links

SS ''Shieldhall'' official websiteSS Shieldhall - Marine Traffic A.I.S.Podcast on ''Shieldhall'' by the Society for Nautical Research, interviewing the ship's chief engineerAnimation of the triple expansion engines prepared by the Society for Nautical Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shieldhall 1955 ships Steamships Cargo ships of the United Kingdom Ships of Scotland Museum ships in the United Kingdom Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet