SS ''Lyonesse'' was a passenger vessel built for the

West Cornwall Steam Ship Company The West Cornwall Steam Ship Company was established in 1870 to operate ferry services between Penzance, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly. It became the West Cornwall Steamship Company in 1907 and was wound up in 1917. History The company was ...

in 1875.

History

She was built by

Harvey's of Hayle John Harvey was a Cornishman whose career started as a blacksmith and engineer at Carnhell Green near Hayle, in west Cornwall. In 1779 he established a foundry and engineering works at Hayle called Harvey & Co. By 1800 the company employed more ...

. She was fitted with a turtle back deck, long bridge, promenade quarterdeck, Walker's patent windlass, patent anchors, saloon, fore and aft cabins. The launch was carried out on 2 February 1889 by Mrs Field of Marazion. She was named ''

Lyonesse Lyonesse ( /liːɒˈnɛs/ ''lee-uh-NESS'') is a kingdom which, according to legend, consisted of a long strand of land stretching from Land's End at the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England, to what is now the Isles of Scilly in the Celtic ...

'' as it is a country in

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

said to border

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. In later traditions Lyonesse is said to have sunk beneath the waves some time after the Tristan stories take place, making it similar to Ys and other

lost lands Lost lands are islands or continents believed by some to have existed during prehistory, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. Legends of lost lands often originated as scholarly or scientific theori ...

in medieval

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

tales, and perhaps connecting it with the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

. She carried two funnels close together, with black tops. On 22 June 1900 she hit the rocks at Newford Island whilst departing from St Mary's pier on the

. She was badly bulged and leaking, but the passengers and mails were safe. On 2 February 1904 she attempted to alert the inhabitants of St Mary's with her siren of a tidal wave which was engulfing the harbour. The ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'' for 3 February 1904 reports:

About four a.m., about an hour before the tide was at its height, the inhabitants of St. Mary’s were aroused by the loud hooting of the syren of the mail steamer Lyonesse. Men hurriedly rushed to discover the cause, and in doing so incurred considerable risk, as huge volumes of water were dashing over the quay, doing damage in every direction, and washing away everything not permanently secured. The steamer in a dangerous position held on to her moorings with the greatest difficulty. A number of small craft were washed out to sea, but were ultimately recovered. The damage done is increased by the fact that the flower season is now in progress. At Bryher, the neighbouring island, seas broke over the flower and potato fields, doing great damage. Happily, the wind was light, or much more serious results would have ensued. The Lyonesse subsequently passed over to Penzance, the passage being difficult on account of the heavy seas. The effects of the tidal wave were felt in Penzance, heavy seas dashing over the promenade, and deluging the streets and houses in the vicinity. Torrential rains were also experienced.

On 23 June 1914 she went to the assistance of the Belgian steamer ''Gothland'' which went ashore on the Isles of Scilly. During bad weather on 27 March 1916, she broke from her moorings on the

and ran on the beach. She was undamaged and was refloated. She was sold in 1919 to a salvage ship at

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...

and returned to Hayle in May 1928 to be broken up.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyonesse 1889 ships Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Hayle Transport in the Isles of Scilly