8th September 1954:
Last Paddle Steamer at Folkestone

8th September 1954:
Last Paddle Steamer at Folkestone
Cardiff Queen with Balmoral in the background off the Isle of Wight

I believe that before Waverley came on the scene, the second last paddle steamer scheduled to call at, and pick up from, Folkestone Harbour was, rather improbably given her name, the Cardiff Queen which was based on the Sussex Coast running trips from Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings during the 1952 and 1953 seasons for P & A Campbell.

P & A Campbell Steamer Notice from Folkestone 1953

Here is a steamer notice advertising one and a half hour afternoon cruises by Cardiff Queen leaving Folkestone at 3pm on six Wednesdays during the 1953 season as part of her day trips from the Sussex piers.

Glen Gower arriving at Eastbourne, 25th June 1956.

For the following three summers Glen Gower replaced Cardiff Queen on the Sussex Coast.

P & A Campbell Steamer Notice from Brighton 1954.

She was scheduled to make just three calls at Folkestone in 1954 on Wednesdays 11th and 25th August plus 8th September away from Brighton West Pier 9.25am, (9.15am) Palace Pier 9.40am (9.30am) for Eastbourne, Hastings and Folkestone, with 2 hours ashore, and from there at 3pm a “Cruise Through the Dover Straits” before retracing her route and getting back to Brighton at 9.40pm.

P & A Campbell Steamer Notice from Brighton for 1955.

For 1955 Glen Gower did not come south to the Sussex Coast until 20th June as she was needed on the Bristol Channel to cover for Britannia which was having substantial repair work on her paddle wheels that spring. She offered only three sailings in 1955 from the Sussex Piers eastwards for a “Cruise towards the Straits of Dover” on 29th June, 9th August and 2nd September away from Brighton West Pier 9.45am, Palace Pier 10am and on via Eastbourne and Hastings. However this season none of them were advertised to call at, or pick up from, Folkestone. Clipping that from the schedule enabled a return time to Brighton more than two hours earlier at 7pm.

For 1956, the last season P & A Campbell provided a paddle steamer for services on the Sussex Coast, Glen Gower was advertised for just one Coastal Trip eastwards for a “Cruise towards the Straits of Dover” once again not calling at Folkestone. That was billed for Monday 4th June leaving Brighton West Pier at 9.30am, the Palace Pier at 9.45am calling at Eastbourne and Hastings on the way. Whether or not Glen Gower actually ran this trip I don’t know. But we do know that 1956 was a terrible season for weather with numerous cancellations because of the wind and also sometimes due to issues with Glen Gower’s boiler.

So why were calls at Folkestone dropped from the schedule after 1954? Clearly it was not the most popular trip as it was programmed so infrequently. It was quite a long old haul to and from the Sussex piers along a not particularly attractive bit of coast. Was there just not the demand for it from the punters?

Maybe those who were interested preferred the earlier return time of 7pm rather than 9.40pm which missing out a call at, and cruise from, Folkestone allowed. This might well have suited many for whom that extra couple of hours or more aboard a paddle steamer as dusk fell might have turned into a little bit of an endurance test particularly if the weather was not so great.

Was there an issue with the Folkestone landing stage on the west side of the harbour after 1954? This berth on the harbour wall is very exposed to winds from the SW. If there is any sort of sea running the waves tend to bunch up and crash in on it. How often did the trip run to Folkestone but when the steamer arrived it was thought the sea conditions unsuitable to call causing irritation amongst the Folkestone passengers.

Might the landing stage have needed repairs? Maybe repairs caused by a heavy landing of Glen Gower in a bit of a blow in 1954?

Was Folkestone becoming so busy with the cross Channel ferry trade after the war that the railway management didn’t want all the hassle of a visiting paddle steamer getting in the way of their normal smooth running ferry operations? Plus of course in those days there was the inconvenient need for them to segregate those passengers on the domestic paddle steamer trips from those on international voyages to France for Customs and passport purposes.

Or maybe the costs of calling at Folkestone were just too high in relation to the number of passengers wanting to land or take a trip to justify a call.

Anyway whichever way it was it does look as though the last paddle steamer scheduled to call at Folkestone Harbour before Waverley arrived on the scene was Glen Gower on 8th September 1954.

Kingswear Castle returned to service in 2023 after the first part of a major rebuild which is designed to set her up for the next 25 years running on the River Dart. The Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust is now fund raising for the second phase of the rebuild. You can read more about the rebuilds and how you can help if you can here.

John Megoran

John Megoran

This article was first published on 3rd October 2024.