SS Shieldhall

SS Shieldhall is a preserved steamship that operates from Southampton. She spent her working life as one of the "Clyde sludge boats", making regular trips from Shieldhall in Glasgow, Scotland, down the River Clyde and Firth of Clyde past the Isle of Arran, to dump treated sewage sludge at sea. These steamships had a tradition, dating back to World War I, 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. She was built on classic lines with a traditional wheelhouse of riveted and welded construction, a straight stem and a cruiser stern. Her length is 268 feet (82 m) and breadth 44 feet 7 inches (13.6 m). Accommodation was provided for 80 passengers. She entered service in October 1955 and was operated by Glasgow Corporation to transport treated sewage sludge down the Clyde to be dumped at sea.

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 to carry sludge from Southampton, England, to an area south of the Isle of Wight.

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Due to rising fuel prices she was withdrawn from service in 1985, then was taken over by a preservation society, The Solent Steam Packet Limited, which operates as a charity.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.

With a great deal of work by these volunteers she has been restored to sea-going condition, and now listed on the National Historic Fleet, Core Collection, the Shieldhall is now a frequent sight around the Solent running excursions, crewed by volunteers. She has been to the Netherlands for the Dordrecht Steam Festival and has been at International Festivals of the Sea at Bristol and Portsmouth. Passengers are encouraged to visit the bridge and see the engine room, getting an understanding of the days of steam.

In July 2005 the 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.

In 2012, to mark the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, the Shieldhall was repainted in the same colour scheme as the liner.

A £1.4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will enable charity The Solent Steam Packet Limited (TSSP) to secure the future of the largest steamship of her type in Europe. The HLF award, announced in April 2013, is for a three-year project Saving Shieldhall – Learning through Conservation in Action. Essential hull works to meet modern regulations, improved passenger facilities and state-of-the art interpretation will enable the volunteers who maintain and operate this unique vessel to preserve and deliver the living experience of a steamship at work for future generations.

Although Shieldhall is currently restricted to Solent waters, she will open her sailing programme in May for the Southampton Maritime Festival. Throughout the summer and autumn, HLF funded work will be going on behind-the-scenes, preparing for major hull repair and modification work to be carried out in dry dock next spring. Then, fully certified to UK Class III standard, she will be fit to carry her passengers, and her message, around and way beyond the Solent. There are plans for apprenticeships and other learning opportunities for young people, and for ‘alongside’ events of all kinds for young and old, including performance work with the Nuffield Theatre. A new Learning and Participation Officer will be recruited and will help deliver visitor and learning activities alongside the volunteers.

Today the 2,000 tonne Shieldhall is a unique seagoing ‘time capsule’. She provides a working example of steamship machinery both above and below deck, typical of the cargo and passenger ships that plied the oceans of the world between the 1870s and 1960s, after which they became all but extinct. Whilst other heritage ships are held permanently in dry dock, Shieldhall remains active, with a cruise programme that allows passengers to access the engine room with its two impressive 800HP steam engines at work and the bridge, complete with traditional instruments and gleaming brasswork.