Mayflower is a steam tug built in Bristol in 1861 and is
believed to be the oldest surviving tug in the world.
She was built by GK Stothert & Co, who were connected with the
Bath-based engineering company Stothert & Pitt. A branch of the
family came to Bristol to build railway locomotives (later to
become the Avonside Engine Company). After 1852, a separate
shipbuilding company was established which survived in business
until the 1930s.
Mayflower was built to work on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
and in the River Severn, one of three tugs ordered after trials had
shown how much more efficient than horses they were. Altogether
they cost £3000.
Mayflower started working between Sharpness and Gloucester Docks,
towing trains of small sailing vessels such as trows and ketches,
and, after the new docks at Sharpness were completed in 1874,
larger steamers one at a time. By the late 1890s she was the most
seaworthy tug in the fleet, and she was altered to make her
suitable for work in the Bristol Channel. The old single-cylinder
engine was replaced in 1899 with a vertical compound condensing
engine supplied, along with a new boiler, funnel, propeller and
shafting by W.Sisson & Co. of Gloucester for £940.
The steering position, which had previously been behind the
funnel, was moved forward, and a waist high iron steering shelter
added to give the skipper some comfort. She went back to work
outside Sharpness, towing sailing vessels through the dangerous
stretches of the Severn Estuary to the mouth of the river Wye and
back again.
Around 1907, the Canal Company decided to compete on the River
Severn upstream of Gloucester to Worcester. In 1909 Mayflower was
again altered when the funnel was arranged to hinge down
(counterbalanced with large weights which can still be seen) to
enable her to pass under the fixed bridges on this stretch of
water. She was now capable of working on every part of the
navigation from Worcester to Chepstow, and because of this, became
regarded as the training tug in the canal's fleet, which she
continued to be until the end of her working life.
In 1922, she was again altered when the entire deck was raised by
12 inches (300 mm) which meant that the area beneath the deck at
the stern could become another cabin albeit with very low headroom.
At the same time the bulwarks were cut away down most of each side
and replaced with stanchions and chains; this reflected the
increased barge traffic on the canal, allowing the crew to step
onto laden barges easily.
In the late 1930s, a wooden wheelhouse replaced the steering
shelter, and some time after this the bulwarks were replaced. In
1948 the British Waterways Board took control of the canal and made
efforts to modernise the tug fleet. All the tugs were either
scrapped or had diesel engines installed, except Mayflower, as she
was too old to be worth bothering with. She was given the job of
'mudding tug' - towing the mud hopper barges filled by the canal
dredger to the discharge point. Sometimes she was needed to turn
ships at Sharpness Docks and assist them in the entrance lock.
In 1962-1963, when the winter was so cold that the canal froze
and the diesel tugs had difficulty in working, Mayflower once again
took on ship-towing work in the canal. Finally, British Waterways
sold Mayflower for scrap in 1967.
By chance, she survived a further fourteen years, slowly
deteriorating at her mooring in Gloucester as she was attacked by
the weather and by vandals. In 1981 she was purchased by Bristol
Museums & Art Gallery and towed back to her birthplace.
Over the next six years Mayflower was restored to working order by
a team of volunteers, and she steamed again in 1987. Early in 1988,
she steamed back to Gloucester on a courtesy visit.
She marks her 150th anniversary in 2011.