Builders: Day Summers & Co Southampton 1897
Propulsion type: Paddle, compound diagonal
Owners: London Brighton & South Coast Railways, London & South West Railway, Southern Railway, New Medway Steam Packet Co, Mersey & Blackpool Shipping Co, Jubilee Queen Shipping Co.
Service dates: 1890 - 1937
Tonnage: Gross 399
Comments:
Duchess of Kent was built for the Portsmouth to Ryde service and was licenced to carry 870 passengers on excursion work. In September 1903 she was involved in a collision with a collier in Portsmouth Harbour and she was holed on the port side forward of her paddle box. She quickly took on water but there were no casualties amongst her 400 passengers as her captain beached her near to Victoria Pier. She was refloated two days later and went under her own power to Southampton for repairs. For a couple of days she was a tourist attraction and a picture of the damaged ship can be seen by clicking here. In the Great War she served as a minesweeper, returning to the company after the cesssation of hostilities. Replaced by PS Sandown in 1933, she was sold to the New Medway Steam Packet Co and renamed in 1934 as Clacton Queen. She stayed with the New Medway Co only until the end of 1935, when she was sold for use on the Mersey as Jubilee Queen. Owing to financial difficulties of her owners she was sold again, this time for use between Barrow, Fleetwood and Blackpool. She was finally sold for breaking up in May 1937 by T W Wards at Preston.