Thames steamers
Steamboat services started on the Thames in around 1815 and for nearly 25 years were the main use of steam to carry passengers before the emergence of railways in the south of England.
During this time at least 80 steamers are recorded in the Thames and the Steamboat Act 1819 became the first statute to regulate the safety of the new technology for the public.
One of the earliest records is of a vessel Margery which was launched at Dumbarton in June 1814 and having run for a few months on the Clyde was purchased by the London firm of Cortis & Co. She steamed down the east coast and arrived at Gravesend in January 1815, entering service on the Long Ferry route from Gravesend to London on 23 January.
Dodd next bought the steamboat Duke of Argyll in Scotland, which reached London on 12 June 1815 having covered 756 miles at sea.
[7] Both sailing and rowing boats reacted strongly to the new competition and improved their facilities or provided extra crews on the Long Ferry.
Consequently, in 1817 a Select Committee was established to enquire into the matter, leading to the Steamboat Act of 1819, which made it compulsory for all passenger-carrying steam vessels to be registered and inspected annually by a competent engineer.
[8] The General Steam Navigation Company, initially established in 1821 and incorporated in 1824, was founded by a syndicate of London businessmen including William J Hall, a shipowner, and brothers Thomas and John Brockelbank, who had timber and shipyard interests in Deptford.
[9][10][11] By 1825 the GSNC was operating a fleet of 15 Deptford-built steamers, maintained from a yard at the Stowage, Deptford (a former East India Company depot).
[17] The use of tugs to guide sailing boats bringing passengers and cargo up the London river increased the efficiency of operations enormously and the paddle wheel showed off its maximum advantage.
"From 1851 onwards, it was no longer quicker cheaper and safer to go by water, and though the steamers were still packed to capacity on summer holidays and at weekends, the money earned was not enough to maintain the large number of vessels.
"[22] Richmond or Twickenham long remained the practical upper limit of steamboats on the Thames, though the competition through London was keen, with the fare dropping to 1/2d each way on shorter trips.
It took the Thames Conservancy until 1877 to clear it before screw steamers became a practical proposition, when a service started between Hampton Court and Staines using the Runnymede.
[23] In 1888 Salter Bros established a rival service using the steam boat Alaska, and have retained an important role on the river ever since.
Boats were modified to maximise the number of passengers and minimize the air draught to get under the low bridges and the service entered a period of prosperity it was to keep for the next fifty years.
