Leasowe & Egremont

The two ferry boats Leasowe & Egremont are still remembered fondly today by crew and passengers who had the opportunity to go aboard them. Designed by Graham & Woolnough Ltd of Liverpool, they were of a more traditional design than the slightly older Royal Iris however they were still very sophisticated at the time of their launch.



The ferries were somewhat smaller in build than the other Wallasey vessels at the time and were designed to operate the Liverpool-Seacombe run between them. The contract to build the two boats was awarded to Phillip & Son Ltd of Dartmouth. With a gross tonnage of 311 and space for passengers on three decks, the main noticeable difference was the absence of a forward gangway to make a larger central saloon. The passenger capacity on the vessels was 1,472. They were handsome looking with a length of 145 feet and a beam of 34 feet. They were fitted with two Crossley two stroke diesels which produced a combined power of 1,280 bhp. Unlike the later Birkenhead boats, the captain relied on the traditional system of telegraph orders, however they were fitted with additional telegraphs known as 'speedos' which could control the engines speed but not direction. On the bridge as with most of the ferries, the brass helms and steering pedestals were provided by Brown Brothers, rudder indicators and tachometers by Siemens Brothers Ltd and the compass binnacles, and telegraphs were supplied by Chadburns of Liverpool. They were also fitted with 'loudaphone' systems and a two-tone whistle configuration.



The Leasowe​​ ran her main trials on the 1st November 1951 and made 14.12 knots on the fastest of her 6 runs across Start Bay in Devon. She was experiencing propeller problems which caused some discourse. New, slightly smaller propellers were fitted which allowed the engines to run up to the full 370 RPM, they had previously been overloading at 325.



The Leasowe left the Dart on the 19th November 1951 to make her delivery voyage to the Mersey. The Egremont made 13.38 knots on her trial runs and she arrived on the Mersey on the 31st March 1952. Both ferries were put to use as regulars on the Liverpool - Seacombe run and were also used on the summer trips to New Brighton. The Egremont was a regular on the popular Manchester ship canal trips. Both of the ferries were very popular with the crews - solid, well powered and easy to handle, in fact the Leasowe was said by some captains to be the easiest of all the boats to operate.



In 1960 the Leasowe was involved in two collisions. The first was with the Royal Daffodil II on the 7th April 1960, and secondly with the Belfast Steamship Company ferry Ulster Prince. There were no injuries however the port side forward bulwarks were badly crumpled.



With the merger of both ferry undertakings in 1969, the two twins found themselves mainly operating their old routes, displaying a new livery of primrose yellow with a blue soot buffer, however a review of the ferry service and number of vessels required deemed that they were surplus to requirements and were to be sold off. The Leasowe was the first to be sold, going for £34,000 to Greek owners. Re named Naias II and with her windows and hatches boarded up she left the Mersey on the 14th May 1974, making the trip under her own steam. She was more or less completely re built and it is unknown if she remains in service at present. The Egremont was withdrawn in 1975 and sprang a leak whilst laid up which ruined her engines and rendered her inoperable without major repairs. She was subsequently sold to Frederick Oldham Ltd who removed her machinery and bridge fittings and shortly after was towed to Salcombe in Devon where she remains to this day as the floating HQ of the island cruising club.



Both ferries are fondly remembered and much missed to this day. If you have any further information or images please get in touch with us via the contact page on this website.