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Old 19th April 2018, 16:57
Lucy Knight England Lucy Knight is offline
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Join Date: May 2017
Location: Plymouth Devon
Posts: 116
Bristol Post article
long-time resident of Bristol Docks and seemed fated to be broken up. Now she has a new home and faces a promising future as a visitor attraction. Eugene Byrne re p or t s. ALONG standing resident of Bristol3s city docks was down on her luck for a while. But now she3s in Devon where she is scrubbing up nicely. If all goes to plan she will be ready to receive guests later this summer. If you lived in Bristol between the late 1970s and early 1990s, you3ll remember the SS Freshspring. She was as much a fixture of the docks as the cranes or the harbour railway. The former Royal Fleet Auxiliary water tanker has had her share of ups and downs, but her future right now is looking very bright. The only problem is that if you want to go and visit her, you3ll have to go to Bideford in Devon. (The Steamship Freshspring Society, who are looking after her, would rightly point out that Bideford is a splendid holiday or day-trip destination and that there is much to see and do in the surrounding area.) Freshspring was built by the Lytham Shipbuilding and Engineering Company. She was the last .and now the only survivor .of a class of purpose-built water tenders. The design was based on deep-sea fishing trawlers and most were built during WW2. She was launched in 1946 and her job, like those of her 2F resh3- cl a s s sisters, was to deliver fresh water for the boilers of Royal Navy warships, and for naval crews to drink. Following acceptance and an embarrassing grounding near Preston during sea-trials, the RFA (as in Royal Fleet Auxiliary) Freshspring took station at Malta. The Navy still had a sizeable presence in the Mediterranean back then and she led a useful working life both as a water tender (for civilian as well as Naval vessels) and occasionally fire-fighting and salvage ship. She was converted from coal to oil in 1956 and worked another nine years before being put in reserve. She returned to Devonport in 1967 but went on to spend many more years working in Scotland. After finally being mothballed, she was put up for sale in the late 1970s and was bought for an undisclosed sum from the Ministry of Defence by Graham Fox and Oswald Burgess. The late Mr Burgess had been a marine engineer and his plan was to take the 105ft vessel to Bristol to experiment with new forms of fuelling ships using waste materials. Getting her here was a challenge. They brought her to Greenock and fuelled her, but were unable to find a crew to take her to Bristol. In the end they managed to get a tow from a tug which was heading for the Middle East. Fresh start for old Fresh start for old resident of docks resident of docks Above left, SS Freshspring Society secretary Stephen Attenbrough, chairman John Puddy and mayor David Howell welcome the ship to Bideford, October 2016 (Pic: Graham Hobbs of Bideford); above right, moored outside the Industrial Museum (now M Shed), 1980s (Steamship Freshspring Society). Below left, in Bristol, late 1970s or early 1980s. (Steamship Freshspring Society); below right, under tow and approaching Sharpness, July 2016. (Steamship Freshspring Society) So it was that Freshspring arrived at Bathurst Basin in December 1979. At that stage, the ship was in excellent condition. She3d been re-fitted and well looked after and her inventory included all the crockery and ship3s spares, including even a spare propeller. Her arrival in Bristol attracted a lot of attention and it wasn3t long before a group of volunteers had been formed to help out. The Council and the Museums service agreed that she could be berthed outside the Industrial Museum (now M Shed) provided she was open to the public at weekends and bank holidays. While here she was also used for BBC TV drama Wilfred and Eileen, about a man and his wife coming to terms with his experiences in the First World War. Volunteer crew members appeared as extras. Filming had its share of incidents. On one occasion, the director wanted it to look as though the ship was rocking, so the volunteers tied a line Being brought to Bideford after a temporary stay at Appledore, October 2016 Pic: Graham Hobbs of Bideford to the top of the mast and started a motion. One of the tanks was half filled with water, which now started slopping about, making the roll worse. Members of the film crew had to come up from below in order to be sick over the side! Eventually co-owner Graham Fox pulled out and Mr Burgess closed the ship to the public. Freshspring was moved back to Bathurst Basin where she lay for some time, falling victim to vandalism and theft. In 1991, she was moved to Newnham on Severn. Here, too, she was looked after by volunteers, though without the resources to do much more than basic maintenance. When he died at his Downend home in 1998, Oswald Burgess left the ship to one of the volunteers. The new owner did his best to save her, but was fighting the ravages of both time and nature. The unforgiving River Severn was no help. By September 2012, realising that he could no longer cope with the situation, the volunteer planned to scrap the ship. At this point, some enthusiasts stepped in and formed a group to try and save her. A charity . the Steamship Freshspring Society . was formed in 2013, and they bought the ship for ƒ1. This was far from the end of her troubles, though. Money worries meant that it looked as though Freshspring would have to be broken up, but at the very last minute, an award of ƒ155,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund arrived to save h e r. She was taken to Bideford, the only port which offered a berth, and marine contractors and consultants Keynvor Morlift agreed to tow the ship at no cost, a huge favour which saved the charity about ƒ15,000. She arrived at her new home port in October 2016 and the Society gained further Heritage Lottery funding late last year. Society Chairman John Puddy said: 6This is a huge step forward for the Trust. The National Lottery grant was substantially matched in Devon by Torridge District Council, Bideford Bridge Trust and The Balsdon Trust, demonstrating very considerable local support. 6In addition, match funds have been awarded by The Headley Trust along with individual Trust Membership support. I thank all those in our team who worked so hard to make this such a successful project with a very bright future.7 Work is now well advanced on restoring the ship3s bridge and boat deck. Some of the money will also be used to provide education services. One day it3s hoped that Freshspring will be in steam once more, taking passengers out for day-trips, but that it in the longer term. In the meantime, it3s anticipated that she3ll be ready to welcome visitors aboard this summer. For details, and to keep up with the project progress, see w w w. s s f re s h s p r i n g. c o. u k . (There are plenty of other websites which will provide Freshspring3s Bristolian friends with information on other things to do while visiting the Bideford area
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