This article was in the Blackpool Gazette - reporter - Emma Harris
All aboard as blast from past sails in
A piece of Lytham history is being brought to life, thanks to hard work from volunteers. Here, JOHN PUDDY, chairman of the SS Freshspring Society tells the story of a much-loved ship built in Fylde. This piece of Lytham history has been given a new lease of life and could be open to the public next year. The steamhip Freshspring, part of a restoration project was built by the Lytham Shipbuilding and Engineering Company. The nine acre site at Lytham was set up as a shipbuilding works in 1888 and Lytham Ship building and Engineering Company was incorporated early in 1904. The yard, at its peak, employed 400 men and built more than 750 vessels – ranging from tugs to launches and river steamers. In 1939, the work of the yard was almost entirely dedicated to the war effort. In 1939, a water carrier of some 300 gross tons was ordered for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service and was named Freshwater. The ship was delivered in September 1940 and was to be followed by a further 13 similar vessels, the final one being SS Freshspring launched in August 1946 and delivered February 1947. The last seagoing vessel built by the yard was SS Hazelfield which was launched exactly one year after Freshspring. The yard f inally closing in 1955. SS Freshspring was built as a RN auxiliary coasting water tanker. The hull and superstructure are entirely of riveted construction incorporating a traditional Timber bridge amidships, a straight stem, and counter stern. The ship has a largevolume hull to accommodate the water tanks. Her whaleback houses stores, heads and showers and her full bows contribute to achieving maximum capacity within the overall dimensions of the ship, while the counter stern brings an element of elegance to her workaday hull-form. After commissioning Freshspring, sea trials took place February 1947. It was during these sea trials in the Ribble Estuary, Preston, that she grounded on the Sandy Bank – due to the fact that a pin in the reversing handle had become loose probably Three ships under construction at Lytham Shipbuilding and Engineering Company SS Freshspring in dry dock through vibration and dropped out. This was not discovered until the telegraph had been put to full astern and it was found the vessel did not respond. The engines were immediately stopped, but the weight on the vessel carried her on to the bank, and with the tide ebbing it was not possible for her to get off. She was floated off on the next tide. The following day, while entering Fleetwood wet dock, she had to avoid other vessels using the dock, resulting in her fouling the dockside, damaging the hull plating and ’ ‘ The new owner battled as best he could to save the ship pulling rivets in the process. This was all subsequently repaired in the following five days before she was handed over. Freshspring on acceptance was directed to her first naval station at Malta – a passage which took some 12 days, with coal consumption of 49 tons and a best speed of 9.5 knots. She was converted from hand coal-fired to oil-fired in 1956 and put in reserve there in 1965. She returned to UK Devonport August 1967. Thereafter she worked at various locations around the UK. She was surveyed and refitted at Ardrossan in 1969 and towed to Gareloch where she remained, ‘mothballed’, until being offered for sale in 1977. Freshspring was purchased by a Bristol businessman directly from SS Freshspring – stern view today the MOD in 1979 for further use. Subsequently, she was given to a volunteer in the owners will. The new owner battled on as best he could to save the ship, hampered by the ravages of the River Severn where she lay. By September 2012, realising he could no longer cope with the situation, he planned to scrap the ship. A meeting was held at a nearby pub in Newnham to make an appeal for volunteers and seek to create a future for Freshspring. With a nucleus of volunteers established, the charity we know today was formed in May 2013, shortly after which time, the charity took ownership of SS Freshspring for £1. The intervening years have been spent keeping the water out of the ship and working to raise funds to save her. At the 11th hour, as the trust was seriously considering sensitively breaking her up, it gained funds from The National Heritage Memorial Fund to save the ship and take her to Bideford, the only port which offered a berth. Keynvor Morlift, a marine towing company agreed to tow the ship at no cost. This provided some £15,000 of, in kind, match funding. funds from National Heritage Memorial Fund to save SS Freshspring, the biggest challenge the trust has ever had was to arrange and manage the dry docking and moving of the ship. In July 2016, the ship was towed across from Newnham by Keynvor Morlift. She was dry-docked and necessary repairs carried out to enable her to be towed to Bideford, her new home port where she arrived in October 2016. The trust has now achieved further Heritage Lottery funding to embark on a £120,000 project to open the ship to the public in 2018, provide and to start restoration by rebuilding the timber bridge and boatdeck.
n Visit
www.ssfreshspring. co.uk
n Thanks to Lucy Knight and John Puddy for their help and information.
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