 SSRobin September 2010, ready to leave Lowestoft | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Robin (1890–1900) |
| Owner | |
| Builder | Mackenzie, MacAlpine & Co, then Robert Thomson,Orchard House Yard,Blackwall, London[4][5] |
| Yard number | 26[4] |
| Launched | 16 September 1890[5] |
| Completed | November 1890[4] |
| Identification | IMO number: 5222287 |
| Fate | Sold to Spain 1900 |
 Spain | |
| Name | Maria (1900–1974) |
| Owner |
|
| Fate | Purchased for preservation 1974 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Robin (1974–present)[4] |
| Owner |
|
| Status | Museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 366 GRT[1] (later 342 GRT)[6] 550 DWT |
| Length | 143 ft (44 m)loa[1] |
| Beam | 22.9 ft (7.0 m)[1] |
| Depth | 11 ft (3.4 m)[1] |
| Installed power | Triple expansion steam engine 152 ihp (113 kW)[6] |
| Propulsion | Single screw[6][5] |
| Sail plan | Originallyschooner rigged |
| Speed | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
SSRobin is a 350gross registered ton (GRT) steamcoaster, a class ofsteamship designed for carrying bulk and general cargoes in coastal waters, and the oldest complete example in the world. One of a pair of coasters built inBow Creek,London in 1890, the ship was built for British owners, but spent most of her long working life on the Spanish coast asMaria.
In 1974, she was purchased for restoration asRobin and is listed byNational Historic Ships as part of theNational Historic Fleet (the nautical equivalent of aGrade 1 Listed Building). She is situated atTrinity Buoy Wharf in east London, opening as the SSRobin museum, theatre and educational centre in 2014.
As built,Robin was 143 feet (44 m) long, her beam is 23 feet (7.0 m), her depth is 12.2 feet (3.7 m) and hertonnage is 366 GRT.[1] She carried about 450 tons of cargo.[citation needed]
The engine is a three-cylindertriple expansion steam engine, developing 152indicated horsepower (113 kW), and made in 1890 byGourlay Brothers & Co ofDundee, Scotland.[6][5] Her maximum speed was 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph).[6]
InLloyd's Register she was described as a "steel screw 3-masted schooner",[7] and had indeed been provided with sails for all three masts when first built.[8]
Robin was ordered from Mackenzie, MacAlpine & Co ofOrchard House Yard, Hercules Wharf,Blackwall, London, situated inBow Creek at the mouth of theRiver Lea, by London shipowner Robert Thomson, and launched on 16 September 1890.[5][8] However, she and her sisterRook were completed by Thomson himself, though the reason is unknown.[6][8] After fitting out in theEast India Dock,Robin was towed toDundee to have her engine, boiler and auxiliary machinery installed byGourlay Brothers & Co. When completed she was registered in London withOfficial number 98185 and in the ownership of Arthur Ponsonby ofNewport, then inMonmouthshire.[1][5][8]
On 20 December 1890,Robin commenced her career in the British coastal service at Liverpool, with a crew of 12 signing the Articles for her maiden voyage. As a coaster her range was normally limited to the Home Trade limits (broadly from theElbe toBrest). However, on her first voyage she went 400 miles (640 km) further, toBayonne;[5] the owners had to replace the Master's mate with another, who held the correct certificate, until the ship returned toSwansea on 10 January.[8] Her second voyage began atSwansea on 14 January 1891, visitingRouen,Northfleet on theRiver Thames,Eastham andGarston on theRiver Mersey,Plymouth,Deauville,Guernsey,London,Rochester,Newport,Swansea,Cherbourg arriving inNorthfleet by 5 April 1891. This would be typical of her trading under theRed Ensign, carrying bulk cargoes of grain, iron ore, scrap steel, pit props, china clay, railway steel, general cargoes of casked and baled goods such as herring barrels, and even granite blocks for theCaledonian Canal.[5][9] In 1892,Robin was sold to Andrew Forrester Blackater ofGlasgow, where she was re-registered.[2]
In 1900Robin was sold and renamedMaria; for the next 74 years she had three different Spanish owners:
Until 1965,Maria's structure stayed mainly unchanged; in 1966 she had a major refit with thewhaleback (at the stern) and themizzen mast removed, the foremast and the funnel shortened, and theforecastle extended. The coal-fired furnaces were modified for oil fuel. After this she resumed trading.[5]
Maria was discovered by theMaritime Trust in 1972. Following an inspection, it was decided that she was worth preserving, and in May 1974 she was purchased, on the brink of being sold to Spanish breakers. In June 1974 she came home toSt Katharine Docks under her own steam and was renamedRobin. She was restored at a cost of £250,000, with most work taking place in 1974 and 1975 at the Doust & Co shipyard atRochester, Kent, and was subsequently moored in St Katharine Docks.[5][8] She was moved to new moorings in 1991 atWest India Quay but fell into disrepair.[10]
In 2000 David and Nishani Kampfner were looking for a unique space to be transformed into an area for innovation and learning. They boughtRobin for £1. In 2002, SS Robin Trust was created to bring awareness to the general public about the importance of the ship. With the help of many volunteers they began restoration on this coastal steamer.
Crossrail provided SS Robin Trust with a £1.9 million loan to enable her to move to dry dock for restoration works to commence. Before she was able to be moved, her masts, funnel, lifeboats and davits were dismantled and removed by Cutty Sark Enterprises.[10] She was then towed fromWest India Quay down theCanary Wharf locks toSouth Quay for temporary mooring. Around this time theHeritage Lottery Fund had also been approved and SS Robin Trust was awarded a grant of just under £1 million.
In June 2008,Robin was to undergo her first seaward journey in 35 years from South Quay toLowestoft for structural restoration using, so far as was practicable, the same craft skills with which she was built in 1890, conserving her Victorian technology.[5] Once at Lowestoft a detailed examination revealed that after 118 years she was now considered too fragile to be able to float again. Initially it was thought thatRobin would need a 40% steel replacement, but after the examination it showed that she would need an 80% steel replacement thereby essentially ruining her historical value. These new findings urged SS Robin Trust to find a less destructive approach maintainingRobin. It soon became clear that a pontoon would be the most innovative and least destructive method to keep her floating and to preserve and display her original riveted fabric.[5] It also provided a wealth of more space. In 2010,Robin was lifted by two cranes and placed onto her new pontoon.[11] She was then towed toTilbury[12] where she was moored for a year.
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After 3 years of conservation work inTilbury, in July 2011Robin returned to east London, where she was originally built, to undergo further internal restoration and preparation before opening as the SS Robin museum, theatre and educational centre in theRoyal Victoria Dock inNewham borough in 2014, with the support of a grant of just over £950,000 from theHeritage Lottery Fund.[13][14][15]
She was then subsequently moved to theMillennium Mills Dock, where she was temporarily berthed for further restoration and development before reopening to the public, at the western end of the Royal Victoria Dock (close to theLondon Cable Car), in 2015.
In 2023, she was moved toTrinity Buoy Wharf.[16]
In 2002, David and Nishani Kampfner boughtRobin and founded the SS Robin Trust as a registered charity (Prince Philip is an honorary member, andJim FitzpatrickMP, and Channel 4 news readerJon Snow are patrons).[5] The Trust converted her into an educational centre and photographic gallery; in this restoration, the original beams, structures, fittings and engine were preserved and restored by her volunteer crew.[5] She operated as a learning centre and photojournalism gallery from 2003,[5] with an extensive programme of exhibitions, talks, seminars and workshops designed to build bridges between communities and interacting with local schools and businesses. The gallery, with a flexible classroom and exhibition area, was accommodated within the original cargo hold.[5][17]
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