1904 Kingswear Castle’s engine built by Cox & Co. of Falmouth for the previous vessel of the same name. |
1924 Date of build, engine transferred from the 1904 Kingswear Castle. |
1961-2 Extensive re-plating below the water line and re-boilered. |
1964 Kingswear Castle becomes the last operational paddle steamer on the River Dart. |
1965 Kingswear Castle withdrawn from service at the end of the season. |
1967 Purchased in June for £600 by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society. Towed on 28th August to Medina Creek, Isle of Wight, and moored alongside PS Medway Queen. |
1969 First sailing under Paddle Steamer Preservation Society ownership when she was steamed for the BBC TV series ‘Bird’s Eye View’. |
1971 Towed in June to River Medway for comprehensive restoration. |
1982 Boiler is steamed for the first time on 20th November. |
1983 Steaming and manoeuvring trials carried out between 4th and 6th November on completion of restoration. |
1984 Limited passenger carrying certificate issued for 12 passengers. |
1985 Full passenger carrying certificate issued in May 1985. Full sailing programme commenced on 18th May 1985. First ever trip on 21st September 1985 from Strood through the Swale to Whitstable. Read more… |
1986 Kingswear Castle wins National Steam Heritage Award. |
1987 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher boards Kingswear Castle on 1st June 1987 during the General Election campaign. |
1994 First prize winner in Scania Transport Trust Awards. |
2001 New coal fired boiler installed with support from Heritage Lottery Fund, Manifold Trust and the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society. |
2012 Kingswear Castle appears at for Queen Elizabeth II’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3rd June 2012 Kingswear Castle departs Chatham Historic Dockyard on 11th December to return to her birthplace, the River Dart in Devon. |
2013 Kingswear Castle’s first cruise on the River Dart takes place on 29th March 2013, her first since 1965. Read more… |
2014 Kingswear Castle wins Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Engineering Heritage Award in May 2014. Read more… |
2017 Engine removed to repair a small crack in her low pressure cylinder. Read more… |
2019 Kingswear Castle recognised by National Historic Ships UK as the South West Regional Flagship of the Year. Read more… |
2020 COVID-19 global pandemic reduces passenger capacity and shortens season to July through September. |