You’ll be glad to know that HMS Duke of York suffered absolutely no damage what so ever in the collision.

In about 1977 I used to go the disco on the Royal Iris. I danced with a girl and she said she'd meet me there next week. I told all my mates that I had a bird! When I saw her there she was kissing some fella! I was soooo embarrassed! Big life lesson! Lol

I did the Ferry across the Mersey in 1958 on this vessel. I will never forget the trip , it was special to a 10 year old boy then and still is today.

No matter the type or the size of a ship, it is always very sad to see her in this condition.

kiss of death for any boat when a "consortium buys" it.

I’ve stood next to this boat for over 7 years as I watched the Thames and never thought much of it. I’m so glad i stubbles across this video, as now I can truly appreciate the wreck for what it once was.

Yes another sad ending to a little but much loved ferry...

My Nan used to take me across the River Mersey on the ferry's to visit New Brighton and Egremont beaches in the 1960's on the Royal Daffodil and the Royal Iris. It was so sad to see how the Royal Iris has ended up. Very interesting video with lots of facts. I was surprised to see that the Beatles and Jerry Marsden appeared on it. It was the "Ferry Cross the Mersey".

So she’s a Scottish Liverpudlian who started life in luxury and ended up broke spending the rest of her days on the Banks of the London Docklands.

The saddest part of all is that someone could quite easily walk past that boat and have no idea of its rich history.

So sad to see her like this I remember her from when I was little

I AND OTHERS WOULD BE THE LAST PEOPLE TO PARTY ON THE ROYAL IRIS IN 1989 (as the Berlin wall came down). The Various NUS Unions in Liverpool booked her for several nights of Fish & Chips, dancing and Making Merry! Happy Memories! :)

This boat was painted green and yellow and was known as “Cabbage and Custard” in the Liverpool I lived in the 1960’s. It was known for its cruises beyond the the “bar” into waters where the UK licensing laws didn’t apply. I recall that the ferries across the Mersey had bars aboard that opened when the mooring ropes were released and closed when the boat tied up. This enabled people to avoid the licensing laws during the day by staying on the ferry !

Spent many happy years as a kid riding on her across and then latterly up and down the Mersey with my Grandad. Happy days they were too and SO sad to see her abandoned like this :-(

Sad ending for a gracious old girl who had a great lifestyle with tens off thousands of fond memories,, from people who were passengers in the sea fairing days,, good video enjoyed it,, from Northern Ireland greatly appreciated thank you, 😁😁☘️☘️☘️☘️

Oh thats sad, I went on her so many times as a kid to New Brighton......

So sad my Uncle used to be the captain of her ...his name was H. jones

I remember going on it in the 80s on the mersey having a disco on board and the isle of man ferry was sailing out at the same time it created a huge wake in the river the iris nearly capsized drinking glasses smashed everywhere.

Pull her onto dry land, turn her into a building, like the Japanese did with the old battleship Mikasa.

I can remember going on the Royal Iris on a school trip, I don't think I had ever been on a big boat before. I can remember being so excited, as far as I was concerned I was going out on the ocean. So sad to see her rotting away as she is thank you for posting it.

I travelled on this beautiful ship many times during my summer holidays as a kid thanks to my mum. My dad was working all hours for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company on their floating plant. Sometimes the Skipper of the ship he was on, would let him take me to work with him, great memories, so sad to see this.

Travelled on this in the 80s, college booze cruise with disco, great fun when you're 18. Much as I'd love to see her restored and brought home, Liverpool City Region (who now control Merseytravel) have been starved of investment money as it is. BTW, that yellow livery is Wallasey Corporation "sea green", as the ferries with flower names were originally part of Wallasey Corporation, and those with place names like Woodchurch and Overchurch were Birkenhead Corporation. The story goes that a rep from the paint company visited Seaview Road bus depot looking for the manager, at that time a Mr Green. Finding the depot empty save for a fitter clanging away beneath a bus, the rep asked " What name do you want to call this paint colour?" The disinterested fitter replied "I dunno, see Green!"...

In Seattle WA USA we hones had a similar ferry, The MV Kalakla, the following is an excerpt from her Wikipedia page: Motor Vessel Kalakala (pronounced /kəˈlɑːkəˌlɑː/) was a ferry that operated on Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967. MV Kalakala was notable for her unique streamlined superstructure, art deco styling, and luxurious amenities. The vessel was a popular attraction for locals and tourists, and was voted second only to the Space Needle in popularity among visitors to Seattle during the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. The ship is known as the world's first streamlined vessel for her unique art deco styling. After retiring from passenger service in 1967, the ship was beached in Kodiak, Alaska, and converted to a shrimp cannery. In 1998, the ship was refloated and towed to Puget Sound with the owner hoping to restore the ship. During this time, the ship continued to deteriorate, with the Coast Guard declaring the ship a hazard to navigation in 2011. Unable to raise the funds required for restoration, the ship was scrapped in 2015.

Our group "The Hiltons" used to play on her regular...along with the "Golden Guinea Club" New Brighton over the water and the "River Rooms" on the Pier Head...All gone now....The Guinea is a Wetherspoons like everywhere else..........

With decades of no heavy maintenance, and a long period of the hull being flooded and awash in tidal salt water, the hull is quite likely to be thoroughly rotten by now (and probably quite a lot of structure also rotten or badly sagging). While steel ships can almost always be repaired, I suspect that repairing the hull to basic seaworthiness would be well into the millions (not the hundreds of thousands suggested). I could be wrong, but time and corrosion are very much against her unless the hull plating was remarkably heavy or the paint lasted remarkably well. It could be a significant challenge just to patch and refloat her to get her to a nearby dry dock.

It's easy to say "let's do her up for the tourists" , but from here she just looks too far gone. A shame.

It really is a sad story. Such an inglorious ending.

I was fortunate to be a member of the audience on the Mersey Pirate as a 14yr old, one Saturday morning, our Wythenshawe Youth Cub took us by coach to Birkenhead. Hosted by Dougie Brown the guests included Don Estelle & Windsor Davies, Bev Bevan ELO and punk band The Ruts. Sad to see her in this state, thanks for bringing back lovely memories.

Sad to see when previously proud and unique boats/ ships fall victim to neglect and decay.

Rite of passage if you were a kid from either side of the Mersey to go on the Royal Iris or the Daffodil and hear the crackly 'Ferry cross the Mersey...' and see the Liver birds coming closer. Shame for a Royal to go eh?

I’ve been on this lots of times over the years, so sad to see her like this.

Tragic, I remember her so well and as a scouser made many many trips on her.. we lost Manxman eventually due to consortiums not working out.. if I win the lottery I would bring her home and return her to the people of Merseyside

I run past this all the time and have wondered so many times about the history of this boat but never remembered to look it up. Glad to have found your channel and by chance you've done a video on it!

No comment to make but here's one for the algorithm.

I must’ve seen that ship a thousand times over whilst walking along the river to Woolwich and have always wondered about it, so thanks for the history lesson. I have also always thought that it deserves better than to be flooded every time the tide rises or left sitting in the mud at low tide. I can confirm the stern sinks below the waterline in very high tides, so indeed must be holed as you said. 🙂✌🏼

Thats a shock to see. Used to go on that, a private party hired it once or twice a year, we had a disco and booze, lots of birds to chat up as it sailed for hours. Brilliant fun, happy memories. Genuinely didnt know about its fate. Sad to see this.

I worked on Cardiff docks and in the mid 90s she was berthed on Bells wharf. She was there for ages and I was fascinate with this vessel. Wondering what was her history.(no internet then) this takes me back.

So great to hear the history of this boat. Every time I'm in the area I check it out wishing I could fix it up. Had no idea it had such a long history. Thanks for the video :)

What a sad tale,Interesting video as usual Mr Hazzard👍

So sad remember going on this boat as a kid. Sadly times change.

How tragic. But what a lovely tribute ...

One of my favorite drinking places in London is the SS Tattershall Castle which is moored up near Embankment station. It was one of the ferries that used to cross the River Humber prior to the bridge being built in the 1970s which has allowed even more commoners to enter the glorious county of Lincolnshire.

Thanks for that. Your channel is an absolute gem...

Oh, this makes me feel sad. Such a shame to see such a lovely boat rusting away like this. 😥 Things can be saved though! The Falcon Inn (Oliver Cromwell's favourite pub) was in a terrible state until someone bought it and restored it, and now it's a lovely place (although haven't been there for a while because of obvious reasons.)

I remember seeing this ship and taking a trip across the mersey in it. So sad to see the way its ended up. But I have many happy memories

The Queen and Prince Philip were passengers and it makes no difference. Rust kills ships. It takes 2 or 20 million bucks to pull a ship back from the abyss. It must be worth it. It must. Ships live and they die. A single ship can have millions of people with fond memories, but it doesn't pay the bills. It must have a job that makes a profit, or or it dies at it's berth.

I remember working on her as a welder, doing some repair work one of the other trades set the engine room on fire, not too much damage as we all helped to contained it.

So sad. Ferries to New Brighton as a kid... So many Liverpool things lost. But at least they saved the Albert Dock. ❤

We used to gig on the Royal Iris in 1980s. Great ship. Sad to see it like that.

Thank you for the video. I have such happy memories of going to parties on her during the 80’s. It’s so sad to see her in such a state.

People have no idea of the sheer costs involved in resurrecting a ship, even in static use. The Queen Mary may be of interest here, although her story is at a definite tangent, but she did spend many years on the Thames near Waterloo Bridge. She is really the first Queen Mary, of 1933, the big liner currently in Long Beach is actually from 1936. The story about Cunard's diplomatic gaff with George V's missus may have some credence. This is where they sought permission to call their new ship after Britain's greatest queen or some such vague phrase but meaning Queen Victoria, to which the king pointedly said that his wife would be most pleased. However the already named ship was a highly respected and fast pleasure steamer, sailing from the centre of Glasgow past John Brown's shipyard where the liner was incomplete on the stocks. And most of the Glaswegians aboard were shipyard workers who would know a thing or two about which ship they were on- certainly on the outward leg of their journey ( before the beer set in )- and who probably worked on the liner. So no one can say they didn’t know there already was a Queen Mary. My grandad was a foreman welder at John Brown's, worked on the liner, and lived opposite the yard. The pleasure steamer's owners (Williamson-Buchanan Turbine Steam Syndicate Ltd?), in the end and did come to a settlement where they would call their ship Queen Mary II, and the liner would thus save face, but the original Queen Mary would also get a nice oil painting of HRH Queen Mary to hang in the saloon. In the 1977 jubilee Year Queen Mary II was allowed to be called Queen Mary and sailed as that till the end of the season when she was withdrawn as uneconomic. She was sold to the Thames to replace the Caledonia as a venue at Waterloo Bridge which had been all but destroyed in a fire. However, before the Queen Mary could be removed, there was an odd rite performed. On her funnel were lions rampant ( steel lion emblems on the funnel- the logo of Caledonian McBrayne her then owners ) and for some reason there was a heraldic ruling that they had to be removed before she could leave Scotland. Actually the only way to get her under Waterloo Bridge was to remove the funnel anyway and it was replaced with two that were used a kiosk and ventilator shaft. She spent many years there and returned to the Clyde about three years ago where she is in active preservation for static use. paddlesteamers.info/Turbine%20Steamers/QueenMary.htm

Sad, but time marches on Thanks for the video, and cheers from Kentucky 🍻

Breaks my heart to see the Iris like this .Many a happy day going up the Mersey on pleasure cruises on this vessel .Thanks for the post .

So glad I found this video. I've been cycling past her on the Thames Path for the last few years and always wondered what she was and how she got there. Now I know. Thanks very much!

Sad ending for her - I live in London now but grew up in Kirkby (just outside Liverpool) and on sunny days we'd get the bus to Pier Head then the ferry to New Brighton for the open air pool. Happy days.

By far the most melancholic video JH has posted. Poor Royal Iris.

My Grandma was a MerseyGuide years ago, and I used to spend summers staying with her. She did a river tour going up the Mersey giving a history of the docks, buildings and region, as well as the history of the ship on this very boat... Lovely boat, little maze of stairwells and corridors as well as the main staircase. I've been on all the ferries that crossed the Mersey (Overchurch, Woodchurch and Mountwood) as well as this ship. Great experience. One time I was crossing there had been a spill up the river, and they were flying in planes over the Mersey to dump detergents or whatever it was they were using. Incredible memories and so sad to see it rotting in this condition. It's a historical icon of Liverpool, Birkenhead, Seacombe and the rest of the Wirral peninsula.

My then wife to be and I attended a disco on board the Royal Iris shortly after we had first met. It was Saturday 4th November 1972 - happy memories. So sad to see this fine old boat in this state 48 years on.....

I walked past it today, wondered what it's history was and your video was recommended, how interesting

What a shame. I had a friend who bought a decommissioned ferry boat, fixed it up, and now lives on it as a house boat, she can even park her car aboard it. She leases a slip and has it safely docked.

So sad, I have many memories of the Royal Iris, my Nan had her retirement party from the MPTE there in 1975 after they found out her real age (75), yup, they thought she was younger than 60 as they would have retired her at 60 so I am guessing she had told them that she was still in her 50's as I know she would have carried on working had they not forced her in to retirement. A whole generation of Merseysiders have grown up without her in their lives and so probably don't realise her significance to us and therefore probably don't and won't ever care, but for many of us old f****rs still kicking, she is like a part of our very lives, she is like on of the family. Thanks for this video, it makes a change from your usual London based videos were I learn about something I never knew until now, in this case I learn what happened to a local icon from where I am originally from although I now live in Manchester.

Wow.... I stumbled across this video on a bored rainy day... straight away I recognised and remembered this old girl. In the early 80s I went to a couple parties on the Royal Iris.. we would take a coach up from the midlands to Liverpool. They were reggae parties.. wonder if anyone else remembers them..? Happy memories with my dad.. letting me stay late. Such a shame to see her in this state..

Jago mate, I love your East London vids. Please keep them coming!

Thank you for raising this interesting, but sad story

I met Acker Bilk when my daughter was at junior school and he sat watching the school as a guest of the headmistress do a play of Joseph and the technicolour coat and he was saying my girl had such a clean, clear singing voice that should be trained and heard, he was a often seen celeb here in the sleepy town of Gillingham in Dorset and I remember my daughter saying to me "who was that old man you and the headmistress was talking to" and I said just about one of the most famous people in Britain then she went all self conscious when I told her about his praise. He used to have a nightclub in Chislehurst caves once upon a time and we had a good ol' chinwag about that place, the acoustics, the ability for naughty boys and girls to sneak off for a bit o' slap and tickle and more often than not many would find a place to fall asleep and have to be let out in the morning hehe

A very informative and well produced video. Many thanks.

I love all of Jago's videos. There is real quality - at times it is like watching an expensive BBC production, mainly because of Jago's excellent script and beautiful voice. Keep up the excellent work - and do show some video of yourself as you narrate your story!

This ferry looks like that abandoned McDonalds that was used for the Expo in Vancouver, Canada, which stood drifting aimlessly for years.

Remember going on this boat about 1962/3 as far as i can remember it was half a crown to go across to New Brighton.

"We've already tried 'turn it into a nightclub' and now we're all out of ideas!" -The businessmen of London

Thank you very much.

Our works in trafford park Manchester organised an outing on this boat .it was alright for mixed couples but no single girls on it . just got drunk

This is amazing! I visited her a few days ago and recorded some footage for youtube; one of the people who watched it pointed me in the direction of your video for the history. Really great video but with a very sad ending. Have subscribed to your channel and I'm looking forward to watching more of your work

Great video, thanks!

Her story reminds me a little of the SS _Catalina,_ which spent about 50 years ferrying passengers from Los Angeles to Santa Catalina Island, interrupted by a few years as a troop ship in WWII. After her retirement in the 70s, there was talk of her being used as a ferry on the Nile, but her draft was too deep. By the mid-80s, she was in Ensenada, Mexico, where she spent an unsuccessful decade as a restaurant and a nightclub. In 1997, she broke free of moorings and ran aground on a sandbar in the middle of the harbor. She spent 12 years rotting away there before finally being broken up.

The boat was also used by Red 1 Airsoft for Airsoft games in 2016. However it only happened for 3-4 months before closing. The amount of work needed to the boat to make it safe for Airsofting was just not economical.

The Royal Iris continued the name of the previous ferry also name Royal Iris. The Mersey ferry boats are very strong and powerful to navigate the powerful currents in the deep water River Mersey. They are so strong they have been known to run alongside large ships then push them sidewards to safety. Two of the Mersey ferries, the Iris and the Daffodil, were chosen for the Zebrugge raid in WW1. After WW1 the ships were awarded and allowed to have the title _Royal_ before their names.

I remember day trips on the Iris throughout the early 70s. She would sail up and down the mersey for a few hours while the adults got sloshed in the bar the kids had a great time in the disco, Happy days.

Went on a school trip to Liverpool in about 1954, cruise on the bright yellow Royal Iris, overhead railway and saw the burnt out Empress of Canada listing to one side in the dock. Great day out for a 13 year old.

What a sad end for a boat with such a history.

Just saying...the title of the song is intended to be read as 'Ferry, Cross the Mersey'. It's asking the ferry to cross the Mersey. The 'cross' is not - as so many people seem to think - short for 'across'; it's not just describing a 'ferry across the Mersey'.

Pity I've travelled on her but looking at the state of her now it's time to put her out of her misery RIP old girl.

I watched this because of the title. Yes, I'm that old.

Very similar in design...somewhat art deco...as Seattle's iconic passenger/auto ferry MV Kalakala, that plied Puget Sound from 1935 until her retirement in 1967. She went on to become a fish processing plant in Alaska, then was returned to Seattle with similar big plans to become a floating B&B, restaurant, etc...but eventually the cost of re-outfitting proved to be prohibitive and she went to the scrap yard sometime around 2015, I believe.

Such a shame to see this as I have very fond memories of the Royal Iris when I was growing up in Liverpool during the 60's and 70's! When I was around 10 or 11 years old one of my older sisters was dating the captain of the Royal Iris and he he let me come onto the bridge and actually take hold of the large, steering wheel for a minute, I was well chuffed! I can also remember going to a 'Blacklers' (used to be a large department store in Lpool City Centre) annual staff party aboard the Royal Iris, this was back in 1977 when I was 17 years old and I went along with my first girlfriend, a couple of good friends and their girlfriends, we weren't even adults but we thought we were so grown up attending a private party on the Royal Iris! LOL Happy memories. :-)

An original Mersey Ferry on which The Beatles performed sounds like a perfect home for a Beatles Museum for London tourists.

I remember being on board for the disco cruises up and down the River Mersey with my girlfriend. Sweating on the dance floor whilst thunder and lightning hammered away outside, only noticed when we left after a busy night. The vessel did tilt to some interesting angles on those nights...

Oh it's gorgeous! Very mid century modern!

Fun fact it also served as a Airsift site for a handful of games whilst in London during the late 2010s

Remember this in its day on the Mersey. So sad to see.

So sad to see this grand old lady left to rot!

I was on the mersey pirate show while i was in primary school in the 80s. Happy times but sad to see the state she is in now

I was at the Thames barrier the other week, she's pretty much sunk now with the upper deck peering above water in high tide.

A little bit of history slipping away from us I fear. 🚂🚃🚃🚃

Royal Iris came back in Business

I did the mersey in 1990, may well of been the boat I was on before it's retirement...

I need to go and see this boat whilst I still can!

Hey Jargo I just want to add to some of the information, it was rented out july 2017, for Airsoft use, kind of like paintball but with small plastic bbs instead, where by a few games where played on the boat, unfortunately this did not last long as the basement started taking in water. I was able to partake in the games and was unaware of its history until today ! Thank you !

Had a night out on that boat in around 1963.

Listen to 'Ferry 'cross the Mersey' again. It's a great song. It brings back some pleasant memories to me. See what you think.