In this video i payed a visit Woolwich to see the Royal Iris, she is rotting away on the Thames and is a very sad sight to see.
The MV Royal Iris is a twin screw, diesel-electric, Mersey Ferry. The vessel was built by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton (Yard No. 1448) and launched in December 1950, costing £256,000.
The ship measured 1,234 GT. Length is 159 feet long and 48 feet wide, with a draught of 9 feet. At least during the first decade of its life, the ship's diesel-electric propulsion made it more economical to run than the other vessels in the fleet.
Career in service
Royal Iris ran the trials on the Skelmorlie Mile on the River Clyde on 24 April 1951. Arriving in the River Mersey on 28 April 1951, it was initially owned and operated by Wallasey Corporation and carried the borough coat of arms on the front of the superstructure. Upon entering service on 5 May 1951, it was licensed to carry 2,296 passengers on normal ferry duties, or 1,000 for cruising. Originally painted in a green and cream livery, the ship was distinctive in having a forward dummy funnel near the bridge and two exhaust stacks amidships, on both sides. Onboard amenities included a dancefloor and stage, tea room, buffet, cocktail bar, even a fish and chip saloon. The latter likely affording Royal Iris the nickname "the fish and chip boat".
On Friday 7 September 1951 the battleship HMS Duke of York was under tow on way to being broken up at Gareloch when she collided with Royal Iris off Gladstone Dock. Royal Iris was temporarily out of control and the floodtide carried it against the warship. The ferry was approaching the end of a cruise organised by the Amalgamated Engineering Union. Some people were hospitalised as a result of the accident.
During the 1960s numerous acts associated with the Merseybeat scene performed on the ferry. Duke Duval played on the first Cavern Cruise, followed by The Beatles and Gerry & The Pacemakers. Paul McCartney referenced performing with the Beatles on the ferry in his song "That Was Me"
Later years
Royal Iris transferred to the combined fleet of the newly formed Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive on 1 December 1969, which consisted of seven vessels.
Whilst docked for the annual survey on 12 January 1975, a fire broke out in the engine room, causing extensive electrical damage.
On 21 June 1977, Royal Iris carried Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on their Silver Jubilee Mersey Review.
The ship was used by Granada Television during the summer of 1980 as the setting for the ITV Saturday morning children's television series The Mersey Pirate. For this purpose, a dome structure was built on the promenade deck of the vessel.
During 1984 Royal Iris and the other three Mersey Ferries received the red, white and blue livery to mark the 1984 International Garden Festival at Otterspool. In April and May 1985 the vessel left Liverpool Bay for the first time since the delivery from Scotland. It was sent on a 1500-mile round trip to London on a publicity drive for Merseyside, sailing around Land's End, up the River Thames and under Tower Bridge, docking adjacent to HMS Belfast.
During the early 1990s, funding was found to allow Mountwood, Woodchurch and Overchurch an extensive refurbishment, which included provision for cruising duties. The ageing Royal Iris, the last ex-Wallasey vessel, was considered surplus to requirements because of the cost of bringing it up to modern standards after a major survey. On 21 April 1991, the boat was granted a one-day licence from the Department of Transport to carry 600 people on a cruise to mark the 73rd Anniversary of the Zeebrugge Raid of 1918. On 16 August 1991, it was placed in the hands of shipbrokers SC Chambers Limited of Liverpool for an asking price of £100,000.
In November 1991, it was sold to a consortium for conversion into a floating nightclub, restaurant and conference centre, based in Liverpool under the name of 'Mr Smith's Nightclub'. It was delivered to the Stanley Dock complex in early 1992 to begin a new life on Merseyside and was subsequently painted Bright Blue with a red band around the top deck windows.
Leaving of Liverpool
On Saturday, 7 August 1993, the Liverpool Echo carried front page news that Royal Iris had been sold to Hertfordshire-based Parkway Leisure who had the intention of turning it into a floating nightspot in Cardiff, spending £300,000 on refurbishments. On Wednesday 10 August 1993, the Royal Iris was removed from Stanley Dock. In a two-hour operation it broke free from the tow line and smashed into the dock wall twice. Royal Iris finally left the River Mersey for the last time, under tow, on the morning of Thursday 12 August 1993, after being towed to the Pier Head for a final goodbye.
The move to London
In 2002 the vessel was towed to a berth on the River Thames near Woolwich, awaiting a possible refit as a floating nightclub.