Cosens & Co
| Industry | Tourism, ship repair and marine engineering |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1848 |
| Headquarters | Weymouth, United Kingdom |
Area served | South Coast |
Cosens & Co Ltd was a British excursion steamer and marine engineering company based in Weymouth.
History
The company was founded in 1848 by Joseph Cosens and incorporated in 1876. It operated a fleet of paddle steamers on excursions along the south coast of England and on cross channel trips to Cherbourg and Alderney. In addition it operated a number of launches offering "trips round the bay" as well as tugs serving ships using Weymouth harbour. The engineering side of the company was a major ship repair and marine engineering facility. The company also had a cold storage and ice-making facility adjacent to the port.
In 1851 Joseph Cosens was operating the steamer Princess between Weymouth and Portland, when he discovered that a rival organisation, the Weymouth & Portland Steam Packet Company, owned by Philip Dodson, intended placing its own steamer Contractor on the same route. Cosens' response to this was to expand the company by going into partnership with wealthy local newspaper proprietor Joseph Drew, in order to have a new ship designed and built. The new ship, named Prince, was designed and built by John Scott Russell, famous later as the builder of the fated SS Great Eastern.[1]
In 1946 Cosens was taken over by its Southampton based rival Red Funnel which continued to operate the pleasure steamers, in conjunction with its own, until 1966 when the last surviving paddle steamer was withdrawn from service. The engineering division continued however, finally being sold in a management buy-out in 1990. Renamed Cosens Engineering Ltd it had a brief independent career that ended in receivership.[2]
Fleet
| Ship | Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PS Princess | 1848–1853 | |
| PS Prince | 1852–1888 | |
| PS Contractor | 1858–1863 | |
| PS Ocean Bride | 1858–1865 | |
| PS Bannockburn | 1860–1865 | |
| PS Premier | 1852–1938 | |
| PS Commodore | 1863–1890 | |
| PS Empress | 1879–1958 | |
| PS Queen | 1883–1920 | |
| PS Victoria | 1884–1953 | |
| PS Monarch (I) | 1888–1950 | |
| PS Albert Victor | 1889–1928 | ex Lass o' Gowrie. |
| PS Prince George | 1898–1928 | |
| PS Majestic | 1901–1916 | Served as 0108 HMS Majestic II in World War 1. Lost while minesweeping off Oran. |
| PS Brodick Castle | 1901–1910 | ex Clyde steamer. Sold and renamed Peca Nova. Sank under tow off Portland Bill en route to South America. |
| PS Emperor of India | 1908–1957 | ex Princess Royal. Purchased from Red Funnel. Served as HMS Mahratta in World War 1. Served as J106 HMS Emperor of India in World War 2 and was present at Dunkirk.[3][4] |
| PS Melcombe Regis | 1913–1920 | ex Lune. Purchased from the L&YR |
| PS Alexandra | 1915–1931 | ex Portsmouth & Ryde service. Sold to breakers then resold as Showboat. Scrapped 1934. |
| PS Embassy | 1937–1967 | ex Duchess of Norfolk. Purchased from the Southern Railway. Served as J109 HMS Ambassador in World War 2.[3] The last ship in company service. |
| PS Consul | 1937–1963 | ex Duke of Devonshire. Purchased from Alexander Taylor of Torquay. Served as an examination vessel at Weymouth during World War 2. |
| PS Monarch (II) | 1951–1961 | ex Shanklin. Purchased from the British Transport Commission, Portsmouth |
Bibliography
- Clammer, Richard. Cosens of Weymouth, 1848-1918. 2005, Witney, Black Dwarf Publications. ISBN 1-903599-14-8
- Clammer, Richard. Cosens of Weymouth, 1918-1996. 2001, Truro, Twelveheads Press. ISBN 9780906294482