Four ships called “EWELL”
(You may also be interested to see our articles on A tank engine called Ewell and Five ships called Epsom)
Over the years, we have learnt of four ships called “Ewell”, as set out chronologically below.
1. The barque Ewell Grove
The earliest is the barque Ewell Grove, a three-masted sailing ship built in 1834 (with the name coming from the 2nd baronet of Ewell Grove, Sir John Rae Reid) – about which we have a free-standing article.
2. SS Ewell
Next comes the 1926 SS Ewell, bought by the Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Epsom District Gas Company to bring coal to its gasworks in Wandsworth and, like its other colliers, named after one of the towns served by the company. We also have a free-standing article about this vessel which, in 1958, was replaced by . . .
3. MV Ewell
MV Ewell near Tilbury on 8 March 1968.(Heading back to one of the NE England coal ports for another load for Wandsworth gas works.)
Image © Bob Scott via ShipSpotting.com
By the 1950s, the Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Epsom District Gas Company had become part of the nationalised South Eastern Gas Board – and continued to make gas from coal. In 1958, the Board replaced its 1926 collier SS Ewell (which was sold off) with this new Motor Vessel Ewell.
The ship was built in 1958 by Alexander Hall & Co Ltd of Aberdeen (Yard no. 754 – later 862). It was 275ft long with a 39ft beam and draught of 17ft. Powered by an eight-cylinder, two-stroke British Polar motor M48M of 1,150 bhp at 300rmp giving the 1,877 gross tonnage ship a speed 11 knots. (For a fuller description see aberdeenships.com.) She was launched on 22 January 1958 by Dame Alix Maynell, Chair of the South Eastern Gas Consultative Council and a member of the South Eastern Gas Board.
Following the roll-out of natural gas in 1967, coke works – and the colliers that supplied them – became redundant. In 1970, the MV Ewell was sold to Stephenson Clarke Shipping Ltd and renamed the FLETCHING. After 10 years’ service with them, the ship was retired and broken up in 1980 at Gijon, Spain.
4. Survey Vessel Ewell
USACE Survey Vessel “Ewell”.
Photograph with thanks to the USACE Marine Design Center
The latest Ewell is a Survey Vessel built in 2018 for the Norfolk, Virginia division of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The vessel’s name, however, has nothing to do with our Borough. Instead, it commemorates the late Donald Ewell, a Norfolk District boat captain from the 1960s until his retirement in 1985. Members of his family were present at the formal commissioning of the vessel at Fort Norfolk on 31 May 2018.
The USACE Marine Design Center oversaw the design of the vessel which was constructed by Aluma Marine & Fabrication LLC of Harvey, Louisiana. It is a 61 foot catamaran fitted with the latest multibeam SONAR technology and a crane capable of lifting 2 tons. It has a top speed of over 34 knots thanks to hydrofoils and water-jets (rather than traditional propellers) powered by twin engines delivering 1,970 horsepower. It serves as a dual-purpose vessel for the District, performing both survey and marine debris removal functions. (Fuller technical details are available at the USACE website.)
Peter Reed & Roger Morgan © 2020