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SS Mona's Queen (1853)
Mona's Queen (I)
Mona's Queen.
Career Civil Ensign of the Isle of Man
Name: Mona's Queen
Owner: 1853–1880: IOMSPCo
Operator: 1853–1880: IOMSPCo
Port of registry: Douglas, Isle of Man
Builder: J. and G. Thompson of Clydebank
Cost: No official record, thought to be in the region of £14,000 (£1,265,304 as of 2025).[1]
Way number: 21930
Launched: 27th November, 1852
Completed: 1853
In service: 1853
Out of service: 1880
Identification: Official Number 21930
Code Letters N J H W
ICS NovemberICS JulietICS HotelICS Whiskey
Fate: Scrapped 1880
Status: Scrapped
General characteristics
Tonnage: 600 GT (gross tonnage)
Length: 186 ft 0 in (56.7 m)
Beam: 27 ft 0 in (8.2 m)
Depth: 13 ft (4.0 m)
Installed power: Not Recorded.
Propulsion: Side Lever Engine
Speed: 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)

PS (RMS) Mona's Queen (I) No. 21930 - the first vessel in the Company's history to bear the name - was an iron paddle-steamer which was owned and operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Construction and dimensions[]

Mona's Queen was built and engined by J. and G. Thompson of Clydebank, and launched from Glasgow in 1853. She had a registered tonnage of 600 tons; length 186'; beam 27' and depth 13'. Her speed is recorded as 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph), however her horsepower is not recorded.

Mona's Queen carried a figurehead of Queen Victoria, and was the first vessel to break away from the Company's long association with Robert Napier & Co. The vessel's cost is not recorded, but a reference in the Company's old minute book suggests it was under £14,000 (£1,265,304 as of 2025).[1] In 1855 she was lengthened (details not recorded) at a cost of £2,111(£176,188 as of 2025).[1]

Service life[]

Mona's Queen (I).

An early photograph of Mona's Queen, alongside the Red Pier, Douglas.

Mona's Queen appears to of had a pretty uneventful career, with the exception of a collision with the steamer Sligo, which occurred in the River Mersey in January 1862. The official inquiry went against the Steam Packet Company who had to pay approximately £300 (£25,002 as of 2025).[1] in damages and costs. The Captain was accordingly reduced from Second Class Master to Third, and his pay was cut from £275 to £250 (£20,835 as of 2025)[1]

King Orry, Mona's Queen & Tynwald

An 1856 image of King Orry, Mona's Queen & Tynwald.

Disposal[]

After ten years service the directors decided to sell the ship and offered it to Cunard, Wilson an Co. for £20,000 (£1,709,104 as of 2025).[1]

The offer was declined, and negotiations started with a Whitehaven company for a sale at £14,000 (£1,196,373 as of 2025).[1]

Midway through 1864 the directors admitted they could not sell the vessel. Mona's Queen therefore continued in the Company's service until she was broken up in 1880.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2013), "What Were the British Earnings and Prices Then? (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
Bibliography
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