Name Wingfield Castle

The PS WINGFIELD CASTLE was built for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) to operate as a passenger ferry service across the Humber Estuary. Constructed by William Gray & Company at their Hartlepool shipyard, her keel was laid on 27th June 1934 and, together with her sister ship Tattershall Castle, she was launched on 24th September 1934.

Powered by a reciprocating steam engine driving side paddle wheels, she could maintain a service speed of around 12 knots. The vessel measures 209 feet (63.3 metres) in length, with a beam of 56 feet (17 metres) including the paddle boxes, and has a gross tonnage of 550 tons. Although primarily designed to carry foot passengers, she also accommodated a small number of vehicles and livestock on her aft main deck.

She operated as the Humber ferry from 1934 until 1974 alongside her sister ship the TATTERSHALL CASTLE. A third ferry, her half-sister LINCOLN CASTLE built in Glasgow, was also part of this fleet. During the Second World War, the vessels were used to transport troops and supplies when required, and WINGFIELD CASTLE was fitted with facilities to tow a barrage balloon as part of wartime defence measures.

Following the war, the vessel returned to civilian service. Excursion trips continued for a number of years, but declining passenger numbers led to their withdrawal in 1967. She remained in regular ferry service until 1974, when the forthcoming completion of the Humber Bridge caused the route to become obsolete and the vessel was withdrawn.

After retirement, the ship was purchased by EMI and the Brighton Marina Company, although plans for conversion proved financially unviable. She was sold on, and her whereabouts during the following years are not entirely clear. 

She is believed to have spent much of the period between 1976 and 1982 laid up in London's King George V Dock while ownership disputes were resolved. In 1979, WINGFIELD CASTLE was used as a filming location for The Elephant Man (released in 1980), having been transformed to represent an 1824 cross-Channel packet steamer. However, for much of her time in London she was neglected and suffered vandalism. To prevent the vessel from sinking due to worsening hull leaks, concrete was poured into the bilges as a temporary measure. Evidence of this work was identified during a condition survey undertaken in late 2017.

In 1982, Whitbread purchased the vessel with plans to convert her into a floating public house and moved her to Swansea. The project was abandoned when it became clear that the ship was too wide to pass through the marina dock gates. Four years later, in 1986, Hartlepool Borough Council acquired the vessel for its museum collection and returned her to the town where she had originally been built. The Wingfield Castle was set up as a museum ship and served as the largest exhibit at the Museum of Hartlepool.

Between October 1986 and November 1987, the vessel underwent a major restoration programme carried out by Hartlepool shipyard workers, building on their successful restoration of HMS WARRIOR. A further dry-docking in 1995 was undertaken to preserve the ship's hull. This work included significant hull repairs, with corroded areas strengthened and sections of original steel plating replaced.

In 2006, The WINGFIELD CASTLE was again placed in dry dock for hull plating checks and repairs, repainting, and upgrades to its electrical and heating systems, as well as new education and community spaces on board. This was part funded by Hartlepool Borough Council, with external funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. A non-slip deck coating applied during works in 2006 later deteriorated, and in 2010 the rear car deck was fitted with new Douglas Fir planking to restore its original appearance, funded by Hartlepool Borough Council.

As the vessel continued to age, a programme of emergency conservation works was carried out in 2024. These works included repairs to gangways, removal of deteriorated decking and vegetation, protection of skylights, cleaning and repainting exposed steelwork, improvements to bilge drainage and flood monitoring systems, and structural assessments of key components, including the paddle wheel shaft. 

WINGFIELD CASTLE remains moored alongside the Museum of Hartlepool, close to the site of the former William Gray & Company shipyard where she was built. While no major issues have been reported since the 2024 emergency works, the vessel is currently closed to the public for health and safety reasons and to allow preparations for its future restoration as part of the Tides of Change project. Although the vessel itself is not currently open to visitors, it can still be viewed from the Museum of Hartlepool and Hartlepool Marina.

Thanks to a grant from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, administered by Arts Council England, the PS WINGFIELD CASTLE is set for a dramatic transformation. The PS Wingfield castle is set to be restored as a part of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Tides of Change Project – initial work using a development grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund is under way to develop a proposal to reimagine the Museum of Hartlepool and the WINGFIELD CASTLE as dynamic, inclusive attractions that celebrate the town’s heritage in bold new ways. The restoration programme will be undertaken in phases, with progress continuing after a tender for Phase 2 works was launched in October 2025. An option which is currently being explored is to complete restoration works via an in-situ lifting platform at her current location in Jackson Dock. The restoration will allow her to be displayed on the water as an integral part of the Museum of Hartlepool for years to come.