SB Excelsior

History

Masons bought Excelsior second-hand in 1888 as their fourth vessel. Along with the remainder of the fleet she was sold to Cranfields in 1912 eventually being used for training as she was, by then, their smallest barge¹Cranfields smallest – Topsail 92..

Bombed

Excelsior was hit by an incendiary bomb in 1940 in Ipswich, she was towed away to protect other vessels and left to sink outside the Orvis yard near the Ipswich lock gates. The remains were still visible at low water in 2011 but may have been disturbed by construction work in the late 2010s.

There is the hulk of a lifting barge just to the south.

Summary

Name: Excelsior, Main trade: Cement, Port of Registry: Maldon, Off. No.: 68319, Tonnage: 48, Where built: Sittingbourne, Builder: Shrubsall, When built: 1879, Length ft.: 74.2, Beam ft.: 18.3, Beam ft.: 18.3, Draught ft.: 5.3, Owners: Mason 1888, sold 1/11/1912 to Cranfields by F&H Mason, History: Skippers- Brooks 1894 Quantrill. Damaged by bomb 1941 – hulked outside Orvis yard in Ipswich. There was another barge by the same name which capsized in 1966 off Maplin.

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  Cranfields smallest – Topsail 92.