TSS Duchess of Devonshire (1897)

History
Name	1897–1928: Duchess of Devonshire 1928–1949: Gibel Dersa
Operator	1897–1907: Barrow SN Co 1907–1923: Midland Railway 1923–1928: LMS Railway 1928–1943: Bland Line 1943–1947: Dalhousie Steam & Motor Ship Co 1947–1949: A Benjamin & Co
Port of registry	1897: Barrow 1928: Gibraltar 1943: London 1947: Gibraltar
Builder	Naval and Armament Construction Company, Barrow
Yard number	255
Launched	21 January 1897
Completed	March 1897
Maiden voyage	9 April 1897
Out of service	1949
Fate	Scrapped 1949
General characteristics
Tonnage	1,265 GRT, 543 NRT
Length	300 feet (91 m)
Beam	35.1 feet (10.7 m)
Draught	15.7 feet (4.8 m)
Decks	2
Installed power	273 NHP
Propulsion	2 × screws 2 × 3-cylinder triple-expansion engines
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h)
Capacity	1,250 passengers

TSS Duchess of Devonshire was a passenger ship built for the Barrow Steam Navigation Company in 1897.^[1]

The Naval and Armament Construction Company of Barrow built Duchess of Devonshire as yard number 255 for the Barrow Steam Navigation Company.^[2] She was launched on 21 January 1897 by Louisa Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire.^[3]

She had four decks – lower, main, promenade and shade. First class accommodation was amidships, with sleeping berths for 124 passengers. The promenade deck had fourteen staterooms, a smokeroom and bar, and first-class entrance, with staircase descending to the dining saloon on the main deck. The ladies’ saloon and staterooms were on the lower deck.

Her maiden voyage from Barrow to Belfast was on 9 April 1897^[4] under the command of Captain Myerscough, in a journey time of just under six hours.

The Midland Railway bought her in 1907^[5]

In 1914 the Admiralty requisitioned her and had her converted into an armed boarding steamer. In 1919 she suffered a boiler explosion which killed three people. On 25 September 1922 she was involved in a minor collision with the coasting steamer Trevor which was between Laxey and Douglas.^[6]

In 1923 she passed to the London Midland and Scottish Railway, who in 1928 sold her to Bland Line of Gibraltar who renamed her Gibel Dersa. She was requisitioned in 1941. The Dalhousie Steam and Motor Ship Company of London bought her in 1943, and sold her in 1947 to A Benjamin and Company of Gibraltar. She was scrapped in 1949 at Malaga.