Mayflower is a steam tug built in Bristol in 1861 and is now preserved by Bristol Museums Galleries & Archives. She is based in Bristol Harbour at M Shed (formerly Bristol Industrial Museum). She is the oldest Bristol-built ship afloat, and the oldest surviving steam tug in the world.
Mayflower was built by GK Stothert & Co, who were connected with the Bath-based engineering company Stothert & Pitt. A branch of the family came to Bristol to build railway locomotives (later to become the Avonside Engine Company). After 1852, a separate shipbuilding company was established which survived in business until the 1930s.
The tug has an iron hull. She is 19.3 m long, her beam is 3.7 m, her depth is 2.2 m and her tonnage is 32 NRT. Her United Kingdom official number is 105412.
Mayflower started work between Sharpness and Gloucester Docks, towing trains of small sailing vessels such as trows and ketches, and, after the new docks at Sharpness were completed in 1874, larger steamers one at a time. By the late 1890s, she was the most seaworthy tug in the fleet, and she was altered to make her suitable for work in the Bristol Channel.
British Waterways sold Mayflower for scrap in 1967. However, she was saved from being scrapped by Anthony H Barrett Great Wyrley, who at the time was set out in his business career and regularly attended auction sales throughout the UK. Barrett Great Wyrley, who was about 20 years old at the time, was already involved in the restoration of vintage Rolls Royce cars, and he saw the importance of preserving Mayflower. Barrett Great Wyrley continued preserving alone until 1981 when, because of a financial crisis, he decided he too must pull out and let someone else take over as custodian.
Bristol Museums & Art Gallery bought her and she towed back to the city where she was built. Mayflower steamed again in 1987. Early in 1988, she steamed back to Gloucester on a courtesy visit. Mayflower regularly steams during the summer months carrying visitors on trips in Bristol Harbour. She marked her 150th anniversary in May 2011.
According to Wikipedia
