Esperance (steam yacht)

Esperance is a steam yacht, built in 1869, which is part of the collection of the Windermere Jetty Museum, where it is being restored under a conservation management plan. The vessel is significant as the oldest yacht on Lloyd’s Register and believed to be the first twin-screw steam yacht.

Esperance was built in 1869 by T. B. Sheath & Co. in Rutherglen (near Glasgow) for the wealthy industrialist Henry Schneider. The vessel was constructed with high-grade iron from Schneider's iron company. It was transported to Lakeside by rail, requiring modifications to a section of the railway tracks. Schneider, who lived in Belsfield House in Bowness-on-Windermere, regularly had breakfast on the Esperance whilst sailing across Windermere to Lakeside, where he took the train to his office in Barrow-in-Furness. By 1900, the Esperance served the Ferry Hotel, ferrying guests for teas and on Sundays for church services. In the 1920s, it became a houseboat. It was later seen by Arthur Ransome and was one of the inspirations for Captain Flint’s houseboat, illustrated in his 1930 novel Swallows and Amazons. After sinking in 1941, she was salvaged by T.C. Pattinson, whose son George's boat collection later formed the basis of the Windermere Steam Boat Museum which opened in 1977 (now the Windermere Jetty Museum).