John Sebastian Light Vessel

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The John Sebastian Light Vessel 55
Lightship 'John Sebastien' - geograph.org.uk - 639316.jpg
The John Sebastian in December 2007.

The John Sebastian Light Vessel 55 is a former lightvessel that now acts as an event venue in Bathurst Basin, Bristol, England. It is the last remaining wooden lightship afloat in the world. [1]

Contents

History

The vessel was built as one of three lightvessels, LV54, LV55 and LV59, in 1885 by Charles Hill & Sons in the Albion Dry Dock in Bristol Harbour. [1] [2] They were of composite construction, with a wooden hull over iron frames, [i] and a double wooden hull inside the frames. [1] The lantern [ii] was fuelled by oil and could be raised up a solid wooden mast, then lowered each day to refill the lamps and trim the wicks. [iii] As lightvessels that were intended to be permanently anchored, these were unpowered vessels with neither engines nor sails and were towed into place by a steam tug.

LV 55's service as a lightvessel was in the Bristol Channel. Members of the Cabot Cruising Club made a habit of visiting with gifts for the crew, establishing a relationship with the ship that would eventually lead to her preservation. [4]

In 1953 the vessel was taken into Barry Docks for repair, but was instead sold out of service for scrapping to Portishead. Here she was stripped of saleable scrap metal, including the lantern. [5] The remaining hull was burned, but she foundered instead leaving a waterlogged hull, but still afloat. The nearby Cabot Cruising Club saw the hull and its possibilities as a clubhouse. They purchased the wreck in 1954 for £275. [1] They rebuilt the ship into an event location with a bar for their club to host socialising events. [1] The rebuilt and enlarged deckhouse bears no resemblance to her original appearance. The ship was opened in 1959 and named 'John Sebastian' after the Bristol sailors John and Sebastian Cabot. [5]

Cabot Cruising Club

Cabot Cruising Club is a Bristol boating club founded in 1937. The club has been active for over 80 years and hosts most of their sessions at the John Sebastian. [6] Cabot Cruising Club currently own the John Sebastian Light Vessel and host regular events at the venue. [7]

The Lightship Theatre

Cabot Cruising Club's The Lightship Theatre is an arts venue in Bristol that hosts theatre and other arts events.

They have hosted events such as The Lightship Arts Festival, [8] along with hosting theatre companies such as Flying Chairs [9] and Instant Wit. [10]

References

  1. ↑ The museum clipper Cutty Sark has a similar construction, although is only single-hulled.
  2. ↑ The current 'lantern' is a later addition and is neither original, nor bears any relation to the original design.
  3. ↑ A similar lantern was fitted to LV 38 Gull. Although Gull became derelict on the mud at Thurrock, her mast and lantern have been preserved on shore. [3]


  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Corcoran, Jackie (7 April 2011). "A History of the John Sebastian Light Vessel 55" (PDF). History of the John Sebastian Light Vessel 55. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  2. ↑ "LV 55 JOHN SEBASTIAN LIGHT SHIP TOUR". LV 55 JOHN SEBASTIAN LIGHT SHIP TOUR. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Light Vessel 38 Gull". National Historic Ships UK.
  4. ↑ "John Sebastian". National Historic Ships UK.
  5. 1 2 "The John Sebastian Lightship". Friends of Bathurst Basin. 24 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Andrews, Kimberley. "The Cabot Cruising Club, Bristol looking to programme arts events". London Playwrights. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Cabot Cruising Club: History of Cabot Cruising Club". Cabot Cruising Club. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Sarski (1 March 2022). "THE LIGHTSHIP ARTS FESTIVAL PREPARES TO LAUNCH". Bristol 24/7. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Flying Chairs production of Mojo by Jez Butterworth at The Lightship Theatre". Visit Bristol. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Instant Wit at The Lightship Theatre". Visit Bristol. 2022. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
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