Salters Steamers
Salters Steamers, formerly known as Salter Bros, is a family
History
The firm was established when John and Stephen Salter took over Isaac King's boat building firm based at Folly Bridge in Oxford. They were the country's leading racing-boat-builder in the 1860s (distributing craft around the world) and they built many of the beautiful
On the death of John Salter, the firm passed to his three sons (John, James and George) and become known as Salter Bros. John and James rose to considerable prominence in Oxford as long-standing local Liberal politicians (both serving as Mayors of Oxford) and well-known Wesleyan Methodists. In 1888, the company started a
The service between Oxford and Kingston operated until the 1970s. The return journey originally took five days (two days downstream and three days upstream), but was shortened to four in the 1890s. When the through service became uneconomic the company concentrated on local services between Folly Bridge, Oxford and
The firm was one of the most important businesses on the river for popularising pleasure boating on the non-tidal Thames. It is still owned and run by family members (the fifth and sixth generation), but the parent company is now primarily concerned with property management.
Current services
More recently, Salters passenger services have been reintroduced between Abingdon, Wallingford and Reading, and between Henley and Marlow. Through journeys are therefore again possible, with changes of boats. The journey between Oxford and Staines takes 4 days.
Original steamer
Two original 'Salters Steamers' have been restored to full working order as a steam-powered excursion trip boats working from Runnymede and Windsor, on the Thames. The SL Nuneham, built by Edwin Clarke in 1898 and the SL Streatley, built by Salters in Oxford in 1905, which retains her original triple expansion engine.
References
- Wenham, S., Pleasure Boating on the Thames: a History of Salter Bros, 1858 - Present Day (Stroud, 2014) ISBN 9780750958332
- Hibbert, C. (ed) (1988) The Encyclopaedia of Oxford, Macmillan ISBN 0-333-48614-5