About the Steamship Freshspring Trust
The Steamship Freshspring Trust is an educationally orientated charity which owns the historic steamship Freshspring. Their aim is to both restore the ship to working condition and to use it as an educational resource aimed at encouraging young people to consider a career in the maritime and engineering industries. To achieve this, they are developing onboard and classroom-based learning facilities and simulation equipment, something that is not available in the traditional classroom.
The SS Freshspring was built in 1946 as one of fourteen 'Fresh' class shore-to-ship water carriers for the Navy, and was based initially in Malta. The ship was sold out of service in 1977, after which she was kept by two private owners. SS Freshspring is the only survivor of the class. When the Trust acquired her, she was in a very poor state in the Severn estuary on a berth that was time limited.
Rather than see the ship scrapped, an inspired group set up the Trust and in 2016 the National Heritage Memorial Fund provided a grant to tow the ship to a dry dock, re-plate sections of the hull and tow her to a new berth in Bideford.
From the day the ship arrived in Bideford, an ever growing number of volunteers have been working on enhancing and maintaining her, whilst another group have been planning and working towards the ship’s future. In 2017 they applied to the Heritage Lottery for a grant to restore the wheelhouse (the original of which had rotted away), carry out further work on the decking and superstructure and employ an Education Officer and a Project manager. To support their application they obtained match funding from local Councils and funders, culminating in an award of the full grant in late 2017.
The Trust's Objective
The Trust aims that by 2025 the SS Freshspring will be restored to working order and a nationally recognised attraction, both as a maritime resource and as an educational facility and tourist attraction in North Devon. The first phase of this project is to have a Feasibility and Viability study undertaken:
— The Feasibility study will confirm that the ship can be converted to carry passengers, primarily in sheltered waters. It will tell them how they can restore the ship to the standard required to operate as a passenger ship and also provide foundation information for the work required to enable shipyards and contractors to prepare quotations for the restoration and modification of the vessel.
— The Viability study will look at all the ways in which Freshspring can become financially self-sufficient. The Trust needs to become sustainable in the long term and the conclusions from the viability study will provide this valuable information.
Learning Programme
Schools are encouraged to bring children to the ship where they can see first-hand how a vessel operates. Both onboard and outreach sessions to schools are offered. A range of activities include: rope-making, knot-tying, archival and artefact based activities, timeline, ship tour (onboard only). In addition they loan a STEM/Engineering Box Project to schools for half a term. This consists of a series of six consecutive lessons, complete with all resources, instructions and lesson plans. It is primarily aimed at Years 5/6 but could easily be adapted. At Primary level, they have a mainstream school project based on STEM subjects. An element of this project is to connect young people to maritime, planting a seed for future career opportunities.
Maritime & Engineering Studies - the Trust constantly strives to promote careers in maritime and engineering throughout its activities and at shows, school career fairs and events. In partnership with the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) and Jobs in Maritime, they aim to ensure that young people are fully aware of careers available in the maritime sector.
In conjunction with The University of the West of England and Plymouth University, the Trust provides opportunities for students to carry out academic projects linked to SS Freshspring to engage them with the maritime sector. They also work with Chiltern Maritime to create month-long placements for cadets as part of sea-time training.
In 2020, the team launched Freshspring Junior, a fun, interactive website developed in partnership with the University of the West of England. This learning platform is only available to schools who've participated in Freshspring's Engineering Boxed Project and aimed at primary school pupils who can enjoy playing games, reading stories from real sailors and learning new skills!
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