Polly Woodside, Barque

Polly Woodside aka Rona
Iron barque, built 1885 in Belfast.
647 tons, 192 feet long, max speed 14 knots.

A trading ship, coal mostly, from the end of the era of sail, although she remained in use to the 1920s, when she was converted to a coal hulk.

Original Photos
Under sail
Under sail, from a different angle
"Three masted barque about to be broken up on the rocks."
"On Her Way To The Seclusion Of Hulkland"
Before restoration

We're going to start at the bow, walk down the starboard side, then back along the port side. Then we'll go below, have a look at the hold and then the aft accommodation.

The white thing there is the deck cabin where the crew slept, and the galley is just behind it.

Inside the deck cabin.

Main mast

Companion

This would be looking back down the length of the ship, if the boats weren't in the way.

In the hold.

The deck bit here is a modern addition for the benefit of visitors, in use it would have been all hold, accessed by ladders.

Looking forewards. Beside the big, blue information panel, there's a little window that looks into the forepeak store.

Looking the other way.

This is the layout of the aft accommodation, recreated to reflect living conditions when the ship was in use.

The doors connecting the hold to cabins, and the door from the apprentices area (shown on the plans, not in the photos though) are for the benefit of visitors. Originally, these areas would also have been accessed directly from the upper deck.