AERIAL VIEW OF SENLAC IN HARBOUR

Sussex Express Article - October 2013

By Carol Walton

This month's Our Newhaven photo is an aerial view of the port in its heyday in the 1970s. It’s impossible to pin down the exact date but it can’t be earlier than 5th April 1973, when Senlac arrived as a brand new ship, and 15th November 1979, when the former Dover ferry Lord Warden was towed away after her sale to middle-eastern buyers.Senlac is seen taking out her usual morning 10.30 sailing, passing two identical examples of the extremely elegant Blue Star Line ships that used to grace our port with their presence. From another Our Newhaven photo taken at the same time, we know that these two are Gladstone Star and Brasilia Star. Our stalwart tug Meeching (now back in active service in Kent under her new name of Nore Crest) is sitting at her usual berth at No. 5 Stage rather than towing out barges so we can probably say that this is a weekend shot. The vessel in lay-up on the Railway Quay is the aforementioned Lord Warden. Looking at the town, the Sheffield pub and Coastguard Cottages are at the left, and it’s easy to make out Fort Road, South Road, Meeching Road, Norman Road, Saxon Road, Western Road and First Avenue. As the photo was taken at high tide, you can see the curve of the old River Ouse as it snakes past Denton Island.