VILLANDRY - BEFORE & AFTER REFIT

Improved capacity but lost her clean lines

By Stephen Morris

The Villandry and Valencay brought modern design and diesel engines to the route in 1965 phasing out the steam turbine passenger ships.

The Villandry commenced her service on the Newhaven-Dieppe route in May 1965. After the relative silence of a steam turbine engine, the diesel throb of these ships was a noticeable innovation.

The decision was made to lengthen the ships in order to increase vehicle capacity and this was carried out on the Villandry at Le Havre in 1976. Lorry capacity was doubled to 20 vehicles.

When the V ships were lengthened and provided with bow doors, they lost their sleek neat appearance with a top hat added to the funnel, the straight lines of windows on the side of the ships now had a dip, and the bow had this strange pair of what looked like dining tables perched above the waterline either side of the bow door on the Villandry!  She lost her rear bridge at this time as well.

The Villandry made her last trip on the route in April,1982.

After various charter roles for Sealink and SNCF on different routes, she was sold to Greek owners in 1984. She changed hands and names as the Olympia and Delos, until she was eventually scrapped in 1998.

The Valencay lasted longer than her sister-ship, moving to Greek ownership in 1984, first as Eptanisos and later as Pollux.  She was scrapped in 2003 after a respectable 38 years of service.