from Castalias builders. The ship being the only asset owned by the company and it was mortgaged to her builders for £20,000. In 1878, the English Channel Steamship Company was acquired by the LCDR, and Castalia was one of the ships that LCDR acquired. A further four-hour trial run was made on 17 August 1878 when Castalia sailed from North Woolwich, having been laid up for seventeen months. Speed was reduced due to her bottom being fouled and her steam engines not having been in use during that time. Following the disaster on 3 September 1878, the Board of Trade held an enquiry. One of the recommendations was that ships that were laid up, such as and Castalia should be either moved to different locations or moored nearer the river bank, leaving a wider area of the river available for navigation. On 24 October, Castalia rescued the captain of Ruth, which had sank in the River Thames during a squall. Reconstruction as an unconventional hospital ship In September 1881, Castalia was advertised to be sold the following month on the instructions of the mortgagees, Messrs Bailey & Ridley. The sale was advertised as taking place at the Captain's Room of the Royal Exchange, London on 20 October 1881. In May 1883, Castalia was sold to the Metropolitan Asylums Board for £5,500 and converted to a hospital ship with provision for 150 patients. She was converted at a cost of between £30,000 and £35,000. Castalia joined the board's two other ships, and at Long Reach, near Dartford. Her engines and paddle wheels were removed and the void covered over to form a deck, The machinery that was removed was advertised for sale in July 1883. Five ward blocks were built at an oblique angle on her twin hulls. This was to ensure a flow of air through the wards. Male patients were housed on board Atlas and female patients on board Castalia; with Endymion serving as an administration and stores ship. Ventilation was by a number of Boyle's self-acting ventilators, which removed of air per minute from the ship. A pump provided an artificial draught in times of calm. The ventilators could change the air in the wards nine times per hour. Castalia entered service as a hospital ship in June 1884. In 1885, it was reported that a child born on board the ship had been named Castalia. [[File:The old