Maritime record MWX2132 - Charming Molly 1749

`On the 31st ult. about 3 miles to the eastward of Weymouth, the CHARM. MOLLY, Penny, from Malaga for London, run ashore; the vessel and cargo are under water, and there are little hopes of saving anything. (2) `Vessel completely submerged, little hope of cargo or vessel being saved. (3)

Master: Penny

Source (3) states the date of loss as 31 October and attributes a cargo of wine derived from her departure point as it is not quoted in source (2) or the text in source (3).

London November 7: " On Saturday last came on shore three miles to the eastward of Weymouth Harbour, the CHARMING MOLLY, Capt Robert Penny from Malaga bound to London, being laden with lemons, oranges and jar raisins, &c. Tis feared the vessel will be dashed to pirces and little of the cargo saved." (4)

At this point, the term "Saturday last" could mean either "last Saturday" in this case 4th November or "Saturday last week", in this case 28th October. In the light of source (2) the date range of loss has been expressed as 28th to 31st October.

Master: Penny (2) (3); Robert Penny (4)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

The building date for this vessel is an estimate based on an average age at wrecking of twenty years. This average is derived from those vessels wrecked on the Dorset coast whose age at wrecking is known.

<1> Larn, Richard, 1992, United Kingdom shipwreck index, Extracted 23 November 1992 (Index). SWX5030.

<2> 1745 onwards, Lloyds list, 07-NOV-1749, No.1455 (Serial). SWX8434.

<3> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

<4> The Bristol Weekly Intelligencer, Saturday November 11, 1749, No.8 (Serial). SDO20281.

<5> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, 361 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<6> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 21 (Monograph). SDO16406.

<7> National Record of the Historic Environment, 900466 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 2 2024 2:31PM