Maritime record MWX2290 - Unidentified 1866 Schooner

In Saturdays gale, which commenced at 6.00am and lasted eleven hours, starting in the SE then swinging SW, the village of Studland was left a complete wreck with 63 trees blown down, and 30-40 tons of stone from the octagonal tower. In Studland Bay some eight schooners were seen struggling against the wind; of these, three were dashed to pieces on the shore and all the crew lost except for two. Judging by their size, 17-18 lives have been lost, and some bodies have been recovered. An Isle of Wight pilot boat was seen to have her mast swept away, and to go down in the boiling surf. (1-3) Date of Loss Qualifier: A

'No less than from 15 to 18 sail were observed at one time in Studland Bay, the fate of which is entirely unknown, excepting the ELIZABETH and ELIZA. Such a gale has not been experienced on this portion of the coast for the past 30 years.' (4)

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> Various, Dorset County Chronicle, 15-FEB-1866 (Serial). SWX6464.

<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> Leeds Mercury, 14-FEB-1866, No.8,686 (Serial). SDO20640.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1145332 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 6 2024 1:36PM