Maritime record MWX2355 - Eliza 1866

Stranded and lost at the same time as three other vessels in wind conditions S force 10. (3)

Crew: 6
Crew Lost: 6

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.

Stranded and lost at the same time as three other vessels in wind conditions S force 10. (2)(3)

'In the course of the evening, however, a messenger arrived from Christchurch, about ten miles from Poole, and stated that a vessel was driving ashore there. Horses were obtained, and the boat was conveyed along the road from Northaven to Christchurch, a distance of about fifteen or sixteen miles, the crew being conveyed to the latter place from Poole in the omnibus. Before the arrival of the boat, however, the vessel had become a wreck, and part of the crew had perished. It appears the vessel was the ELIZA, of Tynemouth, laden with coal, Beck, master, and owned by Mr C P Ward, Devon. While in her distressed condition, at the mouth of Christchurch harbour, Mr Harry Cutler, fishmonger, of Bournemouth, took a boat and very courageously went to her assistance about half-past two o'clock in the afternoon. He succeeded, after great difficulty, in reaching her. He found the crew, seven in number, huddled together. On taking them ashore three of the men were found to have perished from exposure. The captain and the remaining three men are alive.' (4)

NB: There are two entries for this vessel in the Shipwreck Index of the British Isles, under Dorset (AJ), source (3), and Hampshire (BA), source (6), respectively. Source (3) states the name of the vessel as ELIZA, the voyage details as London to Topsham and the place of loss as Hook Sands, Poole Harbour. Source (6) states the name of the vessel as ELIZABETH and the place of loss, correctly, as Christchurch Harbour. The place of loss in (3) may indicate some confusion with the ELIZABETH, lost on the Hook Sands in the same storm, also a vessel belonging to Tynemouth, perhaps arising out of similar confusion in a contemporary source (unsurprising given the similarity of name, cargo, port of registry and the fact that some of the crew survived, some perished, in each case). Source (3) describes the vessel as a schooner, (6) as a brig; a Tynemouth collier is more likely to have been a schooner than a brig, so the description as a brig has been preferred, but at the time some schooners were noted in difficulty in the area, so there may have been further confusion arising out of contemporary sources, possibly source (7), which appears to give the details relating to ELIZABETH (1145376) for this vessel (master; date of build), and may have been attributed in error by source (6) to this vessel. (5)

ELIZABETH, 160 tons, brig laden with coal: Vessel lost in S to SW force 12 hurricane wind conditions. (6)

ELIZABETH, stranded, becoming a total loss on Christchurch Bar in wind conditions S force 10. (7)

Master: Beck (4)
Crew: 6 (2)(3); 7 (4)(6)
Crew Lost: 6 (2)(3); 3 (4)(6)
Owner: C P Ward, Devon (4)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

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

<2> Board of Trade, 1867, Parliamentary papers 1867, Board of Trade Casualty Returns, p30 (Monograph). SWX6837.

<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> NRHE Compiler's comments, 27-Mar-12 (Verbal communication). SDO19863.

<6> 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.

<7> Board of Trade, 1867, Parliamentary papers 1867, Board of Trade Casualty Returns, 30(408) 64 (Monograph). SWX6837.

<8> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Shipwreck 681 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1552379 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 31 2024 7:55PM