Maritime record MWX4884 - County of Anglesea

The Barque COUNTY OF ANGLESEA grounded on the Shambles in 1905. Her cargo shifted when aground, and she was later towed into Portland. (1)

One of the luckiest ships ever to enter Weymouth bay. The COUNTY OF ANGLESEA struck on the Shambles bank, south east of Portland on the morning of February 26th 1905. As the tide fell her ballast shifted and she developed a heavy list. The crew , quite understandably, wanted to be taken off, and one jumped down into the lifeboat. The second man who tried to reach the lifeboat fell into the water between the vessels, and was only rescued with difficulty. The master of the COUNTY OF ANGLESEA then forbade any more men to try and get off the ship, so they stayed on the ship as she was towed, still listing, into Weymouth bay where she was righted (2).

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

<2> Le Pard, G F, 2005, Shipwrecks of the Dorset Coast (Monograph). SDO9637.

<3> Cumming, E, The Dorset shipwreck and maritime incident directory, 24 (Monograph). SDO16406.

Record last edited

Mar 9 2020 10:56AM