Maritime record MWX4935 - Winchester Castle

The Union Castle Liner Winchester Castle was stranded at Blacknor Point, Portland, in 1936, homeward bound from South Africa. (1)

The Winchester Castle a liner owner by the Union Castle Line, with 300 passengers on board, made a brief and unexpected visit to Portland on the night of 16th February 1936. Homeward bound from Durban to Southampton, she was slightly off course and, in poor visibility, she grounded near Blacknor Point.
The Weymouth lifeboat stood by until it became clear that the ship was in no danger. As the tide rose she floated off and continued on to Southampton, her passengers none the worse for their adventure. (3)


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> Boddy, M, 1975b, Dorset Shipwrecks part 2 (Article in serial). SWX7302.

<3> Le Pard, G F, 2005, Shipwrecks of the Dorset Coast (Monograph). SDO9637.

Record last edited

May 6 2004 10:33AM