Royal Charter (ship)
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The Royal Charter sank in an 1859 storm, stimulating the establishment of modern weather forecasting.
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| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name: | Royal Charter |
| Owner: | Liverpool & Australian Steamship Navigation Company |
| Builder: | Sandycroft Ironworks, River Dee, Deeside, Deeside, Wales, UK |
| Launched: | 1855 |
| Fate: | Wrecked on 25 October 1859 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | steam clipper |
| Tonnage: | 2,719 GRT |
| Length: | 236 ft (72 m) |
| Beam: | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Installed power: | 200 nhp |
| Propulsion: |
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Coordinates: 53°21′14″N 4°14′06″W / 53.354°N 4.235°W
Royal Charter was a steam clipper which was wrecked off the beach of Porth Alerth in Dulas Bay on the north-east coast of Anglesey on 26 October 1859. The precise number of dead is uncertain as the complete passenger list was lost in the wreck although an incomplete list (not including those who boarded just before departure) is retained in the Victorian Archives Centre in, Victoria, Australia. About 450 lives were lost, the highest death toll of any shipwreck on the Welsh coast. It was the most prominent victim among about 200 ships wrecked by the Royal Charter Storm.
The Royal Charter was built at the Sandycroft Ironworks on the River Dee and was launched in 1855. She was a new type of ship, a 2719-ton iron-hulled steam clipper, built in the same way as a clipper ship but with auxiliary steam engines which could be used in the absence of suitable winds.
The ship was used on the route from Liverpool to Australia, mainly as a passenger ship although there was room for some cargo. There was room for up to 600 passengers, with luxury accommodation in the first class. She was considered a very fast ship, able to make the passage to Australia via Cape Horn in under 60 days.
In late October 1859 Royal Charter was returning to Liverpool from Melbourne. Her complement of about 371 passengers (with a crew of about 112 and some other company employees), included many gold miners, some of who had struck it rich at the diggings in Australia and were carrying large sums of gold about their persons. A consignment of gold was also being carried as cargo. As she reached the north-western tip of Anglesey on 25 October the barometer was dropping and it was claimed later by some passengers, though not confirmed, that the master, Captain Thomas Taylor, was advised to put into Holyhead harbour for shelter. He decided to continue on to Liverpool however.
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Wikipedia