The wreck of the Royal Charter 1859

[JDW1954]

I am looking for any information on wreck Royal Charter, ship off Moelfre, Anglesey, in October 1859. I want to know anything anyone can tell me.

JDW

 

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[FISHEYE]

A simple search with yahoo will get you amazing results.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/history/pages/royalcharter.shtml

 

[JDW1954]

I am looking for something special, "The wreck of the Royal Charter" by Jean Ware. An article first appeared in Autumn 1960. Jean Ware, authoress and broadcaster, spent her early life in North Wales. And the extracts from the "Liverpool Mercury" 1859.

Thanks in advance,

JDW

 

[Mackaydon]

Have you read these four books?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ords=The+wreck+of+the+Royal+Charter&x=11&y=24

Don....

 

[wwwtimmcp]

you might try the belfast news, it used to be the official listing source for lost ships and cargo.

 

[divermark]

I live on Anglesey, drop me a mail we can have a chat

 

[allen_idaho]

According to my files, The Royal Charter was built at Sandycroft Ironworks, Flintshire. It was originally designed as a sailing vessel but was purchased and by Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co., and converted to an auxiliary screw steam clipper before completion.

The engines were 303 horsepower and built by Messr. Penn of Greenwich.

The ship was 320' long, 41'6" beam, and 2,749 tons register.

She was supposed to have been originally launched on July 31, 1855 but for some reason the launch failed. So the Royal Charter was not officially launched until August 30th, 1855.

The Royal Charter departed Melbourne on August 25th, 1859 with about 500 passengers and crew, and a consignment of 80,610 ounces of gold.

She reached Queenstown on October 24th and disembarked 14 passengers.

She travelled up the channel to Holyhead on October 25th and ran into a fierce storm.

The Royal Charter continued her voyage toward Liverpool as the storm worsened.

They attempted to keep her 5 miles off shore and anchors were dropped to keep her from pushing inward. But the cables snapped.

The ship was pushed into Red Wharf Bay at Moelfra and grounded. The main masts were cut away and all attempt was made to free her but this didn't work.

Shortly afterward, the ship broke in two. 459 passengers and crew were killed.

In March of 1860, the wreck was sold by underwriters to Messrs. Gibbs, Bright & Co., for $1000 (GBP). Shortly after, salvage began. During low tide, portions of the vessel were visible from the shore. Because the wreck went down in 20' of water, roughly 90% of the gold was recovered. However, an unknown amount of gold belonging to the passengers was lost when the ship broke in two.

Over the years, there were several amateur and professional salvage attempts made but I do not have any additional information about them.