Tynemouth, Prior's Haven, First of May

HER Number:
14258

District:
N Tyneside

Site Name:
Tynemouth, Prior's Haven, First of May

Place:
Tynemouth

Map Sheet:
NZ36NE

Class:
Maritime Craft

Site Type: Broad:
Sailing Vessel

Site Type: Specific:
Snow

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Wreckage

Description:
SNOW. Wrecked at Prior's Haven in December 1876. She was en route from London to the Tyne in ballast but was struck by a huge wave as she entered the river. Her steering and rigging gear were broken and she drifted into Prior's Haven. The crew were saved by the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade who fired a line to the ship. The ship was built at Monkwearmouth in 1855. She was uninsured. The figurehead of the First of May is held in the Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House at Tynemouth. Seven other ships were wrecked at the mouth of the Tyne in the same storm and 30 sailors were drowned. Built: 1855 Where Built: Monkwearmouth Master: Robert Coulson Crew: 8 Owner: J MacKenzie, Blyth

Easting:
37

Northing:
69

Grid Reference:
NZ3769

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Dick Keys and Ken Smith, 1998, Black Diamonds by Sea - North-East Sailing Colliers 1780-1880, p 34; Richard and Bridget Larn 1997 Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 3. The east coast of England : Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, County Durham, Northumberland Section 6, County Durham (CF); Boswell Whitaker 1980 Preservation of life from shipwreck, volume 3 : Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade Page(s)49-50; National Monuments Record (1365145)