Whitburn, Whitburn Steel, Benton

HER Number:
15139

District:
S Tyneside

Site Name:
Whitburn, Whitburn Steel, Benton

Place:
Whitburn

Map Sheet:
NZ46SW

Class:
Maritime Craft

Site Type: Broad:
Transport Vessel

Site Type: Specific:
Cargo Vessel

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Wreckage

Description:
1867 wreck of English cargo vessel. At 9pm on 23.03 the Hartlepool light bore W x S four miles distant, and when at midnight she was abreast of the Seaham lights, the BENTON altered course from N x E to NNE, and some 40 minutes later, a buoy was seen, which was taken to be one of the ballast buoys. The course was then altered to NE, and at 1am she struck on Whitburn Steel Rocks and became a total loss. The Court was of the opinion that the ship had hugged the coast too closely. The wind was fair and moderate from the SW and the night sufficiently clear for all the lights to be seen, although the master insisted that the weather was too thick for him to see the land, which was often caused by the smoke from the city of Sunderland obscuring it around Souter Point. The captain also neglected to take a cast of the lead, which would have warned him of his proximity to the shore. The Court was of the opinion that the loss was due `to the default of the master' and suspended his certificate for six months. Master: William Forman

Easting:
41

Northing:
60

Grid Reference:
NZ4160

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
National Monuments Record (1364995); 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)