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Description
The MATHILDIS was one of the vessels lost during the Royal Charter Gale, 25-26 October 1859. The vessel was built and completed at New Quay in June 1842. Its technical and configuration specifications are given in the ship port of Cardigan Shipping Register entry (shown in the image above):
96 2334/3500 tons burthen. 1 deck, 2 masts, length 70ft 4 inches: breadth taken above the main wales 20ft 5in: depth of hold 10ft 3 in; schooner, rigged with a standing bowsprit, square sterned, carvel built, woman's bust head, official number 13144.
Lloyds Register notes that the schooner was fastened with iron bolts, and had part of a new deck in 1847 and again in 1857. The schooner had also undergone substantial repairs 1852. It was a well-known and well-regarded vessel by the residents of the Newquay with its owners drawn primarily from mariners belonging to Newquay (pass your mouse over this image to read the names). The placenames of residence are sometimes hard to decipher, and where we are unsure we have place a question mark in brackets in the following list.
The principal shareholder was Jenkin Phillips with 20 shares. Other shareholders included David Jones of Newquay, smith; Jenkin Thomas of Newquay, mariner; Thomas Owens of Newquay, mariner; Thomas Phillips of Newquay, mariner; Evan Phillips of Newquay, mariner; John Davies of Newquay, mariner; Thomas Noall (?) of Newquay, yeoman; Thomas Evans of Pouprehenddu (?), shopkeeper; David Williams of Chronlas, yeoman; Elizabeth Williams of Chronlas, spinster; and William Williams of Weinfdun (?), Carmarthen, farmer.
The changes of master recorded provide clues to the schooner's regular ports of call:
Galway, 11 January 1849, John Thomas replaced by Jenkin Phlillips;
Newport, 20 April 1850, Jenkin Phillips is replaced by John Thomas;
Liverpool, 27 April 1854, Joshua James replaces Jenkin Phillips.
The MATHILDIS was carrying a cargo of culm when it was wrecked on Dinas Head. Six crewmembers were lost, including the master Joshua Jones, his stepson, and Owen Davies from Fron-wig. Its loss deeply touched the Newquay community.
Sources include:
Board of Trade Harbours of Refuge Inquiries 1859 pg121 (563)
Board of Trade Wreck Return 1859 Table 19 pg26 (529), House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online, document 2623, pg26
Campbell-Jones, S, 1974, Shipbuilding at New Quay 1779-1878, Journal of the Ceredigion Antiquarian Society, pg302
Lloyds Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1859 - 30 June 1860, 631 in M
Lloyds Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1856 - 30 June 1857, 644 in M
Passmore, S, 1982, Farmers and Figureheads: The Port of New Quay and its Hinterland, pg69
Pembrokeshire Herald 11 November 1859, Welsh Newspapers Online (http://papuraunewyddcymru.llgc.org.uk/en/page/view/3055400)
Port of Cardigan Shipping Register 1837 - 1850, Pembrokeshire Record Office T/SHIP/1/4, folio 183
The ship's cargo was culm. What kind of material was this? What was it used for?
The schooner's owners include five other named mariners besides Jenkin Phillips. Can local burial records confirm whether any of these men were amongst the crewmen who lost their lives?
The schooner's technical description includes several nautical terms. Whereabouts on the ship might the following features have been found:
Bowsprit
Wales
Hold
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