Earl of Abergavenny, wrecked off Weymouth, Dorset, 1805. A t...

Estimate

£30 - £50

Earl of Abergavenny, wrecked off Weymouth, Dorset, 1805. A three sheeve pulley block With concretion, length 46cm, and another similar block, possibly from a different wreck (2). HMS Abergavenny sank in February 1805 off the coast of Portland with the tragic loss of 260 lives. The wreck is remembered not only for the horrific death toll, but also for the loss of its captain, John Wordsworth, the brother of the poet, William Wordsworth. The Earl of Abergavenny was part of a convoy of East Indiamen ships heading for China, on the lucrative trade route via Bengal. According to the ship’s manifest, the cargo of the Abergavenny on its final voyage was estimated to be worth around £90,000, including chests of silver dollars worth £70,000 to buy goods in both Bengal and China. Wordsworth had hoped to make his fortune and that of his brother, who would then be able to devote himself to his poetry. Sadly, in bad weather off of Portland, some of the convoy became separated and Captain Clarke of the Wexford, who had taken charge of the convoy, decided that it was best for the ships to return to Portland Roads and wait for better weather. Pilots were taken aboard to navigate them round Portland Bill, unfortunately, the pilot taken aboard the Abergavenny proved to be disastrously inept. The Fourth Mate, Thomas Gilpin, later recorded what happened: In poor light and high seas, the pilot failed to sail far enough out to sea and the ship was grounded on the Shambles. Captain Wordsworth was appalled. He realised that the damage the grounding had done to his ship would prevent her from joining the convoy and therefore he would lose out on the profitable trading he had depended upon to make his fortune. He cried out in despair: “Oh pilot! Pilot! You have ruined me!” But financial ruin was nothing compared to the subsequent loss of life, including his own, as the ship broke up in the dark with virtually no assistance from other vessels despite proximately to the coast. William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, were devastated at the loss of their brother John. Their grief, in turn, affected their literary circle, especially Samuel Taylor Coleridge.