| Summary : 1787 wreck of English brigantine, registered as a tin ship, which was beached on St. Agnes after grounding on Bartholomew Ledge, having overshot her intended port of Falmouth in a gale, while bound from London with silks, linen, groceries and gunpowder as a general cargo. Constructed of wood, she was a sailing vessel. |
More information : Primary Sources:
'Deal . . . Dec. 20. Wind SW. Camae down and remain with the ships as before . . .DUKE OF CORNWALL, Hoskins, for Falmouth.' (10)
'Falmouth, January 2nd 1788: Advice has been received here that a brig employed in trading from this port and the port of Penzance, to London, Hoskin master (being one of the ships commonly called tin-ships), was a few days since, in a violent gale of wind, driven past this port and wrecked on St Agnes, one of the Scilly Islands. The ship and cargo are totally lost, but the captain and crew are saved.' (1)(2)(8)
'Eztract of a letter from st. Mary's, Scilly, Dec. 26.
'Friday came on a violent gale of wind, accompanied with frequent showers of snow, and so thick, that ships at a cable's length could not see each other. It continued with incredible fury until Monday evening, when we found several vessels put into this port greatly damaged, such as loss of masts, sails, &c., but great numbers missed these islands and are gone to the westward, for whose safety we are under the greatest apprehension. I cannot omit to inform you of the total loss of the DUKE OF CORNWALL, Capt. Hoskin, of Penzance, from London, one of the tin ships bound to falmouth, with a very valuable cargo of silks, linen, groceries, gun-powder, &c., who, in coming into St. Mary's Sound, struck on Bartholomew Ledge; when the Captain, to save the lives of his passengers and crew, ran her on the Light-house Island, where she now lies stranded, and all her cargo either plundered or washed away. I believe very little will be saved for the unfortunate prroprietors.' (11)
'Advertisement: Brigantine DUKE OF CORNWALL, of and belonging to Penzance. All such persons as had goods on board the said vessel at the time she was wrecked on the island of Scilly on her voyage from London to Falmouth and Penzance, and have not yet made their claims to the parts thereof which were salved from the said vessel, are desired to make and prove the same to William Carne, Penzance grocer, by 20th October 1788.' (3)
'The D OF CORNWALL, -, from London to Falmouth, is drove on shore at Scilly.' (5)
The above is one account out of five given in that issue of LL., agreeing with the account in the subsequent issue (9):
'Capt. Campbel, from Belfast, says there was five vessels lost at Scilly in the late gale.'
Secondary Sources:
The DUKE OF CORNWALL struck the Bartholomew Ledge and had to be run ashore on St Agnes, where 'very little of the cargo was saved for the proprietors'. (1)(8)
Vessel was the Duke of Cornwall's private tin ship. (7)
Source (4) gives date of loss as 24-DEC-1786.
There are two consecutive entries for this vessel in the Shipwreck Index of the British Isles (1)(8), the first as DUKE OF CORNWALL with an actual date of loss of 24-DEC-1787, and the second as UNIDENTIFIED, with a reporting date of 02-JAN-1788, but both based on the same Sherborne Mercury reference (2). Source (11) suggests that the vessel was lost in the gale that blew from Friday 21st to Monday 24th inclusive.
Master: Thomas Hoskin; Hooking (1)(8); Hoskins (10); Hoskin (11)
Owner: Duke of Cornwall (Prince of Wales) (7)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss |