Ref Number: 00165
Menu
The Clarendono in a morning bedevilled by howling gales and huge seas, she hit the beach at Blackgang, rolled onto her side and broke up in less than 10 minutes.
Ref Number: 00165
Probably the best known wreck is that of The Clarendon foundered October 11th 1836
She embarked from St. Kitts (West Indies) on August 27, 1836, with 11 passengers and 17 crew members, and a cargo of sugar, molasses, and rum and was captained by a Samuel Walker.
The Clarendon slammed into the beach broadside on at 6 a.m. on the morning of October 11th, amid a roaring storm and enormous surf and immediately rolled over and began to break up. Sadly, most of the crew and passenger foundered with only three survivors from the ship’s crew.
The roll of the dead included Lt. Shore (14th Regiment), his wife, and their four kids, ages 9 months to 18 years old, were all killed. Miss Gourlay, daughter of R.N. Captain Gourlay, was among those who perished in the water. Her body was taken out to sea and somewhat spookily deposited on the Southsea beach just across from her father’s home.
Mr John Wheeler, a local fisherman, played a crucial role in the successful rescue of three crew members. While two men held the beach end of the rope he raced into the waves, yelling for the others on board to jump. Three leaped, and he dragged them to safety on the beach, but the Clarendon, being broadside on to the beach, was breaking up very quickly and after only three waves was smashed to pieces. Everyone who wasn’t swept away by the waves or killed by the ship’s timbers had no chance.
The Chale Churchyard is the last resting place for eighteen of the victims. As a result of this catastrophe, construction of a lighthouse at St. Catherine’s Point began in 1837. On March 25, 1840, it was put into service for the first time.
© 2024 Island Eye. Designed & Maintained by PC Consultants
Visit Kayak