1916 wreck of Swedish cargo vessel which stranded near Cullercoats. This iron screw steamer, built in 1884, was en route from Helsingborg to London with timber. Ex. SVEN; ex. ROSEHILL. Position of loss given as 3 miles ENE of River Tyne, and tonnage as 1596 tons gross.

Built: 1884
Builder: J L Thompson & Sons Ltd.
Where Built: Sunderland
Propulsion: Screw driven, 2 cylinder compound engine
HP: 170
Boilers: 2
Machinery: T Richardson & Sons, Hartlepool
Construction: 1 deck; 4 bulkheads; well deck; quarter-deck 100ft; bridge deck 58ft; forecastle 26ft
Master: C S Linggren [sic]
Crew: 19
Owner: Norrkopings Rederiaktieb, Sweden

1831 incident in which an English cargo vessel in ballast grounded near the Spanish Battery in a gale, to be recovered shortly afterwards. Constructed of wood, she was a sailing vessel. Master: Waugh.

1803 wreck of British craft which was wrecked at Prior's Haven during a storm, having arrived 10 days previously; a wooden sailing vessel. `The HOPE, Liddell, is lost at Prior's Haven, on the Yorkshire coast.' (1)

`NB: The only Priors Haven we have been able to locate is that at the mouth of the River Tyne, and have therefore assumed that this is a County Durham wreck.' (2)

NB: Source (2) expresses the date of loss as a reporting date of 21-JAN-1803, based on the issue date of source (1).

`In early January the following year [1803] another great storm hit the waters of the East Coast, which lasted for nearly two days. Beginning in the middle of the night, the winds rose until they were said to be "a perfect hurricane", blowing from the east-south-east. This tempest was accompanied by rain and sleet. With the coming of dawn, observers on the coasts of Northumberland and County Durham noted that the sea was a mass of white and broken water.

`...Meanwhile, the casualties of the storm were still mounting. A vessel named the HOPE, which had sought the relative safety of Priors Haven, Tynemouth, was dashed to pieces.' (3)

`Newcastle, January 15...DREADFUL STORM. About midnight on Saturday last, a perfect hurricane arose, and blew from the ESE, with rain and sleet, during the whole of Sunday, and nearly all Monday. The sea upon the coast in this neighbourhood was almost all white or broken water as far as the eye could reach, and ran mountains high...The following are the particulars we have been able to collect...

`The HOPE, Liddell, which got into Prior's Haven about 10 days since, was dashed to pieces on Sunday night.' (4) Verbatim, apart from "Sunday se'nnight", in (6).

There appears to be some confusion between the HOPE and the ISABELLA (q.v.) since a virtually identical text concerning the ISABELLA appears in a different newspaper [in another source the master of the ISABELLA is named as Phillips]:

`Newcastle, Saturday, January 15, 1803...On Saturday night a most tremendous gale of wind came on from the ESE. The sea, at Tynemouth Bar, rose an almost unexampled height; the oldest person living does not remember the sea breaking so far out at the mouth of this harbour, except in the year 1763, and in the memorable gale...of December 1784. The gale lasted Sunday, Monday and Tuesday last...'

`The ISABELLA, Liddle, which got into Prior's Haven about 10 days since, was dashed to pieces on Sunday night.' (5)

Master: Liddell (1)(4); Liddle (5)

Date of Loss Qualifier: A

ENGLISH CRAFT, 1819 `The ROSEBERRY of North Shields, was on shore near Marsdon Rock, North Shields, on Saturday, but it was expected would be got off.' (Lloyd's)

1750 wreck of English keel foundered at Shields. Constructed of wood, a sailing vessel. "Newcastle. Feb 24 ..... At Shields some Keels were sunk, and two Men and a Boy drowned..." (1)

It is assumed that this Keel was like most others, and carried coal.

Crew Lost: 3
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual Date of Loss.

1833 wreck of English cargo vessel, stranded at Shields on putting into that harbour. En route from Sunderland to London with a cargo of coal, she was a wooden sailing vessel. 'The ST NINIANS, Small, of Bo' ness with oats from Newry; the KEITH STEWARD, Willingham, of Perth; FRIENDS, Youngson, of Montrose; and the THOMAS, of and from Sunderland, with coals, all bound to London were driven on the rocks near the Spanish Battery, at the entrance of Shields Harbour on the 18th inst. and have since gone to pieces. Crews saved by the Northumberland and South Shields lifeboats.' (1)

Crew: Saved.

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss.

Remains of 1941 wreck of British paddle steamer which was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for use as a minesweeper and struck a mine causing her to founder between the Tynemouth piers in 1941. She was subsequently beached, broken up for scrap and dispersed. Built of steel, she was propelled by steam.

Owner: Royal Navy
Built: 1930
Builder: Fairfield Co. Ltd.
Where Built: Glasgow
Propulsion: Paddles, 2 cylinder compound engine
HP: 213
Boilers: 2
Armament: 1 x 12pdr gun
Construction: Cruiser stern, 1 deck plus promenade deck
Crew: 7
Crew Lost: 7

REMAINS OF UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL Vertical Datum: LAT

17-AUG-1989 Foul in position 55 00 35.5N 001 24 47.4W.

Remains of 1940 wreck in the form of the stern section of a British tanker which was en route from Sheerness for Tynemouth when she struck a mine and foundered at the entrance to the river Tyne in 1940. Built of steel, she was propelled by steam.
Orientation: E/W

Oral history account from Mr Arthur Lloyd, gunner stationed at Tynemouth Castle during World War II:

'Before the OSLOFJORD, I think it was the day before, a large tanker called the BRITISH OFFICER struck a mine...It was all in mist and fog. They got it in the entrance of the Tyne between the two lights and it sunk and so they had to take the OSLOFJORD round and beach it. It lay there for months. Eventually with the winter storms it broke up.'

Owner: British Tanker Co. Ltd.
Built: 1922
Builder: Palmers Co. Ltd.
Where Built: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Propulsion: Screw driven, 2 x steam turbines, 1 shaft
HP: 654
Boilers: 3
Crew: 47
Machinery: 2 decks; 17 bulkheads; poop deck 113ft; below deck 32ft; forecastle 50ft

CARGO VESSEL, 1703 `Shields, Nov. 22. Since my last one of the Russia ships put into this port, the master of which reports that he saw 10 or 11 sail of ships supposed to be part of that fleet, 3 or 4 days ago off the Scotch coast, 2 of the men of war, viz. the WORCESTER and CHARLES GALLEY, are come in hither; the rest, it is supposed, are gone to the southward; one of the Russia ships run upon Hurd Sand as she was coming into this port, but it's hoped will get off again.' (1)

`Shields, Nov. 26...the ship mentioned in my last to be ashore, is not yet got off, nor hardly likely to be, for she is now sinking into the sand.' (2)

Date of Loss Qualifier: A