Blackpool shipwrecks

Blackpool and the Fylde coast has become a ship graveyard to a number of vessels over the years. Most of the shipwrecks occurred
at or near Blackpool, whilst a few happened a little further afield but have strong connections with the Blackpool area. For the
purposes of this article, Blackpool means the stretch of coast fromFleetwood to Lytham St Annes.

Contents
Travers – 1755
The "Pea Soup" wreck – 1779
Happy – 1797
Fanny – 1821
Wreck at the Gynn – 1833
Crusader – 1839
Aristocrat – 1840
William Henry – 1861
St Michael – 1864
Favourite – 1865
Lexington – 1865
Bessie Jones – 1880
Arethusa – 1882
Sirene – 1892
SS Huntcliff – 1894
Abana – 1894
HMS Foudroyant – 1897
Commandant Bultinck– 1929
MV Thorium – 1964
Holland XXIV – 1981
MS Riverdance – 2008
Coco Leoni – 2008
See also
References

Travers – 1755
Travers was wrecked in 1755 with a cargo of lace.[1]

The "Pea Soup" wreck – 1779

[1]
In the autumn of 1779 a ship laden with peas was wrecked at Blackpool.

Happy – 1797
In December 1797, Happy foundered off Lytham St. Annes. She was on a voyage fromOporto, Portugal to Liverpool, Lancashire.[2]

Fanny – 1821
Fanny was wrecked off the coast of Blackpool in 1821,laden with red and black flannel.[1]

Wreck at the Gynn – 1833

A ship was wrecked at the Gynn in 1833.[1]

Crusader – 1839
Crusader was wrecked at South Shore in 1839, laden with silk. Some looters from Marton were jailed after being caught stealing the
cargo.[1]

Aristocrat – 1840
wo of the passengers were drowned.[1]
The brig Aristocrat was wrecked opposite the Imperial Hydro in 1840. T

William Henry – 1861

[1]
The schooner William Henry was wrecked at South Shore, laden with flour and lard.

St Michael – 1864
[1]
St Michael was wrecked at Blackpool on 18 September 1864. The new lifeboat rescued the crew of fourteen.

Favourite – 1865
The brig Favourite, of Liverpool was wrecked off Blackpool on 22 November 1865 with the loss of ten crew. She was carrying a
cargo of palm oil and seed.[3]

Lexington – 1865
[1]
The barque Lexington was wrecked, the crew of fourteen were saved by the lifeboat.

Bessie Jones – 1880

The Fleetwood schooner Bessie Jones was lost on Salthouse Bank on 26 February 1880. One man was lost, but four were saved. It
[4]
was this shipwreck that led to a campaign for a lifeboat at St. Annes.

Arethusa – 1882
Arethusa was wrecked off Blackpool in 1882, ten people were saved.[5]

Sirene – 1892
The Norwegian ship Sirene was sailing from Fleetwood to Florida in the United States on 9 October 1892 when it was caught up in a
hurricane and smashed into North pier, destroying part of the pier. The eleven crew members jumped onto the pier to safety. The
ship's wheel is housed in Blackpoollifeboat house.[4][6]
SS Huntcliff – 1894
The tramp steamer SS Huntcliff had been anchored off Llandudno on 12 February 1894 when the anchor chain snapped. She was
beached between Squires Gate and St. Annes, being refloated 11 days later. The beach became a temporary fairground.[4]

Abana – 1894
On 22 December 1894, the Norwegian ship, Abana was sailing from Liverpool to
Florida but was caught up in a storm and mistook the then recently built Blackpool
Tower for a lighthouse. Abana was first seen off North Pier but by the time the
lifeboat, which had to be towed by horse from Blackpool to Bispham, had been
launched it had drifted to Little Bispham where it was wrecked. The ship's bell still
hangs in St Andrews Church in Cleveleys.[7] The remains of the Abana are still
visible at low tide on the beach at Little Bispham.[8] On the same day as Abana hit
the pier, a fishing boat from Fleetwood, Petrel, was also driven ashore by the same
storm close to Uncle Tom's Cabin at North Shore.[4][7]
Abana

HMS Foudroyant – 1897

HMS Foudroyant, which had been used by Nelson as his flagship from 6 June 1799
until the end of June 1801, was wrecked on 16 June 1897, during a fund-raising
voyage around the coast of Great Britain. Foudroyant came to Blackpool from
Southport on 4 June and anchored two miles out to sea between Central and North
piers. Just before 6am on 16 June the ship was caught up in a hurricane-force storm
and broke anchor. She drifted toward land, and just missed the jetty at North pier
before hitting the shore slightly to the north at Cocker Square. The ship was then
bought by a local syndicate who made souvenirs from the wood. Most of the ship HMS Foudroyant
though was broken up in a storm in November [4][6]
1897.

Commandant Bultinck – 1929

Formerly a Fleetwood trawler, Commandant Bultinck was wrecked on Rossall Beach on 3 December 1929. Three people were
killed.[4][9]

MV Thorium – 1964
.[10]
Thorium was an ICI coaster that ran aground on Knot Spit in 1964. She was refloated six days later

Holland XXIV – 1981

Holland XXIV was a dredger that ended up beached at Cleveleys in 1981.[4][11]

MS Riverdance – 2008
On 31 January 2008, Riverdance a roll-on/roll-off ferry in service on the Irish Sea, was travelling from Warrenpoint in Northern
Ireland to Heysham when it ran into trouble at about 19:30. A total of twenty-three people were airlifted from the ferry, which ran
aground on the beach at Anchorsholme, Blackpool, opposite Anchorsholme Lane West at about 22:50. The ship was beached very
close to the remains of Abana.[4][12][13][14] On 1 February a 400-metre exclusion zone was placed around the stricken ferry and it
was revealed that the ferry could be stranded on the beach for some time before salvage teams could remove her.[15] The ship
suffered further structural damage during storms on 12 March, and it was announced on 10 April that all attempts to refloat her had
 [16]
been abandoned and that she was to be scrapped on site.

Coco Leoni – 2008

On 27 March 2008 the motor cruiser Coco Leoni ran aground opposite Lytham
windmill.[17] The boat was refloated a week later.[18]

See also
MS Riverdance
Southport shipwrecks

References
1. "Growth of the County Borough of Blackpool in the County of Lancashire 1500–1938" (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0070929121306/http://www.btinternet.com/~stephen.yarwood/Blackpool_history.htm). Stephen Yarwood. Archived
from the original (http://www.btinternet.com/~stephen.yarwood/Blackpool_history.htm) on 29 September 2007.
Retrieved 25 February 2008.
2. "Ship News". The Times (4071). London. 20 December 1797. col D, p. 3.
3. "Favourite" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080518152509/http://www.mightyseas.co.uk/marhist/whitehaven/built_els
ewhere/favourite.htm). Through Mighty Seas. Archived fromthe original (http://www.mightyseas.co.uk/marhist/whiteh
aven/built_elsewhere/favourite.htm)on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
4. "Shipwreck Gallery" (http://www2.blackpooltoday.co.uk/shipwreck/). Blackpool Gazette. 25 February 2008. Retrieved
25 February 2008.
5. "A Chronology of the growth of the County Borough of Blackpool in the County of Lancashire, from 1500 to 1938"
(ht
tp://rmhh.co.uk/blackpool.html). Hall Genealogy. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
6. Fleming, Craig (5 February 2008)."A graveyard for ships"(http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/daily-feature/A-gravey
ard-for-ships.3744532.jp). Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
7. Fleming, Craig (5 February 2008)."The Fylde coast – A graveyard for ships"(http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blac
kpoolnews/The-Fylde-coast--A.3742141.jp). Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
8. "Fylde Post Card History: THE ABANA WRECKED 22nd DECEMBER 1894 OFF NORBRECK" (https://web.archive.
org/web/20070818140804/http://www.rossallbeach.co.uk/wreckedtheabanap.htm). rossallbeach.co.uk. Archived from
the original (http://www.rossallbeach.co.uk/wreckedtheabanap.htm) on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
9. "Wrecked Rossall Beach"(https://web.archive.org/web/20070818140845/http://www .rossallbeach.co.uk/wreckedross
allbeachp.htm). Fylde Postcard History. Archived from the original (http://www.rossallbeach.co.uk/wreckedrossallbea
chp.htm) on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
10. "Cleveleys Beach" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080516043923/http://www .rossallbeach.co.uk/icicoastersp.htm).
Fylde Postcard History. Archived from the original (http://www.rossallbeach.co.uk/icicoastersp.htm) on 16 May 2008.
Retrieved 6 February 2008.
11. "ICI Coasters" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070818140551/http://www .rossallbeach.co.uk/pcleveleysbeachp.htm).
Fylde Postcard History. Archived from the original (http://www.rossallbeach.co.uk/pcleveleysbeachp.htm) on 18
August 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
12. "Riverdance ferry drama: Timeline" (http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Riverdance-ferry-drama-Timel
ine.3734939.jp). Blackpool Gazette. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
13. "Ferry runs aground at Blackpool"(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7221386.stm)
. BBC News. 1
February 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
14. Marsden, Paul; Joe Robinson (31 January 2008)."Dramatic airlift from stricken ferry"(http://www.blackpoolgazette.c
o.uk/blackpoolnews/Dramatic-airlift-from-stricken-ferry
.3734540.jp). Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
15. Robinson, Joe (1 February 2008)."Stricken ferry could be stranded "for weeks"" (http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/
blackpoolnews/Stricken-ferry-could-be-stranded.3737467.jp) . Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
16. "Final death knell for Riverdance ferry"(http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Final-death-knell-for-River
dance.3970830.jp). Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
17. Bennett, Julia (28 March 2008)."Riverdance ferry has a rival!"(http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Riv
erdance-ferry-has-a-rival.3924270.jp). Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
18. Parkinson, Shelagh (8 April 2008)."Sailors refuse to leave stranded yacht"(http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/black
poolnews/Riverdance-ferry-has-a-rival.3924270.jp) . Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 8 April 2008.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blackpool_shipwrecks&oldid=865070878

"

This page was last edited on 21 October 2018, at 14:50(UTC).

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.