Lloyd's Register Foundation HEC & CITiZAN
Digital Exhibition
Digital Exhibition
In 1760 customers of Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House, Lombard St, London founded an organisation they called the Society for the Registry of Shipping. Its aim was to provide reliable records for merchants & underwriters in assessing the quality of their ships. They achieved this by selling subscriptions to a Register Book, which funded the work of surveyors & created the world's first Classification Society.
A survey report for Swallow built in 1760, the same year that the Society for the Registry of Shipping was founded ( view on HEC )
The work they had begun in a London coffee house would grow into an integral part of shipping at a time when seaborne trade was exploding globally. The Lloyd's Register would live to witness & document the great events & transformations that have shaped our maritime history & heritage. Through their documents & records we can trace stories ranging from major historical change (like the shift from sail to steam) to the details of ordinary vessels over the course of their lifetime.
CITiZAN's Armchair Archaeology project encourages volunteers to research sites using resources like those on the Lloyd's Register Foundation's HEC
Today the Lloyd's Register Foundation is a global charity focused on research & safety in a number of sectors. It's also in the process of digitising a huge wealth of historical records through its online Heritage & Education Centre (HEC). This is creating an invaluable tool of research for CITiZAN, who can use the records to support & deepen understanding of coastal sites in its six Discovery Programmes.
For Festival of Archaeology 2020 we've put together a digital exhibition touring CITiZAN's six regions & showcasing some of the ways the Lloyd's Register Foundation HEC is helping to bring our coastal heritage to life.
Langdon Hole
The iconic wreck of the SS Falcon is clearly visible on a low tide (CITiZAN)
The iconic remains of the SS Falcon are exposed at low tide in Langdon Hole. Wrecked in 1926 we can see from the Lloyd's Register Foundation Casualty Returns list that the ship caught fire on the 23rd of October on passage from Ghent to London.
Extract from the Lloyds Register Casualty Returns list, for burnt vessels in the last quarter of 1926 ( available to download from the HEC casualty returns archive )
This information is supported by other sources & accounts of the day, including a Pathé newsreel which shows the ship before the crew were safely rescued by the Ramsgate RNLI & the ship drifted ashore.
Ablaze From Stem To Stern On Sleeve As A Blaze From Stern To Stern (1926)
The SS Falcon was an iron hulled single-screw steamer built by Mitchell & Co. in Newcastle 1876. The following document produced that year gives great insight into the ship's details of construction.
1876 document outlining details of construction for SS Falcon ( view on HEC )
A later survey provides information for the ship in 1880, including a gross tonnage of 649 & concluding it to be "in good condition & eligible to continue as classed & marked".
SS Falcon survey report from 1880 ( View on HEC )
In 1926 the ship caught fire while transporting a cargo of jute, cotton & matches. It was probably the jute that caused the blaze, which escalated rapidly throughout the flammable cargo. To learn more about the story of the ship, its cargo & its fate, explore the interactive ThingLink below (created in June to celebrate "Day of the Seafarer"). By searching the HEC's records for specific ships (over 100 tons) we can build a more informed story of the life of vessels like the SS Falcon by looking at associated documents & reports.
ThingLink
East Winner Bank
Emerging from the sand of the East Winner Bank are the remains of a shipwreck. Measuring 23m long by 4m wide at its largest, these are the remains of a modest vessel. The site was only rediscovered in 2014 and prior to that was completely unknown to archaeologists, fortunately it was recorded in 2014 by archaeologists from the Maritime Archaeology Trust (MAT).
The first step in utilising documentary material as part of the process of identifying the East Winner Bank shipwreck is to look at the evidence for shipwrecks in that area, one source for this is The Shipwreck Index of the British Isles. An online resource for shipwreck records can be found through the LRF Casualty Returns .
There have been many losses on the East Winner Bank. This map shows the way Hampshire’s coastline is broken up by the Shipwreck Index, within each of the zones exist several Named Locations (NLOs), used to locate wrecking events.
Map showing Named Locations used by the Shipwreck Index
These NLOs were then used to create a list of wrecks that correlate to the dating evidence established by archaeological investigations on the site.
A shortlist of the potential ships that could match the East Winner Bank wreck
Ocean’s entry indicates the vessel was stranded on the East Winner Shoal (Bank) and then lost. This would appear to be in keeping with the shipwreck site, which consists of the majority of a ship broadside on to the bank.
Further details of the ship’s life, in particular relating to the repairs it underwent correlate with findings on the site. The contextual evidence presented from investigation of the ship’s assemblage and the documents available through the HEC suggest this shipwreck is the Ocean.
Using the Lloyd’s Register, it's possible to trace the sailing life of the Ocean from the first entry in 1822 for almost the entirety of its service life. From these entries we can see that the ship was engaged in coastal trade; listed as “Coaster” in the Lloyd’s Register.
Records for Ocean from the Lloyd's Register Foundation HEC
Ocean departed Par, Cornwall, in 1865 with a cargo of China Clay for Newcastle-on-Tyne. She had a crew of four men and one boy. This information illustrates one of the important traits of Britain’s coastal trade & the particular advantage of a Schooner-rigged ship, the crew did not need to be large for a voyage of this kind.
In the Solent the ship ran into trouble. The Shipwreck Index reports that the ship was stranded on the East Winner Bank in a WSW Force 9 wind. The circumstances of her wrecking were reported in the Western Morning News on Tuesday 17th January 1863 (about the wrecking the previous Saturday). The following extracts are from that article:
About 11 a.m. messengers arrived in Portsmouth from Fort Cumberland and the Coastguard at the entrance to Langston [sic Langstone] harbour requesting immediate assistance for a schooner which had gone ashore on the dangerous shingle bank at the entrance to Langston harbour known as the “Woolstenors”. The Comet, Government steam-tug, with a lifeboat in tow, in charge of a Government Trinity pilot (W. Main), was sent out to afford assistance, but she could only approach within some 5,000 yards of the wrecked vessel.
Map showing Ocean wreck site
Fortunately for the crew of the Ocean the Royal Marine Artillery maintained a garrison at Fort Cumberland on the Western side of the entrance to Langstone Harbour:
“The cutter belonging to the fort was therefore, under the directions and personal superintendence of Major Festing, R.M.A., taken across the entrance of Langston Harbour to the Hayling Island shore, and there was manned by the island fishermen (volunteers) The boat was launched as quickly as possible, Major Festing taking the helm…
…It was a matter of life or death to all those in the boat, as it was to the expectant men in the unfortunate schooner’s rigging; and when the boat got at length fairly in among the breakers; and close to the schooner, a minute, or may be longer passed, during which the watchers on shore thought all had gone together – the boat, vessel, and their crews – all being hid in the blinding grey whirl that sprung up from the broken water. Immediately afterwards, however, the cutter with her gallant crew was seen leaving the wreck, and in a few minutes she was high and dry on Hayling Island beach, with the master, mate, and one man, part of the schooner’s crew safe on board.”
The Ocean demonstrates an important way records such as those held in the HEC's digital archive can help archaeologists identify wrecks in the intertidal zone.
Starehole Bay
Starehole bay just outside of Salcombe, Devon is the last resting place of the Herzogin Cecilie, sometimes called The Duchess. A four masted Barque built in Bremerhaven (1902) by Rickmers she transported cargo around the world under the Finnish ownership of Gustaf Erikson, of the Åland Islands. However it was the popular grain races between Australia's southern ports & Europe that brought the windjammer to fame. Like the famous clipper races of the 19thC, the grain races captured public attention & could bring captains esteem. In contrast to the earlier races though, there was little economic incentive to the faster transportation of grain. The pursuit of favourable winds lying in the southern parallels could strain sailing gear & put cargo & crew at greater risk, on what was already a dangerous passage around Cape Horn. Despite this the races were popular, running between 1921 - 1948. The fastest voyage was held by Parma at 83 days & Herzogin Cecilie could boast the most victories, winning six times in total.
Herzogin Cecilie ( image source )
In 1936 Herzogin Cecilie had her last victory, beating the second place Pommern by a comfortable 7 days before setting sail from Falmouth to Ipswich to unload grain. During this passage the ship encountered heavy fog & rough seas causing her to strike the Hamstone outside of Salcombe & wrecking her on the 25th April 1936. She lay there for 7 weeks while the cargo of grain became increasingly rotten, reportedly causing a terrible stench on local beaches.
'Herzogin Cecilie' Afloat Again.
After frequent salvage attempts the ship was raised in June 1936, taken to Starehole Bay & beached on what appeared to be a more sympathetic seabed. Unfortunately the sand concealed rocks & gales in July took their toll, eventually breaking the ship's back.
'Herzogin Cecilie' Fails To Float.
We can trace the fate of the Herzogin Cecilie through the following Lloyds Register records, which show the ships registration in 1934-35 before its entry was stamped as wrecked in the 1936-37 list. These registers were digitised along with other records from between 1930-1945 as part of the Plimsoll ship data project by the Southampton City Library & Archives Services in conjunction with Lloyd's Register's Heritage & Education Centre. The fields can be searched by ship name(s), year of build & gross tonnage & provide useful historical sources for ships in service between these years.
Lloyds Register entry for Herzogin Cecilie from 1934-1935 ( view as part of Plimsoll ship data project )
Lloyds Register entry for Herzogin Cecilie from 1936-1937, now marking the vessel as wrecked ( view as part of Plimsoll ship data project )
Memorial to the Lusitania in Liverpool's docks (CITiZAN)
This propeller displayed in Liverpool’s historic docks was salvaged from the wreck of the Lusitania and now serves as a memorial. The Lusitania & its sister ship the Mauretania, owned by Cunard Liners, were famous in their day for being two of the biggest & fastest trans-Atlantic ocean liners. At 270 feet the Mauretania was marginally longer & both ships won the Westbound Blue Riband for fastest Atlantic crossing during their lifetimes; the Mauretania held the title for a full 20 years.
RMS Lusitania ( image source )
Today the Lusitania is most famous for its unfortunate fate, which saw it torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland on 7 May 1915 by a German U-Boat on its 101st Atlantic crossing between New York & Liverpool (the home city of her Everton born captain W. T. Turner).
As well as carrying civilians the liner had a cargo of armaments, including 173 tons of rifle ammunition & shells & it had been advised that the ship zigzagged its course on account of high levels of U-Boat activity. However the captain had chosen to ignore this suggestion when it was hit on the starboard side by U-20 causing it to sink in just 18 minutes & killing 1,201 passengers. The catastrophic loss of life caused by Germany's targeting of the Lusitania, which included a high proportion of US citizens, is often seen as an early contributory factor in turning American public opinion towards involvement in the First World War.
Documents for the Lusitania can be found in the Lloyd's Register Foundation HEC online archive. They range from documents like this one, which outlines the equipment that it carried, to the unusual memo beneath, which corrects a clerical error misspelling the ship's name.
Document showing some of the equipment carried by the Lusitania ( view on HEC )
Memo correcting a spelling error in records for Lusitania ( view on HEC )
The archive also holds plans for the both the Mauretania & Lusitania, giving us detailed insight into the construction & layout of the vessels.
Longitudinal section of Lusitania ( view on HEC )
Plan showing midship section of Lusitania ( view on HEC )
Hull
Earle's shipyard ( image source )
Established in 1845 by brothers Charles & William Earle, Earle’s shipyard was once one of the largest in Hull. In the 1870's the yard struggled to win Admiralty contracts when putting out to tender, on account of differing opinions in technicalities of ship design. Fortunately the yard was supported by prestigious contracts from the Japanese, Chilean, Greek & Russian navies before changes in Admiralty management in 1874 made business easier to procure. However the international reputation associated with the yard would follow it throughout its lifetime & in 1904 Earle's took an order to build a 220ft paddle steamer for Lake Titicaca in Peru called Inca. Inca was built then disassembled into pieces weighing no more than 12 tons each & packed into cases no more than 10 by 11 ft. These were carefully labelled & shipped to South America for the steamer to be reassembled on site, following its transportation by train. Almost thirty years later a second "flat pack" vessel called Ollanta was constructed & exported in the same manner, which ran until the 1980's.
CITiZAN volunteers recording remains at the site of Earle's shipyard
As well as producing ships for the overseas market Earle's built engines for ships built abroad. The Burgemeester de Wael was a 1203 GRT ship built in Antwerp & launched in 1883. Named after merchant, politician & Mayor of Antwerp Leopold de Wael, it was powered by engines produced at Earle’s shipyard in 1869. The following documents for the Burgemeester de Wael, including plans of the ship, were provided by Lloyd's Register Foundation's HEC & help to highlight Hull's links to international ship building.
Boiler plan for Burgmeester de Wael ( view on HEC )
Plan showing Burgmeester de Wael's ballast tanks ( view on HEC )
Main deck plan for Burgmeester de Wael ( view on HEC )
The mouth of the River Blackwater (off Mersea Island) was used historically to lay up ships at times when trade wasn’t available. The great depression caused a slump in shipping that saw many vessels out of cargo in places like the Blackwater estuary. The Port Melbourne built in Belfast (1914) by Workman, Clark & Co. was one such ship. Originally named the Star of Victoria, she was designed with the capacity of a quick conversion into an emigrant transporter if needed. This feature enabled the ship to carry over 1000 troops following conversion in the First World War, before her reassignment back to commercial use in 1919.
Longitudinal section plan of Port Melbourne ( view on HEC )
We know from records on the HEC that the ship had other modifications over the course of its lifetime, such as the fitting of new steering gear with a gyro compass in 1925, due to a tendency the ship had for drifting off course. Work also went ahead to improve her fuel efficiency & we can see from the following document that the decision to fit her with Bauer-Wach exhaust turbines (aimed at improving fuel consumption by 15-25%) was taken in 1929.
Letter outlining plans for a new engine system in Port Melbourne dated 1928 ( view on HEC )
Investments in the new engine system & its shafting were made with a recuperation of costs planned over six subsequent years. However hindsight has shown the move was untimely & by 1931 Port Melbourne was laid up alongside many other ships in the Blackwater, as the ripples of the wall street crash were felt across the global economy. The ship remained put until a fire broke out onboard which necessitated repairs to be made in Newcastle, where it remained until its return to Essex in 1936. Port Melbourne eventually returned to trade in 1938 & survived service in the Second World War as a meat transporter.
The following record shows a diver's assessment of the condition of the propellers & rudder made three years after the war, when the ship was reaching the end of its life.
A diver's report on the condition of Port Melbourne's propellors & rudder, written at the end of the ships life ( view on HEC )
As may be seen from this document, dated five weeks later, the decision was eventually made to have the now relatively old Port Melbourne scrapped at Blyth near Newcastle.
A letter written confirming the decision to scrap the vessel at Blythe in 1948 ( view on HEC )
There are many more records like this relating to Port Melbourne in the Lloyd's Register Foundation's online HEC resources & it's through such documents that we may find information which help us piece together the stories behind our coastal heritage & archaeology.