Hematite

Official Number
18221

The Hematite was a small two-masted schooner, owned in Barrow. She was named after the type of iron ore that was mined in Furness and gave the region its wealth and its ships the bulk of their cargoes. The schooner was built at Dundee, Scotland, in 1856 and was originally owned by Bissett & Co., with James Fisher as the managing owner.

In Nov.1877 the Barrow Times shipping intelligence columns named the master as Croasdell.

Two vessels named Hematite were berthed at Milford Haven on Census night in April 1881. with four Amlwch seamen aboard, headed by the master, Capt.Owen Owens.

The Hematite was sold by Fishers in 1893 and was badly damaged at Watchet, Somerset, on the 28th December 1900. The breakwater there was washed away in a storm, resulting in the immediate sinking of three or four vessels in the harbour. A number of other vessels, including the Hematite, were damaged by being driven against the remaining pier and wharf. She was probably used as a storage hulk thereafter.
 
Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
Hematite
1856 
95
 
 
 
2 
 
 
 

Sources :

  1. Research by Derek Blackhurst
  2. Clayton's Register of Shipping 1865: Hematite, schooner, 95 tons, built in 1856, registered at Lancaster, owned by Thomas G.Bissett, of Barrow, master Capt.M.Roberts.
  3. 1881 Census details from Bob Sanders, Ships in Port 1881 website.
  4. Mercantile Navy List 1899: Hematite, schooner, 73 tons, built at Dundee in 1856, official number 18221, registered at Barrow, managing owner Charles Vickery, of Watchet.
  5. Storm damage at Watchet in December 1900 reported in various newspapers.
  6. Mercantile Navy List 1913: Hematite, no rig stated, 94 tons, built at Dundee in 1856, official number 18221, registered at Bristol, owned by Spillers & Bakers Ltd., of Cardiff.
  7. Mercantile Navy List 1928: Hematite, no rig stated, 95 tons, built at Dundee in 1856, official number 18221, registered at Bristol, owned by Spillers Milling & Associated Industries Ltd., London.