Richard Roper

Official Number
13875

The schooner Richard Roper was launched in May 1851 from the Petty & Postlethwaite shipyard at Ulverston. Her original shareholders included both the principals of the shipyard, Richard Roper, Capt.William Rawcliffe and Capt. Isaac Myers, all natives of Ulverston. Capt. Rawcliffe himself had command of the vessel early in her career, as can be seen from the 1852 crew list and the newspaper report included with the history of the James & Agnes.

From crew lists her voyages and crew  in 1852 were listed as follows :

Voyages (ports mentioned):
First half-year: Barrow, Newport, Liverpool, Lancaster, Dublin, Runcorn, Cardiff
Second half-year: Cardiff, Liverpool, Ulverston, Glasgow, Barrow, Newport, Londonderry

Crew during the year 1852:

William Rawcliff,  age / birthplace not stated, ticket no. 52350, Master
William Seatle Rawcliff age 21, born Ulverston, ticket no. 131903, Mate
George Ullock,  age 26, born Ulverston, ticket no. 89610, Seaman
John Holme,  age not stated, born Ulverston, ticket no. 152022, Apprentice
   (joined this vessel 7th November 1848)
Henry Fisher, age not stated, born Ulverston, ticket no. 535924, Apprentice
   (joined this vessel 3rd May 1852)

A record of the cargo of the Richard Roper in July 1855 showed that she had carried a timber cargo.

The Richard Roper was sunk in collision with the steamer Tuskar in October 1865, at the mouth of Bowling Bay. The wreck was struck by a number of other vessels and received considerable damage. However, the schooner was raised and repaired, and it is presumably at this time she was acquired by a Scottish owner.

The Richard Roper was wrecked at the entrance to Port Henry harbour, Peterhead, on the 13th March 1879. She was bound from Newcastle for Thurso with a coal cargo. Her cargo was eventually salvaged, as was the schooner herself. However, on the 29th September of the same year the schooner became a total loss in the Sound of Jura, being wrecked at the Small Isles whilst carrying a cargo of salt from Runcorn.

Name Year Built Gross Tons Length (feet) Breadth (feet) Depth (feet) Masts Figurehead Stern Lloyd's Classn.
Richard Roper 1851  87 74/3500       2       

Sources :

  1. Information from Lancaster Shipping Register and Crew lists, Lancaster, 1852,  Public Record Office, Kew, ref. BT98/2981 - research by Philip Holmes
  2. Clayton's Register of Shipping 1865: Richard Roper, schooner, 177 (sic) tons, built 1851, registered at Lancaster, owned by William Raucliffe, master mariner, of Ulverston, no master named.
  3. Mercantile Navy List 1867: Richard Roper, 79 tons, official no.13875, signal letters LJSW, registered at Glasgow, owned by Robert Scott, Bowling, Dumbartonshire.
  4. There are three wreck incidents included in the database of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland website, citing from Lloyd's List, the "Shipwreck Index of the British Isles: Vol. 4(Scotland)", by Richard & Bridget Larn (1998) and other sources.