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Capt. Robert Charnley was a member of a seafaring family that was perhaps more closely involved with the maritime activities of Furness than any other. He was born at Ulverston in 1830 and was associated with the Ashburner fleet from their earliest days at Barrow. During his career he had command of three of their finest schooners.
Robert Charnley's first contact with the Ashburners came in 1859 when he was given command of the newly-launched Lord Muncaster. He must have already been been successful in his profession for he bought shares in her and nearly all the succeeding Ashburner schooners. He was an uncertificated master, meaning that he was not formally qualified to take his ship outside the limits of the Home trade. The Mercantile Marine Act of 1850 had introduced the statutary system of masters' tickets for ships involved in Foreign trade, and these could be obtained in two ways. Men who had been in command of ships at the introduction of the system were granted Certificates of Service. Others were required to take an examination to gain a Certificate of Competency. Capt. Charnley eventually took this examination at 42 years of age, in Dublin in 1872, at which time he was in command of the R & MJ Charnley.
Capt. Charnley had not however confined himself to the Home trade in the intervening years. The Lord Muncaster had made occasional foreign trips under his command, including her record-breaking passage from Cardiff to Lisbon. After he took command of the R & MJ Charnley, from her launch in 1868, this ship was almost constantly involved in foreign trade in the years up to 1872. Capt. Charnley had avoided the requirements of the Act by taking on a certificated master for these voyages. He himself was listed on the Crew Lists as either boatswain or pursor, and for one voyage as 'supercargo'. The certificated master was only on board to comply with the requirements of the Act, and Capt. Charnley was still in effective command of his ship. This was a common practice amongst the uncertificated schooner captains, who despite their lack of qualifications had the confidence of the ships' owners, and more importantly, their insurers.
Capt. Charnley's ticket was for fore-and-aft rigged vessels only, meaning that he was effectively confined to schooners - no great disadvantage on the west coast, and none at all within the Ashburner fleet. Since the crew's wages in a Furness schooner were paid from the master's share of its profits, it would no doubt have been of financial benefit to him to obtain his ticket and dispense with the need to carry a qualified master. Perhaps he was also clearing the way to take command of one of the large three-masters that the Ashburners were about to build. Four years after qualifying he was given command of the Ashburners' finest vessel, the William Ashburner, and at that time was described as the oldest master in the Ashburner fleet. He sailed her in foreign trade until 1891, when he seems to have retired.
Robert Charnley came from a large family and several of his brothers achieved distinction in maritime careers. Four of the brothers were schooner captains, and at various times had command of the Ashburners' Mary Jane, Elizabeth Barrow and Lord Muncaster. They were, however, each associated more closely with other Barrow shipowners. Edmondson commanded Jervis's J.H. Barrow for 14 years and Walton's Mary Sinclair for 21 years, and in between these two ships he took the Mary Ashburner on her first voyage. Richard Charnley fell from the rigging of James Fisher's Elizabeth on a voyage from Barrow to Rotterdam in 1865 and was drowned. Thomas commanded schooners from the Rawlinson fleet, including his first Barrow-built vessel, Gummershow. Stephen Charnley had command of the S & EA Charnley, a 101 ton schooner built at the Charnley shipyard at Ulverston in 1872. The Ulverston shipyard was operated by William & Richard Charnley but it is not known if they were part of or related to the Barrow family. A fifth brother, James, was the first holder of a Trinity House pilot's licence for the port of Barrow, which he received in 1873. His pilot cutter Argus had been built by the Ashburners.
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