Manchester

Official Number
1535

The Manchester was a brig built by Thos. & Jno. Brocklebank at Bransty, Whitehaven in 1824. She traded to Pernambuco and Bahia (Brazil) and to Newfoundland for Brocklebanks. In 1852 the brig was bought by Capt.David Armstrong of Workington. In 1873 Capt.Armstrong was still in command, but the owner was Charles Lamport, one of the shipbuilders at Workington.

On the 24th June 1873 the Manchester left Liverpool bound for Dublin with a coal cargo. Capt.Armstrong had taken aboard a Liverpool pilot, but after they passed the Rock lighthouse the Manchester had to manoeuvre to avoid a Swedish barque that had anchored in her path. A squall struck at the wrong moment, and the brigantine struck the barque's port quarter. The anchor was dropped, but the chain parted and the vessel was driven onto the Jordan Flats at Formby Point. There were five crew aboard, and all were rescued by a Liverpool vessel, then being taken to the Formby lightship. The master and pilot were acquited of any blame at the subsequent court of inquiry. The hull of the Manchester must have been salvaged, as she was broken-up at Workington later in the year.

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
Manchester
1824
163 
82.8 
21.3 
13.10 
2 
 
 
 

Sources :

  1. "From Cumberland to Cape Horn" by D.Hollett.
  2. Lloyd's Register of Shiping (Shipowners' Red Book) 1829-30: Manchester, brig, 163 tons, built at Whitehaven in 1824, last coppered in 1824, owned by Brocklebank, master Capt.Thompson, voyage Liverpool - Lima.
  3. A List Of The Cumberland Shipping, Corrected To February 1840, by William Sawyers, Comptroller Of Her Majesty's Customs At The Port Of Whitehaven.
  4. The Ships List - Lamport & Holt states that the Manchester was a 158 ton brigantine, built 1824, and purchased from Armstrong of Workington in 1852 and scrapped in 1873.
  5. Mercantile Navy List 1857: Manchester, 150 tons, official number 1535, signal code HKLG, vessel registered at Workington.
  6. Clayton's Register of Shipping 1865: Manchester, barque, 150 tons, built 1824, owned by C.Lamport, shipbuilder, of Workington, master Capt.D.Armstrong, vessel registered at Workington.
  7. Mercantile Navy List 1867: Manchester, 151 tons, official number 1535, vessel registered at Workington, owned by Charles Lamport, of Workington.
  8. Wreck info from "Shipwreck Index of the British Isles" Vol.5 by Richard & Bridget Larn, pub.Lloyd's Register (2000), ISBN 1 900839 61 X (citing from the Board of Trade Inquiry).
  9. Workington Shipping Register - states that the Manchester was broken-up at Workington in December 1873.