John Peile

Official Number
1318

The John Peile was a 367 ton barque built at Whitehaven by Lumley Kennedy & Co., launched in 1852.

In November 1872 at Southampton eight coloured seamen were committed for trial on a charge of attempting to scuttle the John Peile. The story as it was disclosed at the subsequent trial is a strange one. The John Peile at the time was owned by a Mr.Angel, of Ashburton. His son was an apprentice on board, under the command of Capt.E.A.Trevis, and the mate, G.J.Davison. The rest of the crew, seven seamen and the cook, were all coloured, and had been recently taken on at London. The vessel departed Cardiff for Bahia with a coal cargo on the 7th August. During the voyage to Madeira a number of holes, all of similar size and appearance, were found in the ship's hull, and on the 25th August a small fire had to be extinguished. On the 2nd Sept, half way through voyage, the master found another hole in the hull, so he took an axe and smashed the ship's longboat and jolly boat, telling the crew that they would go down with the ship if they tried to sink her again.  The John Peile arrived at Bahia on the 1st October and the crew, after an inquiry at the British Consul, were arrested and returned to England for trial. The court found that the cargo was not insured and the ship was insured below her value, so there was no question of an insurance swindle. However, no motive could be found for the events, and no individual culprit could be identified. All the crew were acquitted by the jury at Winchester Crown Court on the 4th December.

The John Peile was owned by J.A.Gibbs, of Cardiff, and was still registered at Whitehaven when she was lost in 1878. The barque cleared from Bull River (Beaufort, South Carolina) on the 25th September with a cargo of phosphate rock for London, under the command of Capt.C.Boutillier. In very heavy weather shortly after sailing she sprung a leak. Despite continuous pumping the water level gained, and in an increasing gale on the 14th November the foremast and jiboom were lost, soon followed by the mainmast and mizentop. The vessel began to settle, and the crew were unable to disembark because all the boats had been destroyed. The following day the Nova Scotia barque Zabinia came within distance and launched a boat to take off the eleven crew in three trips, in very rough weather. There were no casualties, and the survivors were landed at Santa Cruz, Tenerife, on the 3rd December. Ultimately the crew were taken to Liverpool, where they were landed on the 13th December by the African steamer Volta.

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
John Peile
1852
367
 118
25 
17 
3 
 
 
 

Sources :

  1. Clayton's Register of Shipping 1865: John Peel (sic), barque, 367 tons, built 1852, owned by Sawyers, of Liverpool, registered at Whitehaven, master Capt.Whiteway.
  2. Mercantile Navy List 1867: John Peile, 367 tons, official no.1318, signal letters HJMT, registered at Whitehaven, owned by Thomas Peile Sawyers, of Seaforth.
  3. Trial of crew reported in the Scotsman, 29th November 1872, page 2, and the Belfast News-Letter, 5th December 1872. Detailed report of the trial in the Times, 6th December 1872, page 11.
  4. American Lloyd's Register of American and Foreign Shipping 1879 - names master as R.Newton. Confirms that the John Peile was abandoned at sea in November, 1878.
  5. Merchant Ships-Foundered and Missing, 1st January 1873 to 16th May 1880 (Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons, 1880) - gives position of abandonment as 48.46N, 12.40W, states the cargo was mineral, and names the master as Capt.C.Boutillier.
  6. Loss reported in the Times 5th December 1878 (arrival at Tenerife), Bristol Mercury, 13th December 1878 (arrival at Liverpool), and the Manchester Times, 14th December (most detailed report of the loss).