Egremont Castle

Official Number
76480

The Egremont Castle was an iron barque built in February 1877 by the Whitehaven Ship Building Co. She sailed in April from Ardrossan, bound for San Francisco under the command of her owner, Captain Wilfrid Ditchburn, who had previously commanded the Sarah Bell.

In March 1878 the Egremeont Castle was in Valparaiso, and Captain Ditchburn had his wife aboard the vessel. An American preacher was invited aboard to hold a service, and make a collection. Other vessels at Valparaiso at the time included the Eden Holme and the Mary Moore, both of Maryport.

The Egremont Castle, Capt.Ditchburn, departed San Francisco on the 18th September 1878, bound for Cork with a cargo of 27,825 centals of wheat, valued at $47,747. She was lost with her crew of 25.

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
Egremont Castle
1877
814 
 198
32.1 
19.5 
3 
 
 
 

Sources :

  1. "Shipbuilding in Whitehaven - A Checklist" by Harry Fancy, Whitehaven Museum (1984).
  2. Refer to  California Digital Newspaper Archive for newspaper shipping intelligence reports.
  3. Visit of preacher described in "Our South American Cousins" by William Taylor (see Google Books).
  4. American Lloyd's Register of American and Foreign Shipping (1879): Egremont Castle, iron barque,  814 gross tons, vessel registered at Liverpool, last surveyed Sept.1878 at San Francisco, master and owner Capt.W.F.Ditchburn.
  5. The Egremont Castle was reported "Overdue" in the Times newspaper, Thursday, 8th May, 1879, page 7 and as "Missing" in the Sacramento Daily Union, 6th June 1879.