Iron Crag

Official Number
78736

The Iron Crag was an iron barque built by the Whitehaven Ship Building Company in December 1877. She was owned by W.Lowden & Co. of Liverpool.

The Liverpool Mercury, Friday 19th April 1895;

" FEARED LOSS OF A LIVERPOOL SHIP - LIST OF THE MISSING: All hope has now been abandoned of the safety of the Liverpool barque Iron Crag, which is believed to have foundered with everyone aboard, viz.18 persons. The vessel has just been posted at Lloyd's as "missing", which really means lost with all on board. The Iron Crag was an iron-built vessel of 870 tons register, and, with a cargo of ivory nuts in bulk and bags, left Manta, Ecuador, for Hamburg, on the 3rd October last year. She was spoken by the sailing ship Cairnbulg on the 28th January, about 800 miles off the English Channel. The Cairnbulg reached London on the 28th February, but the Iron Crag has not since been heard of. The following is a list of the Iron Crag's crew when she left Manta, and who, it is feared, have gone down with their vessel:- John Thomson, master (Birkenhead); John Bailiff, chief officer (Whitehaven); M.M'Millen, second officer; D.Danero, carpenter(London); H.L.Arkell (Northampton), J.Sandilands (Liverpool), G.J.Cosans (South Shields), W.H.Smallman (South Shields), T.E.D.Newlands (South Shields), A.Bayley (London), apprentices; J.Hasperson, sailmaker; H.Comer, steward; L.Close, L.Thompson, W.H.Kenningster, Poulson, George W.Ashworth (Burnley) and J.Crosthwaite (Liverpool), able seamen. The Iron Crag originally sailed from London for Brisbane, thence to Newcastle (N.S.W.), Guayaquil, and finally to Manta. At the commencement of the voyage Arkell and Crosthwaite were apprentices, but coming out of their time when the ship was abroad, they signed on as able seamen. The Cairnbulg, after sighting the Iron Crag, did not encounter any bad weather, and the supposition is that the Iron Crag has struck a floating wreck or a derelict in the dark, and gone down. The Iron Crag was a very handy vessel, built at Whitehaven in 1877, and was the property of Messrs.W.Lowden and Co., of Liverpool."

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
Iron Crag
1877
870 grt,827 nr
201.0
32.3
19.6
3
 
 
100 years A1, Special Survey 

Sources :

  1. "Shipbuilding in Whitehaven - A Checklist" by Harry Fancy, Whitehaven Museum (1984).
  2. Mystic Seaport Shipping Register Search has details for 1879 to 1895. Vessel was owned by T.Connell until 1891, then W.Lowden.
  3. Newspaper reports of her many arrivals at Australian ports can be found at the National Library of Australia website.
  4. Lloyd's Register of British & Foreign Shipping 1894-5: Iron Crag, 870 grt, 827 nrt, iron barque, built by the Whitehaven S.B.Co. in November 1877, official no.78736, signal letters RCFQ, owned by W.Lowden & Co., registered at Liverpool, master Capt.J.Thomson - annotated "Missing since January 1895".