Shipwreck linked to Wordsworth family granted protection

The Earl of Abergavenny merchant sailing ship sank off the coast of Weymouth in Dorset in 1805 with the loss of over 200 people.

The Earl of Abergavenny ship (Portland Museum Trust/PA)

The wreck of a ship which sank more than 200 years ago in one of the UK’s worst maritime disasters has been granted protection by the Government.

The Earl of Abergavenny merchant sailing ship sank off the coast of Weymouth in Dorset in 1805 with the loss of over 200 people.

The East India Company ship was captained by John Wordsworth, the brother of renowned romantic poet William Wordsworth.

It was launched in 1796 in Northfleet, Kent and is rare as it was one of only 36 ships of 1,460 tons that formed a special class of the company’s merchant fleet.

The ship was an early example of the changing technologies in ship building of the time, incorporating the use of iron in its construction.

The Wordsworth family had a close association with the East India Company and John Wordsworth embarked on a life at sea to help support his brother’s writing career.

He captained two successful voyages on the Earl of Abergavenny to China but lost his life with 250 crewmen and passengers on his fifth trading voyage from Portsmouth to Bengal and China.

Due to a combination of human error and stormy weather, the Earl of Abergavenny sank after striking the Shambles sandbank.

It was a major disaster not only because of how many lives were lost, but the ship was also loaded with 62 chests of silver dollars – cargo estimated to be worth £70,000 and approximately £7.5 million today.

John Wordsworth was an obvious presence in some of his brother’s works, such as ‘Michael’ the Dream of the Arab in Prelude, Book V, “The Character of the Happy Warrior”, and “Stepping Westward”.

The grief that William was experiencing following the loss of his brother is evident in “Elegiac Stanzas”, where his previous belief that nature was good, and kind is rejected.

After the loss of John, William’s work turned and became reflective and bleak.

The shipwreck has been scheduled by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.

It means divers can dive the wreck but must leave its contents in situ.

The site includes planking, frames and fixtures and fittings such as a chain pump and iron knees, which are brackets in the structure of a wooden ship.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “This wreck has an evocative story to tell about the life and sorrow of one of our most renowned poets, William Wordsworth.

“But it also has an important place in this country’s shared maritime history and how the East India Company’s fleet made its impact across so much of the world.”

Many of the artefacts from the wreck site are housed at the Portland Museum.

Museum co-ordinator Chloe Taylor added: “The waters that surround the Isle of Portland are renowned for being treacherous.

“Many ships have fallen victim to the unrelenting waves, frozen in time with their stories untold.”