The Mystery behind the Wreck of the "Lovely Nelly"

The Boat
The brig "Lovely Nelly" was in her 57th year when she was wrecked. A collier brig was said to have a lifespan of about 60 years. Owned by a Seaham Harbour company since 1856, she had seen previous service with Wright & Co of Kings Lynn in Norfolk, during which time she was insured through Lloyds of London. This insurance policy did not continue under the new ownership, who presumably sought cover elsewhere.

The Owner
Her new 1856 owner, James W Watson, was born in Gateshead in about 1829. He was married to Mary, a year younger than himself, who was born in Burnopfield a small village a few miles southwest of Gateshead. In the census of April 1861, they are not shown as having any children. At the time of buying "Lovely Nelly", Mr Watson and his wife were moving into a newly built house in Marlebrough Street in Seaham. This was a middle class part of town and the residents were all well-to-do. In other words, it was a posh place to live.

The Prelude to the Fateful Voyage
"Lovely Nelly" was normally captained by Sunderland-born Wilkinson Bond, who was aged 36 at the time of her loss. His mate was Henry Stanbridge (aged 38). These men had charge of "Lovely Nelly" on her voyages immediately prior to her loss. She shuttled back and forth between Seaham and London from July until December of 1860 when she bypassed Seaham and berthed in Sunderland on the 4th of that month. She idled her time in Sunderland for several weeks and on the 14th of December, her captain and mate were discharged from the ship, while the remainder of the crew were retained on the ship's books. Later in the same day, the mate (Stanbridge) was re-instated and promoted to Captain.

Why should there be such a commotion over appointments which seem to have worked perfectly well in the past? Were the captain and mate concerned over some aspect of the ship's condition? Did the mate later recognise an opportunity for advancement which he could not afford to ignore? Stanbridge did not formally gain a mate's certificate until 1864 (three years after the loss of "Lovely Nelly"), when one was issued to him at Seaham Harbour.

Fully laden with coal, the brig sailed from Sunderland on December 28th 1860, bound for London with Henry Stanbridge in control.

The Final Voyage

"Lovely Nelly" set out for London and was reported to have reached Flamborough Head when she had to turn back, apparently because of a heavy leak. This incident took place on the morning of Sunday, December 30th 1860.

(Was this issue of seaworthiness the background to the dispute between the owner and the captain earlier in the month?)

The weather worsened but Stanbridge, who must have had many years' experience of the sea to be entrusted with the command of a ship, attempted the run to Sunderland - some 62 miles - rather than put into any of number of nearer ports. As time passed, the storm grew stronger and "Lovely Nelly" was swept past Sunderland, whither it seems that Stanbridge had sought to shelter while, perhaps, having repairs carried out.

This strategy failed and he and his ship were driven further north, missing the entrance to the Tyne. Watched from the shore on New Year's Day, "Lovely Nelly" continued past Tynemouth and Cullercoats with alarmed observers calling for the emergency services of the day (the coastguardmen) to "do something". These fellows followed the ship with their rocket equipment, ready to bring it into play should the opportunity arise. Eventually, the crew of the brig realised that they losing the battle against wind and sea and turned their craft towards Whitley Sands. While threequarters of a mile offshore and still heavily laden, the boat struck a reef - beyond the range of the rocket apparatus!

Nothing would do now but to send for the Cullercoats Lifeboat and its crew. This was speedily fetched and the gallant crew put out into the storm to attempt a rescue.

The rescued crew were:

Henry Stanbridge (captain) aged 38

George Kirby (mate) aged 40

Robert Bond (mariner) aged 37

John Adamson (mariner) aged 24

John Walton (mariner) aged 20

Henry Watson (mariner) aged 20,

while the only fatality was:-

Thomas Brown Thompson (apprentice) aged 12.

The Aftermath
The survivors were treated well by the shore party, dried out and warmed and, upon recovery, made their way home. Thomas Thompson's body was soon recovered from the sea and returned to his family for burial in his home town of Seaham.

The owner of "Lovely Nelly", Mr Watson, you may remember, lived in a well-to-do part of town. On March 25th 1861, he re-located to The National School, Church Street in Seaham. This school had been set up in 1848 but by the early 1860s it was so neglected that it very rarely qualified for its annual Government grants. The headmaster, John Hetherington, was also a shipowner and was well noted for keeping both eyes on his profits from the sea. It would seem that Mr Watson had suddenly fallen on very hard times indeed, to have moved from his respectable and comfortable home to take up some form of lodgings. Had he been bankrupted by the loss of his ship? Presumably, she had not been insured and he had been forced to meet the demands of his creditors from his own pocket.

Final Resting Place
Tommy Thompson was buried on January 13th 1861 at St John's Church in Seaham Harbour. A re-organisation of the churchyard in the 1950s led to the removal of the old headstones without a plan being made of their previous whereabouts. Thus, the final resting place of the real victim in this story will now never be known.

"Lovely Nelly" still lies off Whitley Sands, opposite the Brier Dene, three quarters of a mile from the shore. There are several more wrecks to keep her company now. Maybe sports divers will one day identify her position more accurately and recover some relic or memento.

 

This information has been made available to me by Mr Alan M Gregg of Chester-le-Street. He researched the ship, the crew and the owner, including paying for the use of a professional researcher in the London maritime archives.

Cullercoats Lifeboat is grateful for his kindness in allowing us to include his findings on this site