Extract from Liverpool Hurricane of 1839 by C. Michael (with permission).
Go to additional wrecks in 1839, nearby
The Crusader was a full-rigged vessel with copper sheathed hull trading to the Far East and she was carrying a cargo valued at £100,000. She left Liverpool bound for Bombay laden with silk and was driven back by the hurricane towards the Lancashire coast. She was driven ashore on North Bank opposite Starr Hills near St. Annes - on what has since been called the Crusader Bank. Captain Wychmann [J. G. Wickman in some reports] and crew saved themselves in their two ship's boats, after pouring oil on the sea to calm the waves. She was a total wreck.
Some of her cargo of silk was salvaged and five men from the nearby village of Marton were imprisoned when silk was found hidden in their possession.
Additional Information: Barrels of beer consigned to India were recovered and sold at auction in Liverpool, described as "India Ale". The beer was favourably received and this is seems to be the origin of this beer variety. [see also here]
Some history of ship Crusader before she was wrecked in 1839. Trade with India was allowed outside of the East India Company monopoly from 1834 - so Liverpool merchants sought to enter this lucrative market, and found a suitable vessel, built in Canada.
Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser - Tuesday 22
September 1835
IMPORTS. BRITISH AMERICA.
Crusader, M'Clelland, fm Quebec, with 42 ps oak, 55 ps elm, 2 ps
ash and 485 ps pine timber, 15 c 7 deals, 116 c 16 staves, W.
Sharples and Co (A part of the deals thrown overboard in a
gale) - River
From Gore's Liverpool General Advertiser - Thursday 24 December
1835, also dates up to 31 March 1836
ON SALE. The new Ship CRUSADER,
Burthen per register 584 32-94 tons, built at Quebec, and launched in
June last [June 1835], now lying in Brunswick Dock. Dimensions for
tonnage - from stem to stern-post 132 feet; breadth 32 feet; depth 22
feet; height between decks 7 feet 6 inches. This vessel was built by
Mr. Edw. Melling, Jun., shipwright, late of this town, with the greatest
care and attention, both as to materials and workmanship, and is
considered as fine a vessel as ever left the colonies: she carries an
exceedingly large cargo for her tonnage; sails fast, and is well
deserving the attention of any house in want of a really faithful-built
ship of her class.
Apply William Sharples & Co., Sefton street, Brunswick Dock.
Canadian sources list the builder as H Sharpies/Sharples (the Sharples family, originally from Liverpool, had from 1830 a timber yard on shore at Sillery near the centre of Quebec; Edward Melling is described elsewhere as a ship designer)
From Liverpool newspapers; advertised sailing to Calcutta, October 1836; then to Bombay, January 1838, having completed her first voyage; and again to Bombay, December 1838 [actually only left January 1839].
She was described at the time she went aground as having painted gun-ports and a full-length figurehead. She was described as having broken her back on the sand-bank, also that part of the wreck was accessible at low water. One report states she carried 26 crew.
Sketch of Crusader (by Tony Lees from Catherine Rothwell's book Shipwrecks
in the North-West):
[from Freeman's Journal - Saturday 23 February 1839]:
THE SHIP "Crusader" - This vessel, bound from Liverpool to Bombay,
which was wrecked near the N.W. channel of the Ribble, on the 7th
ult., began to break up on Saturday last. Part of her stern,
mizen-mast, &c., was washed upon the beach, near the South Shore.
During the week the coast from Presall sands to Lytham has been
covered with Burton Ale, and other goods, being part of the cargo of
that vessel, and we are sorry to say that, not-withstanding the
exertions made by part of the crew, who had remained at South Shore
since she struck, and the officers of the customs, in order to secure
the cargo, we are apprehensive that a great part of the goods have
been plundered. During the night of the 13th the wind blew a complete
hurricane, and we are sorry to say the barque Anne Paley, which was
stranded near Cleeveley's on the 7th ult., is now likely to become a
complete wreck. - Preston Pilot.
Report of diving operations to recover some of the cargo of the Crusader in 1839.
The steamer tug Victoria was sent to Blackpool (also reported as Fleetwood) and returned to Liverpool (19 January) laden with goods salvaged (and driven ashore) from the wreck of the Crusader.
Items advertised in newspapers as for sale at Liverpool from the wreck of the Crusader, for Bombay:
7 February 1839: 6-4 Cambrics[type of cloth]; 6-4 Jaconets[lightweight material]; Plain and Printed Cottons; Cotton Twist; Red and Blue Woollen cloth; Cotton lace; Silk Scarfs and Veils; Tin Plates; Iron; Glass; India Ale - Bass and Alsop's Brands.
21 February 1839: Scarlet Cloths; 6-4ths Jaconets; 7-8ths and 9-8ths White and Grey Prints; Chintz Prints; Shirtings -White and Grey; Fents of various Lengths; A Quantity of Cotton Twist in Bales and Bundles; Flint Glass; Globe lamps and shades; Tin Plates.
14 March 1839: Scarlet Cloths 6-4 Jaconets; White and Grey Printers; Shirtings; White and Grey Fents [left-over pieces], of various lengths; Fancy Stripes; India Cotton Shawls; Cotton Twist, in bundles; India Ale, Bass and Alsop's brands; Twine, in bundles; Sample Boxes; Canvas, etc.
28 March 1839: 6-4 Jaconets; 7-8 White and Grey Printers; White and Grey Cambrics; Saxon - Green Baize; Scarlet Cloth; Cotton Twist, in bundles; India Ale; and Round, Flat, and Square Iron.
10 June 1839: Cotton Twist, in 5lb. and 10lb. bundles; 6-4th Jaconets; Shirtings, White and Grey; White and Grey Prints; Sheetings; Old Ropes; Iron; Copper; etc
8 July 1839: Six-quarter Jaconets; White and Grey Shirting; Grey Domestics; Six-quarter Cambrics; Grey Tangibs[lightweight cloth]; Printed Cotton Handkerchiefs; Chintz; Prints; Old Rags; Iron Knees; part Chain Cable; old Lead Pumps; Blocks; etc.
[from Chester Chronicle - Friday 26 July 1839]:
Discovery of the Valuable Chronometer belonging to the Crusader. On
Saturday afternoon last, about half-past one o'clock, Mr. G. M.
Crookall, of Lytham, was walking at South Shore, near Blackpool, and
immediately in the vicinity of South Shore church, he saw something
having the appearance of a watch, apparently very valuable, loosely laid
in the mouth of a hole, in a sandy cop: he immediately got it out, and,
on examination, it was found be the rich and massive chronometer
belonging to the ship Crusader, which was wrecked on the banks the
Ribble during the memorable storm of January last. There is not the
slightest doubt that the chronometer was placed on the cop, for the
purpose of being found, by some individual who had in his possession for
some time, and who, no doubt, has had fears of being discovered with it.
This supposition is well borne out by the following circumstances, viz.,
the wreck was lying off Blackpool for some time after the catastrophe,
the bulk of the cargo being retained and from the peculiar situation of
the chronometer, there is strong reason to believe it was from the
vessel, so many persons in the neighbourhood continually visited the
spot. The chronometer is 7lb weight, including the case of gold, and it
is also inlaid with pearls and diamonds. Mr. Crookall took it to the
Marine Office in Liverpool, on Tuesday afternoon, and we understand that
he is entitled to the salvage (one half its value). The chronometer is
insured for the large sum of £800, its full value being 800
guineas.
Records of recovery of items from the wreck of the Crusader in the 1860s when the North Channel into the Ribble moved, so exposing the wreck.
Lancaster Gazette - Saturday 31 March 1866
Wreck of the Crusader.
The remains of the hull of this vessel, which was wrecked at the banks
of the estuary of the Ribble, nearly 30 years ago, have during the
extreme ebbs of the tides on Sunday and Monday, been visited by many
persons from both Blackpool and Lytham, who perhaps will not be able to
repeat the feat for a long interval. The Crusader was wrecked on a bank
of Cross Slack, about two or three miles N.W. of Lytham Lighthouse
[built 1847, collapsed 1863], and
may be observed from Blackpool and Southshore. [Cross Slack in 1840 was
near 53°45.93N, 3°2.46W].
She had a general cargo
for the East Indies, which, together with the vessel was valued
£100,000, a very small portion of which was recovered at the time
by the means of the diving-bell. The sandbank on which she was stranded
has since then borne the name of the Crusader Bank, and is considerably
enlarged. The vessel was on the north part of the bank, but now she is
more than a mile from the point, as the bank is now extending itself
opposite to Southshore every year, and also westward, for the wreck is
not many yards from the channel which runs along the east side of the
bank. The bank, therefore, is now very broad as well as long, and,
consequently, is very dangerous to navigators who rely on old charts.
Edward Banks, Esq., John Fisher, Esq., and a few others visited the
wreck on Monday, and took with them a small boat, as they could not
approach in their conveyance on account of the large bed in which the
hull and portion of her cargo lie. Her stern post and some of her spars
were, however, above the water; they sawed off a small part of this to
see the condition of the timber, and it seemed to have taken little
damage except on one side, which has suffered from the constant wash of
the sand and shingle. It is made of African oak[sic, unlikely since
built Quebec], and is covered with mussels, it is supposed by many who
notice the changes of the currents here, that she will not be long
before she is in the channel, when, perhaps, a strong tide may wash away
all the silt and sand with which she is now enveloped. Preston Herald.
Preston Herald - Saturday 16 February 1867
Strange Wreck. -- Yesterday week, a cask of wreck was seen at
Blackpool, and having been got on shore, proved on examination to be a
cask of crockery. From the appearance of the barrel it seems to have
laid in the bed of the ocean for many years, and it is supposed to be
part of the cargo the Crusader. The contents, one dozen large jugs,
will be offered for sale by the Customs Officers at Blackpool this day
(Saturday.)
The wreck today.
The Crusader was reported as ashore opposite the coastguard's
house on the South Shore (also as
opposite Starr Hills), on what was then called the Horse Bank. It then became
known as Crusader Bank. The low water edge of this bank has moved
steadily inshore over the years. Offshore of Crusader Bank, wreckage was
discovered in 2012 at 53°46.751N, 3°5.068W and is charted as Wr
1.4m in general depth 3.2m (with extent 23m by 7.8m, lying N-S, bows south). This is of
a depth and extent that could be the remains of the Crusader. For a recent sonar
survey of this site see here. The scour
inshore of the wreck could have been caused by the undertow from
breaking waves.
The modern Lytham St. Annes CG station is at 53°45.63N,
3°2.735W, which is 1.7nm at 310° to that wreck site; but in
1839 the CG house may have been elsewhere. In 1840, Starr Hill was the
name of a building at 53°45.93N, 3°2.46W - which was due east of
the wreck site.
Even more helpfully, the 1840s OS map marks "A wreck" offshore
on a sandbank at 53° 46.752N, 3° 05.047W. This is within 20
metres of the position charted since 2012. So that position contains
wreckage that was already there in the 1840s - presumably of the
Crusader.
1840s OS map:
Information from Blackpool RNLI (thanks): a trawler recovered a mast, sail with sail number and harnesses from the wreck site - which were identified as coming from the yacht Jain (26 ft sloop lost with both people aboard coming from the Isle of Man to Fleetwood around 11 September 1978).
Report from dive investigation in 2021 from diveboat MARLIN by nautical archaeologist DR: [see also here]
Sunday 18 July - excellent weather, sunny, calm, Crusader Bank wreck (5.9m deep,
3m viz, no current)
Sketch of Crusader Bank wreck (from DR):
Video of dive.
View of "Big one" at Blackpool from Crusader Bank wreck:
here
The wreckage is of a large wooden vessel with copper sheathing and more
than one deck. The side is exposed suggesting earlier salvage. The
opening visible is supported by bronze poles of 33mm diameter - and is only 73cm high - so
something to do with the storage of cargo, I guess. The
position is exactly where the Crusader was observed lying partly above
the low water mark.
Additional wrecks nearby at the same time (from
Liverpool Hurricane of 1839)
Favourite
Commanded by Captain Wood, she was on a passage from Liverpool to Genoa
with a cargo of tobacco when wrecked near Blackpool on the Crusader
Bank. All the crew were lost.
Postcript From other reports: Favourite 203t built Poole 1827,
owned Griffith & Co., London. Master: T. M. Roe. Lost offshore but
part of cargo consisting of 95 hogsheads of tobacco, cottons, elephant's
teeth, scattered along the Fylde beach.
Ann Paley
Sailing from Liverpool to Lisbon with a cargo of tea under command
of Captain Hunter, she was driven on shore near Cleveleys (North of
Blackpool), three men drowned.
The "rails/stanchions" seen on the wreck are very likely to
be part of the wreckage of sloop Jain (as reported above) that ended up
entangled with the much older wreck of the Crusader
Brig, registered London.
167 tons, owned Bibby, built 1827 Liverpool.
She was reported to have been refloated on 20 April
and taken in to Fleetwood.
