Flat Chamberlain of Runcorn.
Wooden, 57 tons burden
Voyage Runcorn to Beaumaris with coal
Captain James Waistell (b 1812, cert 54319) of Liverpool
Driven ashore South of Penmon on 24th December 1848.
Captain's brother, wife and 3 children lost, captain saved.

I was alerted [by John Hughes] to this wreck by the poignant evidence of two gravestones at Penmon Priory:
(i)Here lie the remains of Alice Waistell, aged 41, and of John, Alice and James Waistell, aged 15, 9 and 2 yrs, the wife and 3 children of James Waistell, mariner: the above were lost off the coast of Penmon on the night of 24th Dec. 1848, James Waistell the husband and father being the only survivor to mourn their loss.
(ii)Here lie the remains of John Waistell, aged 33, who perished at sea on the night of Dec. 24th 1848, leaving a wife and 5 children, his brother James being the only one saved from the wreck.

From North Wales Chronicle, Tuesady 2 Jan 1849:
BEAUMARIS. Shipwreck and Loss of 5 Lives.- Another of those disastrous occurrences, the loss of life by shipwreck, took place on the evening of Sunday last [24 December 1848]. It appears that, during the gale which blew from the South-east, about 6 o'clock at night, the flat Chamberlayne [sic; Chamberlain in shipping list in October 1848 leaving Liverpool with master Waistell for Dublin], from Runcorn to Beaumaris and Carnarvon[sic], laden with coals, went ashore under Llyniog[sic; beach Lleiniog near Plas Penmon], near Penmon, where, with the exception of the master, James Waistell, all perished. Those lost were the master's wife[Alice], three children[John, Alice and James] and his brother[John]. The bodies have been recovered, excepting the eldest boy, of the age of 15. The master, his brother, and two children were found lashed to the rigging, by three men who went out at great risk in a small boat. The flat was 57 tons in burthen,

James Waistell continues to be listed as a mariner after this tragedy. The fate of the flat Chamberlain is less clear - she is not listed in the BOT Wreck Returns.

There is, however, a record of a vessel described as "Flat Chamberlain" reported as in trouble on 17th October 1850 and then later as lost on or before 20th November 1850, taking coal from Preston to Dublin. This Chamberlain seems to be engaged in a similar trade (coal to Ireland) but with a different master and now described as of Preston rather than of Runcorn.

From Preston Guardian:
On 17 Oct 1850; Chamberlin: The sloop ran aground on Taylor's Bank, in Liverpool Bay. Her crew were rescued. She was later refloated and towed in to Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire.

From Lloyd's List - Friday 22 November 1850:
Lytham, 21st Nov. The CHAMBERLAIN, Jameson, hence to Dublin, has foundered at sea; Crew drowned, and washed ashore in their boat at Southport.

From Worcester Journal - Thursday 28 November 1850:
Wednesday morning, the bodies of three sailors were found by some of the Southport fishermen. They knew two of them to be Lytham sailors, and the other proved to be the master of the vessel wrecked. A small boat has also been found, and lodged near the Independent Chapel. It has the name of the Chamberlain, of Preston, James Jameson, master, painted on the inside. The Chamberlain belongs Mr. Thos. Smith, shipcarpenter, of Boston; and, was entirely uninsured, the owner's loss will be little short of £400.

From Weekly Vindicator - Saturday 30 November 1850
On the morning of the 20th instant, the bodies of three men were washed ashore near Southport. In the pocket of one of them was found a bill of lading, dated Preston and receipt for fifty tons of coal delivered in Dublin. On the following day the boat was washed ashore, and it was found to belong to the flat Chamberlain, from Preston, James Jamieson, master.

There is a known wreck, the "ballast pile" in 17m off the Ribble entrance - see Wrecks of Liverpool Bay Vol II p 89 - which has not been identified, so could be the remains of the Chamberlain.

What is clear from these records is that a "flat", a barge-like sailing vessel, a solidly built wooden vessel intended for use in estuaries and canals, was not always able to cope with conditions out in the Irish Sea.