Earl of Abergavenny 1805
Marker: recorded wreck position (Age of Sail).
Key facts
| Name | Earl of Abergavenny | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1805 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Age of Sail | derived from year |
| Ship type | ship, shipwreck | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Sea / ocean | English Channel | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | England | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 3 km from land |
| Position | 50.6024, -2.4092 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Earl of Abergavenny was an East Indiaman launched in 1796 that was wrecked in Weymouth Bay, England in 1805. She was one of the largest East Indiamen ever built. John Wordsworth was her captain during her last two successful voyages to China. He was also her captain on her fifth voyage and lost his life when she wrecked. Earl of Abergavenny was built in Northfleet, Kent to carry cargo for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1804 she was one of the vessels at the Battle of Pulo Aura, though she did not participate in the action. She sank, with great loss of life, within days of leaving Portsmouth on the outward leg of her fifth voyage.
Diving & visiting
Earl of Abergavanney left on her fifth voyage, this one to Bengal and China, under the command of Captain John Wordsworth Jnr (brother of William Wordsworth). She sailed with four other Indiamen and two whalers from Portsmouth on 1 February 1805. The four Indiamen were Royal George, Henry Addington, Wexford, and Bombay Castle. Captain William Stanley Clarke of Wexford was the senior EIC commander. Captain John Draper and HMS Weymouth, herself a former merchantman, provided the naval escort.
On 5 February Earl of Abergavenny struck on the Shambles off the Isle of Portland and then sank in Weymouth Bay with the loss of 263 lives, including Wordsworth, out of 402 people on board.
Location
- Recorded position: 50.6024, -2.4092 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: English Channel
- Nearest coast: England
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Earl of Abergavenny (1796 ship) (revision 1335917549), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Voyage #5 (1805–wreck)”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- HMS Foylebank 1940 · 3 km
- HMS Delight 1940 · 4 km
- HMS Hood 1914 · 4 km
- Chesil Beach cannon 9 km
- SS Binnendijk 1939 · 9 km
- Minerve 1945 · 10 km
Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off England · English Channel · Age of Sail