UK worst maritime disaster devastated the poet William Wordsworth (Picture: PA)
A disastrous shipwreck spilled spilled a huge fortune into the sea – and broke the heart of the poet William Wordsworth.
Merchant ship the Ear of Abergavenny and more than 260 people met its tragic fate off the coast of Weymouth in Dorset in 1805 after it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic.
It became one of the Britain’s worst maritime disasters and it devastated the family of renowned English poet William Wordsworth whose older brother died on the ship.
Now the shipwreck has hit the headlines again after it was granted special protection by the UK government, placing restrictions on curious divers visiting its final resting place.
A mural of William Wordsworth at Allan Bank and Grasmere
(Picture: National Trust/PA Wire)
How the merchant ship sank off Dorset coast
John Wordsworth, the brother of William, was the captain of the rare East India Company ship.
The Earl of Abergavenny was one of only 36 ships of 1,460 tons that were part of the company’s merchant fleet.
Launched in 1796, it exemplified the latest technologies in ship building at the time as it used iron in its construction.
John decided to join the company for a risky life at sea to help support brother William’s writing career.
He had captained two successful trips on the Earl of Abergavenny to China before dying on the fatal shipwreck between Portsmouth, Bengal and China which killed more than 260 crew and passengers.
Where the shipwreck happened off Weymouth coast(Picture: Metro.co.uk)
It sank due to a combination of human error and stormy weather as the ship hit the Shambles sandbank in Dorset, a dangerous spot just some miles southeast of the Portland Bill lighthouse.
The impact on William Wordsworth’s work
Hundreds of people lost their lives in the major disaster.
But it was also a blow to its owners as it was carrying a cargo of 62 chests of silver dollars – estimated to be worth £70,000 at the time and around £7,500,000 in today’s money.
The untimely death of John marked a turning point for William who now rejected his previous belief that nature was good and kind.
The waters near the Shambles sandbank are known to be treacherous (Picture: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
John was a presence in some of Wordsworth’s works, such as ‘Michael’ the Dream of the Arab in Prelude, Book V, ‘The Character of the Happy Warrior’ and ‘Stepping Westward.’
Wordsworth’s grief is most evident in ‘Elegiac Stanzas,’ and after the loss, his work became reflective and bleak.
Special protection for the shipwreck
Now the famous shipwreck has been scheduled by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport after advice from Historic England.
It means divers are allowed to go down to the shipwreck, but they must leave all contents there, including planking, frames and fixtures and fittings such as a chain pump and iron knees, the brackets in the wooden ship’s structure.
The move by the government means the shipwreck is a schedule ancient monument, often used for landmarks like castles.
Artefacts recovered from the Earl of Abergavenny shipwreck (Picture: Portland Museum Trust/PA Wire)
Divers can visit it without interference – unlike protected sites which divers will need a licence to dive to.
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 items from the wreck are housed at the Portland Museum.
The museum’s co-ordinator Chloe Taylor said: ‘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.’
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