Richard Woodget (21 November 1845 – 5/6 March 1928) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

, best known as the

master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of the famous sailing clipper ''

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of ...

'' during her most successful period of service in the wool trade between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Richard Woodget was the son of a farmer in

Burnham Norton Burnham Norton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, one of the Burnhams, an adjacent group in the northernmost part of Norfolk, on the A149 some 2 km north of the larger village of Burnham Market, 35 km no ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

who first went to sea in the coasters plying the waters of the east coast of Britain. In 1868 he received his master's certificate at

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

. In 1881 Jock Willis made him master of the old ship ''

Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...

'', and in 1885 he was appointed to command ''Cutty Sark''. A well-respected sailor and man manager, Captain Woodget made several record-breaking passages between the United Kingdom and Australia. In 1895 ''Cutty Sark'' was sold to

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

interests, and Captain Woodget transferred to command '' Coldinghame''. However he made only one voyage in this ship before retiring from the sea. He bought a farm at

Burnham Overy Staithe Burnham Overy is a civil parish on the north coast of Norfolk, England. In modern times a distinction is often made between the two settlements of Burnham Overy Town, the original village adjacent to the medieval parish church and now reduced ...

in his native Norfolk, where he lived until 1926. In 1921 he married Winifred Basham Parker, his second wife. He died on 5/6 March 1928Commemorative plaque on house in East Harbour Way, Burnham Overy Staithe. Noted on 20 May 2006.Probate notice gives his date of death as 5 March and was buried in the churchyard of

St Margaret's Church, Burnham Norton St Margaret's Church is a round-tower church in Burnham Norton, Norfolk, England. Likely to have been built in the 11th century, the building retains many medieval architectural features, and is Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed. It also r ...

References

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1845 births 1928 deaths People from King's Lynn and West Norfolk (district) British sailors Burials in Norfolk {{England-bio-stub