''Hallowe’en'' was a 920-

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

iron clipper ship. She was built in 1870 by Maudslay, Son & Field at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, for Jock Willis & Sons (commissioned by John Willis, junior), and was a sister ship to the clipper ship ''Blackadder''. Due to faults in ''Blackadder'', which caused

dismasting Dismasting, also spelled demasting, occurs to a sailing ship when one or more of the masts responsible for hoisting the sails that propel the vessel breaks. Dismasting usually occurs as the result of high winds during a storm acting upon masts, ...

on her maiden voyage, ''Hallowe’en'' was not handed over to Willis for nearly 18 months after her launch due to protracted legal action.

Record passage from China to London

In 1874–1875, ''Hallowe’en'' sailed from

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

China, to London with a cargo of

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

in 91 days, a record time, arriving 20 January 1875. She was fast in light airs and recorded many fast passages between China 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. On 17 January 1887, ''Hallowe’en'' was on passage from Fuzhou, China, loaded with

when she was wrecked in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

at Soar Mill Cove off

Salcombe Salcombe is a popular resort town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, mostly built on the steep west side of the estuary. It lies within the South Devon Area o ...

South Devon South Devon is the southern part of Devon, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon.For exampleNorth DevonanSouth Devonnews sites. In a narrower se ...

References

Tea clippers Individual sailing vessels Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Greenwich Shipwrecks in the English Channel History of Devon Maritime incidents in January 1887 1870 ships Ships built on the River Thames {{Merchantship-stub