PS ''Queen Victoria'' was a

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...

built for the

City of Dublin Steam Packet Company The City of Dublin Steam Packet Company was a shipping line established in 1823. It served cross-channel routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. For 70 of those years it transported the mail. It was 'wound-up' by a select commit ...

in 1838 and wrecked in 1853 with the loss of more than 80 passengers and crew.

History

''Queen Victoria'' was built by Wilson

shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

s of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland in 1838 for The City Of Dublin Steam Packet Company. She had a wooden hull, was 150 feet long and was powered by a two-cylinder steam engine. The ''Queen Victoria'' left

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

on the night of 14 February 1853 with cargo and approximately 100 passengers. As it approached the Irish coast at Howth it was hit by a snowstorm. It struck

Howth Head Howth Head ( ; ''Ceann Bhinn Éadair'' in Irish) is a peninsula northeast of the city of Dublin in Ireland, within the governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are o ...

around 2:00am on 15 February. The Captain backed the ship away from the Head in hopes of being able to navigate into the harbour. The damage to the ship was more extensive than the captain thought and it quickly began to fill with water. It drifted, dead in the water, and struck below the Baily Lighthouse. It sank within 15 minutes of the second hit, 100 yards south of the lighthouse. Approximately 83 passengers and crew perished, including the Captain. One lifeboat, with 17 passengers, made it to shore. A subsequent Board of Trade inquiry blamed the ship's captain and first officer, as well as the lighthouse crew. A fog bell was supposed to have been installed in the lighthouse in 1846, seven years earlier, but was delayed due to costs of other construction projects. The bell was finally installed in April 1853, as a result of the ''Queen Victoria'' shipwreck and the subsequent inquiry. At least one attempt to raise the ship was made afterwards, which failed, and the ship was salvaged where she lay. The wreck is still in place. Members of the Marlin Sun Aqua Club, Dublin discovered the wreck in 1983. They reported their discovery to the authorities, and were in part responsible for having the first Underwater Preservation Order placed on a shipwreck in Irish waters. They also carried out the first underwater survey on such a wreck. The wreck was the first to be protected by The National Monuments Act (Historic Wreck), when the order was granted in 1984, thanks to representations made by Kevin Crothers, IUART, and the Maritime Institute of Ireland.

References

Info from Irish Wrecks Online
1838 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Maritime incidents in February 1853 Passenger ships of the United Kingdom Steamships of the United Kingdom Shipwrecks of Ireland 1838 in Scotland 1853 in Ireland 1983 in Ireland {{Ireland-maritime-stub