Royal Charter Storm
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Royal Charter'' Storm (also known as the Great storm of 1859) of 25 and 26 October 1859 was considered to be the most severe storm to hit the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
in the 19th century,Ancient Destructions website
with a total death toll estimated at over 800. It takes its name from the ''Royal Charter'' ship, which was driven by the storm onto the east coast of
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
, Wales, with the loss of over 450 lives. The storm followed several days of unsettled weather. The first indications were seen 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 ...
about 3 p.m. on 25 October 1859, when there was a sudden increase in wind speed and a shift in its direction. There was extensive structural damage along the coasts of
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
. The storm drifted northwards, hitting
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
by about 8 p.m. and not reaching maximum force at the
River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
until midday on 26 October, then continued northwards to affect
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The winds reached force 12 on the
Beaufort scale The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. History The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort ...
and were well over . At the Mersey a wind pressure of 28 lbs per square foot (1340 Pa) was measured, more than ever previously recorded.


''Royal Charter'' shipwreck

On the north coast of
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
, where the ''Royal Charter'', a steam
clipper A clipper was a type of mid-19th-century merchant sailing vessel, designed for speed. Clippers were generally narrow for their length, small by later 19th century standards, could carry limited bulk freight, and had a large total sail area. "C ...
, was approaching the end of her voyage from
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
to
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 popul ...
, the wind at
Point Lynas Point Lynas Lighthouse ( cy, Goleudy Trwyn y Balog) is located on a headland in Llaneilian Community, on the north-east corner of Anglesey in North Wales (at ). A pilot station was established on the point in 1766, to guide ships entering and l ...
changed direction to ENE at 10 p.m. on 25 October and rose to gale force. By 10 p.m. the wind had reached force 10 and continued to increase, reaching force 12 by midnight. It continued to blow at force 12 until the afternoon of 26 October. The ''Royal Charter'' was driven ashore on the east coast of Anglesey just north of the village of Moelfre in the early hours of the morning of 26 October 1859, eventually being smashed to pieces against the rocks, with the loss of over 450 lives. The public impact of the shipwreck may be judged by the fact that
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
travelled from London to Anglesey to report on the aftermath as described in ''
The Uncommercial Traveller ''The Uncommercial Traveller'' is a collection of literary sketches and reminiscences written by Charles Dickens, published in 1860–1861. In 1859 Dickens founded a new journal called '' All the Year Round'', and the "Uncommercial Traveller" ar ...
''.


Consequences

A total of 133 ships were sunk during the storm and another 90 badly damaged according to the
Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
records. The death toll was estimated at around 800, including some people killed on land by falling rocks and masonry. Twice as many people died in these two days as had been lost at sea around the British Isles in the whole of 1858. There was extensive structural damage to many buildings, with the west coast of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
being most severely affected. The remains of the church of Saint Brynach may still be seen at
Cwm-yr-Eglwys Cwm-yr-Eglwys (English: ''Valley of the Church'') is a hamlet in a picturesque cove on the eastern side of the Dinas Island peninsula in the community of Dinas Cross between Fishguard and Newport, Pembrokeshire, in southwest Wales. It has a full ...
in
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
. This storm had an effect on the development of the
Meteorological Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope ...
as Captain
Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...
, who was in charge of the office at the time, brought in the first
gale warning A gale warning is an alert issued by national weather forecasting agencies around the world in an event that maritime locations currently or imminently experiencing winds of gale force on the Beaufort scale. Gale warnings (and gale watches) a ...
service in 1860 to prevent similar tragedies.


See also

*
List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll The following list of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland is a list of major disasters (excluding acts of war) which relate to the United Kingdom or Ireland, or to the states that preceded them, or that involved their citizens, in a definable ...


References

* * {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Royal Charter'' Storm Moelfre, Anglesey Shipwrecks of Wales 1859 in the United Kingdom Weather events in the United Kingdom European windstorms 1859 natural disasters Maritime incidents in October 1859 October 1859 events 1859 meteorology 1859 disasters in the United Kingdom