Bywell Castle was 254 feet 3 inches (77.50 m) long, with a beam of 32 feet 1 inch (9.78 m) and a depth of 19 feet 6 inches (5.94 m). She was assessed at 1,376 GRT, 892 NRT. She was powered by a compound steam engine, which had cylinders of 27 inches (69 cm) and 54 inches (140 cm) diameter by 33 inches (84 cm) stroke. It was rated at 120 horsepower and drove a single screw propeller.[1]
History
Bywell Castle was built as yard number 250 by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Jarrow, County Durham for Hall Brothers, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland. She was launched on 20 November 1869 and completed in January 1870. Her port of registry was London and the United Kingdom Official Number 63546 was allocated,[1] as were the Code Letters JKPW.[2] She had a crew of 22 men.[3]
Bywell Castle made her maiden voyage from London to Bombay and Kurrachee, India on 9 February 1870. From 10 to 12 February she encountered severe gales in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. She arrived at Bombay on 16 March, having been delayed by a day when the steamship Brazilian ran aground in the Suez Canal. Although she made a good passage, it was reported that her accommodation was more adapted to cargo than passengers.[4] On her return voyage she reached Malta from Bombay via the Suez Canal in 28 days. She was bound for Liverpool, Lancashire with a cargo of cotton.[5] On 24 January 1873, Bywell Castle put in to Plymouth, Devon due to a loss of steering gear, two lifeboats and other damage whilst on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne to Aden, Aden Settlement.[6][7] On 2 February, she rescued seventeen crew from the British full-rigged shipSatellite, which foundered in the Atlantic Ocean 120 nautical miles (220 km) south west of the Isles of Scilly.[8] On 8 February, she rescued the crew of the brigantineYoung Marquis in the Bay of Biscay. Two days later she rescued the crew of the ship Anne Foster. They were landed at Gibraltar.[9] On 30 November 1873, Bywell Castle was prevented from sailing from Port Talbot, Glamorgan to Port Said, Egypt as she was overloaded by 180 tons.[10] On 25 July 1876, the barqueDorothy collided with the barque Robina in the English Channel 20 nautical miles (37 km) off Start Point, Devon. Dorothy was severely damaged; she was towed in to Plymouth by Bywell Castle.[11] She was reboilered in 1877.[12]
On 3 September 1878, Bywell Castle collided with the paddle steamerPrincess Alice in the River Thames at Becton, Middlesex. Princess Alice capsized and sank with the loss of more than 600 lives.[2] Both vessels were held to blame for the collision.[3] Hall Brothers appealed the verdict, and Bywell Castle was held blameless for the collision.[13]
On 24 May 1881, Bywell Castle discovered the passenger shipCalifornia in distress in the Atlantic Ocean, her engines having broken down. She towed California the 876 nautical miles (1,622 km) to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, where they arrived on 29 May. Bywell Castle was awarded £3,000 salvage.[14] In February 1883, Bywell Castle was reported missing whilst on a voyage from Alexandria, Egypt to Hull, Yorkshire with a cargo of beans and cotton seed. She was last sighted on 29 January off Cape Corvoeiro, Portugal. It was feared that she may have foundered in the Bay of Biscay on 2 February, although a steamship answering her description was wrecked on the Haisborough Sands, in the North Sea off the coast of Norfolk with the loss of all hands later that month.[15][16][17] The Court of Inquiry into her loss ruled that she was overladen.[12]
References
^ ab"Bywell Castle". Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^ ab"Fearful Collision On The River". The Times. No. 29351. London. 4 September 1878. col D-E, p. 7.
^ ab"Probate, Divorce, And Admiralty Division". The Times. No. 29436. London. 12 December 1878. col D-E, p. 4.
^"An Adventure in the Suez Canal". Freeman's Journal. Dublin. 15 April 1870.
^"Naval And Military Intelligence". The Times. No. 26754. London. 10 May 1870. col F, p. 5.
^"Latest Shipping Intelligence". The Times. No. 27596. London. 25 January 1873. col F, p. 7.
^"Mercantile Ship News". The Standard. No. 15131. London. 27 January 1873.
^"The Mails". The Times. No. 27618. London. 20 February 1873. col F, p. 6.
^"The Mails". The Times. No. 27617. London. 19 February 1873. col C, p. 5.
^"District Intelligence". Western Mail. No. 1433. Cardiff. 2 December 1873.
^"Shipping". Daily Gazette For Middlesbrough. No. 2572. Middlesbrough. 26 July 1876.
^ ab"Wreck Commissioner's Court". The Times. No. 30828. London. 24 May 1883. col D, p. 7.
^"Supreme Court of Judicature, July 15". The Times. No. 29621. London. 16 July 1879. col C-D, p. 4.
^"Probate, Divorce, And Admiralty Division". The Times. No. 30265. London. 5 August 1881. col D, p. 4.
^"Overdue". The Times. No. 30740. London. 10 February 1883. col D, p. 12.
^"Supposed Loss of the Steamer Bywell Castle". Daily Gazette for Middlesbrough. No. 4880. Middlesbrough. 10 February 1883.
^"Shipping Disasters". Liverpool Mercury. No. 10949. Liverpool. 13 February 1883.
