William Miles (1816 ship)

William Miles was launched at Bristol in 1816 as a West Indiaman. She remained a West Indiaman until 1846, though she did make some voyages to Archangel and to the Baltic. New owners from 1846 sailed her to Quebec and North America. She underwent lengthening in 1854. Thereafter, a sequence of owners sailed her to India and the Mediterranean. She was wrecked on 9 August 1883.

Ship William Miles, of Bristol, in two positions. Miles Walters (1774–1849), Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
History
United Kingdom
NameWilliam Miles
BuilderGeorge Hilhouse & Sons, Bristol[1]
Launched1816
FateWrecked 9 August 1883
General characteristics [2][1]
Tonnage572 GRT (post 1854)
Tons burthen
  • 1816: 323 (bm)
  • 1854: 634 (bm; new Act (post 1836), & post lengthening)
Length
  • 1816: 105 ft 1 in (32.0 m)
  • 1854: 134 ft 4 in (40.9 m)
Beam
  • 1816: 26 ft 6 in (8.1 m)
  • 1854: 28 ft 4 in (8.6 m)
Depth of hold19 ft 2 in (5.8 m) (post 1854)

Career

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William Miles first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1816.[3]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & Notes
1816 [Richard] Williams Miles & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR
1822 Williams
R[ees] Waters
Miles & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR
1823 R. Waters
J[ohn] Escott
Miles & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR
1830 Escott
[Isaac] Reynolds
Miles & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR
1838 [James] Pike Miles & Co. Bristol–Jamaica LR: large repairs 1833 & 1835
1843 [James] Cook[e] Miles & Co. Bristol–Trinidad
Bristol–Jamaica
LR; large repairs 1833 & 1835, & some repairs 1842 & 1843
1845 Crow
Rowe
Miles & Co.
Howell & Son
Bristol–Jamaica
Bristol–Quebec
LR; large repairs 1833 & 1835, & some repairs 1842 & 1843
1846 [Thomas] Rowe Howell & Son Bristol–Quebec
Bristol–America
LR; large repairs 1833 & 1835, & some repairs 1842 & 1843
1850 [James] Ayre Howell & Co. LR

Between 1851 and 1853, William Miles was not listed. In 1854 she reappeared, having undergone lengthening that under the pre-1836 method of calculation doubled her burthen.[1]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1854 T.Creighton J.DeWolf Liverpool–Calcutta LR; lengthened 1854
1860 Silver M.I.Wilson London–India LR; lengthened 1854

William Miles received sheathing with yellow metal.

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1864 W.N.de Mattos[2] Liverpool LR; lengthened 1854
1865 H.Hills G.& J.Robinson Liverpool
London–Mediterranean
LR; lengthened 1854
1869 H.Hills G.& J.Robinson London–Mediterranean LR; lengthened 1854
1883–1884 R.Williams G.&J.Robinson London LR; lengthened 1854

Fate

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William Miles stranded near Porthcawl in the Bristol Channel on 9 Aug 1883. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat Chafyn Grove rescued all twelve people on board.[4] William Miles was on a voyage from Havre de Grâce to Swansea.[5] The lifeboat first took off the mate's wife and a seaman; the rest of the crew refused to leave. When the winds increased the lifeboat came back and took off the remaining crew.[6][2]

Her entry in Lloyd's Register for 1883 carried the annotation "Lost".[7]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Farr (1971), p. 5.
  2. ^ a b c Farr (1950), pp. 62–63.
  3. ^ LR (1808), Supple. pages "W", Seq.non.W63.
  4. ^ Tovey, Ron. "A Chronology of Bristol Channel Shipwrecks" (PDF). Swansea Docks. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  5. ^ "Board of Trade Inquiry". The Times. No. 30914. London. 1 September 1883. col B, p. 7.
  6. ^ "THE LIFE-BOAT JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION". (1885) VOL XII: p.205.
  7. ^ LR (1883–1884), Seq.no.W322.

References

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  • Farr, Grahame E., ed. (1950). Records of Bristol Ships, 1800-1838 (vessels over 150 tons). Vol. 15. Bristol Record Society.
  • Farr, Grahame E., ed. (1971). Bristol Shipbuilding in the Nineteenth Century. Bristol Branch of the Historical Association, The University Bristol.