Furness & Duddon Sailing Ships

The Ada was a 133 ton two-masted schooner, the last vessel built at the Ulverston shipyard of Richard and William Charnley. She was completed there by John Peet and launched in July 1876. In her early years she was part of the fleet of James Geldart, a Barrow shipowner. The Ada was to become one of the longest surviving Furness schooners, ending her days as a floating museum on the Gannel River near Newquay, Cornwall. It appears that she was destroyed by fire in about 1953.

Name: Ada
Year Built: 1876
Gross Tons: 133
Length (feet): 88.6
Breadth (feet): 22.3
Depth (feet): 11.5
Masts: 2

The schooner Alnwick was launched in October 1856 at the shipyard of George E.Letson at Neguac (New Brunswick, Canada). Her master builder was named as Mr.MacIntosh. She was owned by William Morgan, the Duddon harbourmaster, from 1875 until 1885.

Name: Alnwick
Year Built: 1856
Net Tons: 77
Length (feet): 75.5
Breadth (feet): 21.5
Depth (feet): 9.7
Masts: 2

The Annie Ripley was a brig, built at the Ulverston shipyard of John Wilson in 1864. She was owned in Ulverston, and later by the Barrow shipowner James Fisher and in her early years she traded across the Atlantic. Her master in 1876 was Capt. Casey. The Annie Ripley was wrecked off Terheyden, Holland, on passage from Vlaardingon to Newcastle in ballast on the 15th January, 1881. Capt. J.Wilson and the crew of seven were rescued.

Name: Annie Ripley
Year Built: 1864

The brigantine Bidsie & Bell was built by A.B.Gowan & Son at Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1873. She was owned by Barrow shipowners James Fisher & Son until they dispersed their fleet of sailing ships in 1921. She was sold to Grounds of Runcorn and was stranded and became a total loss in 1925. The Bidsie & Bell was wrecked at Holyhead on the 14th January 1925. She was voyaging from Garston to Bideford with a coal cargo.

Name: Bidsie & Bell
Year Built: 1873
Masts: 2

The Commerce was a 73 ton sloop built at Ulverston in 1815. On the 23rd March 1827 she caught fire whilst lying at Rampside. She was under the command of Capt.Oliver Haddock and was bound from Ulverston to Liverpool with a cargo of 200 barrels of gunpowder. The vessel was destroyed by a fearful explosion that reportedly was heard in Lancaster, Garstang and Preston.

Name: Commerce
Year Built: 1815
Gross Tons: 73
Masts: 1

The Clara Brown was a 70 ton schooner, built in 1860, possibly by Rd.Brown, shipbuilder, of Northwich, Cheshire, who was named as her owner in 1865. At that time the schooner was registered at Lancaster, and her master was Capt.J.Poole. On the 29th January 1870 the Barrow Times carried a report that a seaman had made a claim in court for loss of wages. He had been engaged as mate of the Clara Brown at a wage of £3 10s per month in November 1869. The managing owner of the vessel was named as W.K.Chamley and the master as Capt. Postlethwaite. The Clara Brown was reported lost with all hands in the same Barrow newspaper in July 1870. She was described as a Barrow schooner and the name of her master was given as Capt. Thomas Iddon of Tarleton.

Name: Clara Brown
Year Built: 1860
Gross Tons: 70
Masts: 2

The Conway was a sloop, built at Liverpool in 1827. She was owned only for a year by Barrow's James Fisher, until she was lost off Fleetwood on the 21st April 1867.

Name: Conway
Year Built: 1827
Masts: 1

The Earl of Chatham was a barque built by the Barrow Shipbuilding Company, yard no. 127. She was launched on the 20th November 1884. Like the Earl of Jersey, she had been built for David Brown's Earl Line. The Earl of Chatham went aground one mile from Carmel Point after breaking adrift in Holyhead Bay on 4th October 1885. She became a total wreck in the gales of 13th October. She had been bound from Liverpool to Diamond Island.

Name: Earl of Chatham
Year Built: 1884
Gross Tons: 2141
Length (feet): 282.0
Breadth (feet): 42.5
Depth (feet): 24.0

The schooner Isabella Fisher was built at Northwich, Cheshire, in 1855 for James Fisher of Barrow. In 1859 she was commanded by Capt. Robert Ashburner and operated in the coasting trade. The Isabella Fisher was broken-up in 1860.

Name: Isabella Fisher
Year Built: 1855
Masts: 2

The schooner Jane T Woodall was built by Barnes at Gloucester in 1866. She was owned by the Barrow shipowner James Fisher for her whole career. The Jane T Woodall was wrecked in a Force 10 gale at Adra on the Spanish coast on the 2nd December 1875. She was outward bound from Malaga to Antwerp with a cargo of calamine ore (zinc oxide).

Name: Jane T Woodall
Year Built: 1866
Gross Tons: 144

The schooner John Bell was built at Pembroke by Allen in 1863 (?). She was owned by Barrow's James Fisher between 1863 and 1871, when she was abandoned and foundered, on the 12th March, off Cap Finisterre, on a voyage to Gibraltar with a coal cargo. Capt. Delorgy and the crew were saved by the barque Victory.

Name: John Bell
Year Built: 1863 ?

The Mona's Isle was a two-masted flat built by Joseph Ford at Douglas, Isle of Man. She was launched in 1835 and was owned by Barrow's James Fisher from 1859 until her loss in 1867. The Mona's Isle was lost off Piel Island in July 1867. A vessel called the Mona's Isle appeared very frequently in the notebooks of Barrow shipbroker William Gawith. She was described as belonging to the port of Preston, and her masters were Robert Hunter (1855 to Feb' 56), Thomas Sumner (March to Oct. '56 and Feb.'57 to June '58), George Sumner (Oct.'56 to Jan.'57), William Hilton (Jan.'57) and Robert Forshaw (May 1865).

Name: Mona's Isle
Year Built: 1835
Masts: 2