Camden (1813 ship)

Camden was built at Whitby in 1813. She served as a general trader for much of her career, though in 1820-21 she made one voyage to Bombay for the British East India Company (EIC). Between 1824 and 1831, Camden sailed under charter to the Hudson's Bay Company. Between 1833 and 1837 she was a Greenland whaler out of the Whitby whale fishery, and was the last vessel from Whitby to engage in whaling. She was last listed in Lloyd's Register in 1850.

For other ships with the same name, see List of ships named Camden.

History
United Kingdom
NameCamden
Owner
  • 1813:Simpson, Chapman, and Chapman[1]
  • 1820:Aaron Chapman (principal managing owner)[2]
BuilderW.S. Chapman & Co.[3]
Launched1813
FateLast listed 1850
General characteristics
Tons burthen399[1][3] or 400[4] (bm)
Length107 ft 3 in (32.7 m)[3]
Beam29 ft 3 in (8.9 m)[3]
PropulsionSail
Armament8 × 18-pounder carronades (1815)

Career

Camden first appeared in the registers in the Register of shipping (RS) in 1814.[5]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1814 Peacock Chapman Whitby–London RS
1815 Peacock Chapman Whitby–London RS
1816 Peacock
Johnson		 Chapman London transport RS

As a government transport, Camden made a voyage to Jamaica. She returned and then, no longer a transport, sailed to Quebec, returning to England on 16 September 1817.

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1818 Johnson
London		 Chapman London transport–Bengal RS
1818 Johnson Chapman London–Batavia Lloyd's Register (LR)

In 1813 the EIC had lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a licence from the EIC.[6] Camden, Johnson, master, sailed for Batavia on 25 February 1818, or 27 March.[7] Camden and a number of other outward bound vessels had ended up waiting at Deal. She sailed to Portsmouth, but after leaving Portsmouth had to put back. She finally sailed from Portsmouth on 31 March, bound for Batavia.

On 15 April 1819 Camden, Johnson, master, was at Mauritius, having come from Batavia and Manila. On 2 October she sailed from Gravesend, for Amsterdam.[lower-alpha 1]

EIC voyage (1820-1821)

Captain James Johnson sailed from the Downs on 2 May 1820, bound for Bombay. Camden arrived at Bombay on 21 August. Homeward bound, she was at the Cape of Good Hope on 24 January 1821, and arrived at Gravesend on 7 April.[2]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1822 Johnson Chapman London–Batavia
London–Quebec		 LR
1823 Johnson Chapman London–Quebec
London–Jamaica		 LR; some repairs 1822
1824 Johnson
Bell		 Chapman London–Jamaica LR; some repairs 1822
1825 Bell Chapman London–Honduras LR; some repairs 1822
1825 [Benjamin] Bell Chapman London–Hudson's Bay RS; some repairs 1822

In 1824 Camden moved her registry to London.[3]

Hudson's Bay Company

Between 1824 and 1831, Camden sailed under charter to the Hudson's Bay Company.[8]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1827 W.Terry Chapman London–Hudson's Bay LR; some repairs 1822 & large repairs 1827
1828 W.Terry Chapman London–Hudson's Bay RS; some repairs 1822 & thorough repairs 1827
1830 Terry
Briggs		 Chapman London–Hudson's Bay
London–Quebec		 RS; some repairs 1822 & thorough repairs 1827
1831 Briggs
[Robert] Royal		 Chapman London–Hudson's Bay
London–Norway		 RS; some repairs 1822 & thorough repairs 1827
1832 Royal
Pearson (or W.Parsons)		 Chapman London–Norway RS; thorough repairs 1827

Whaler

Between 1833 and 1837 the Chapmans employed Camden as a whaler in the Whitby whale fishery.[3] Whalers from Whitby had been whaling in Davis Strait since 1753, though by the 1830s the business had almost died out. In 1832 Phoenix, a Chapman-owned ship, was the sole vessel to go out, and she returned with 234 tons of oil (195 Imperial measure), the largest amount ever to have been brought back. The Chapmans therefore sent out Camden in 1833, as well as Phoenix.[9] Both vessels were successful in volume terms: Phoenix returned with 227 tons, and Camden returned with 230 tons.[10] However, whaling became unprofitable as the price of whale oil had fallen. Between 1833 and 1837 it varied between £23 and over £50 per ton. Whalebone prices varied between £30 and £150 per ton. Phoenix and Camden left in 1837, but Phoenix grounded on her way out and came back to port. Camden's voyage proved a failure. The Chapmans withdrew both ships from whaling, and with that whaling from Whitby ended.[10][11]

Year Master Owner Trade Whales Tuns whale oil
1833 W. Parsons
 Chapman London
Whitby whale fishery		 26 231
1834 Armstrong Chapman Whitby whale fishery[4] 35
1835 Armstrong Chapman Whitby whale fishery 6 105

On 31 October 1835 Camden, Armstrong, master, from Davis Strait, and Smales, Sinclair, master, from Quebec, ran afoul of each other. Both received considerable damage.[12]

Year Master Owner Trade Whales Tuns whale oil
1836 Armstrong Chapman Whitby whale fishery  ? 2
1837 Armstrong Chapman Whitby whale fishery 0 0
1838 Armstrong Chapman Whitby whale fishery
1839 Armstrong Chapman London—Quebec
Sources:
  • Lloyd's Register. The information was only as current as owners chose to keep it. Also, Lloyd's Register published the next year's volume half-way through the previous year.
  • Whaling data:Coltish (1842).

On 28 March 1838 Camden sailed to America.[3]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1840 Armstrong Chapman London—Quebec LR; large repairs 1836 & small repairs 1841

On at least one of her voyages, in 1845, Camden brought back lumber for the naval dockyard at Chatham.

Fate

Camden last appeared in Lloyd's Register in 1850. Her owner was still Chapman, but she had no master and no trade.[13] The last mention in ship arrival and departure data was in October 1845 when she sailed for Quebec.

Notes
  1. That Camden sailed on to Amsterdam suggests that some part of her cargo included goods still under the EIC's monopoly for the UK market.

Citations
  1. Hackman (2001), p. 76.
  2. British Library: Camden.
  3. Weatherill (1908), p. 125.
  4. Lloyd's Register (1834), Seq. №C64.
  5. '"RS (1814), "C" supple. pages.
  6. Hackman (2001), p. 247.
  7. LR (1819), "Licensed India Ships".
  8. Hudson’s Bay Company Archives – Ships’ Histories: Camden.
  9. Weatherill (1908), p. 129.
  10. Young (1840), p. 199.
  11. Weatherill (1908), p. 378.
  12. "SHIP NEWS". Morning Post, London, England, 7 November 1835, Issue 20255.
  13. Lloyd's Register (1850), Seq. №49.

References
  • Coltish, William (c. 1842). An account of the success of the ships at the Greenland and Davis Straits fisheries 1772-1842 inclusive.
  • Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
  • Weatherill, Richard (1908). The ancient port of Whitby and its shipping. Whitby: Horne and Son.
  • Young, George (D.D.) (1840). A Picture of Whitby and its Environs.
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