Doncaster (1792 ship)

Doncaster was launched in 1792 at South Shields. She spent many years as a transport. It was during this period that she became, during an experimental trial, the first British ship to be propelled by a propeller. Later, she traded across the North Atlantic with Quebec and north. She was wrecked in ice in 1835 off Cape North, Cape Breton Island.

For other ships with the same name, see Doncaster (ship).

History
Great Britain
NameDoncaster
NamesakeDoncaster
Owner
  • 18 February 1793: George Burdon, Newcastle and Matthew Smith & Robert Scotland, South Shields
  • 16 October 1806: Robert Scotland, South Shields
  • 21 December 1807: George Burdon, Newcastle
  • 18 February 1812: William Harle, Newcastle
  • 4 May 1812: William Harle, Newcastle and Edward Weatherly, Newmarket
  • 26 March 1825: John, James, William & Eleanor Harle, Newcastle and Edward Weatherly, Newmarket
  • 30 March 1829: James Harle, Newcastle and Edward Weatherly, Newmarket
BuilderLockwood Brodrick, South Shields
Launched1792
FateWrecked 24 May 1835
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen330, or 350, or 363, or 368 (bm)
Length103 ft 5 in (31.5 m)
Beam29 ft 0 in (8.8 m)
Draught103.5 x 29.0 x 19.0ft
Depth19 ft 0 in (5.8 m)
Sail planShip-rigged; later barque
Armament
  • 1797: 2 × 6-pounder + 4 × 4-pounder guns
  • 1813: 8 × 6-pounder guns

Career

Doncaster first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR), in 1794.[2]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1794 Scotland G.Burdon London transport LR
1797 Scotland
F.Paterson		 G.Burdon London transport LR

In February 1800, the English inventor and engineer Edward Shorter proposed using a propeller attached to a rod angled down temporarily deployed from the deck above the waterline of a vessel and thus requiring no water seal. The device was intended only to assist becalmed sailing vessels. He tested it on Doncaster in Gibraltar and at Malta and the device was able to achieve a speed of 1.5 mph (2.4 km/h). She thus became the first British vessel to be moved by a propeller.[3]

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1802 Paterson
J.Shout (or Chout)		 G.Burdon London transport
London–Gibraltar		 LR

Lloyd's Register ceased carrying Doncaster in 1810, but she still appeared in the Register of Shipping (RS).

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1809 J.Chout G.Bourdon Liverpool–Gibraltar LR
1809 J.Smith G.Burdon Shields–London RS; thorough repair 1806

Lloyd's List showed Doncaster, Smith, master, sailing from Quebec on 24 September 1808. Ship arrival and departure data suggest that he had been master of Doncaster since at least 1807, and that she had sailed to the West Indies and Quebec. Doncaster reappeared in Lloyd's Register in 1813. The information did not always agree with that in the Register of Shipping.

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1813 Pinckney W.Hearn London transport RS; new wales 1813 & good repair 1813
1813 W.Binckley W.Hearn London transport LR; new decks 1807 & thorough repair 1812
1815 Binkley
D.Pinckney		 W.Haven London transport
Liverpool–Newfoundland		 LR; new decks 1807 & thorough repair 1812
1816 Pinkey
Robinson		 W.Hearn
Harle & Co.		 Liverpool–Newfoundland
Liverpool–Quebec		 RS; new wales 1813 & good repair 1813
1819 Robinson Harle & Co. Newcastle–Quebec RS; new wales 1813 & good repair 1813
1820 H.Marshall Harle & Co. London–Quebec RS; new wales 1812 & good repair 1818

On 25 November 1824, Doncaster, of Newcastle, Marshall, master, was in the harbour at Portsmouth. She was discharging timber from Quebec when she was forced on shore, where she grounded.[4]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1826 H.Marshall Harle & Co. Liverpool–Quebec LR
1827 H.Marshall Harle & Co.
Captain & Co.		 Liverpool–Quebec
London–Nova Scotia		 LR; large repair 1818 & small repairs 1826
1828 H.Marshall Harle & Co.
Captain & Co.		 Liverpool–Quebec
London–Nova Scotia		 LR; large repair 1818 & small repairs 1826
1830 H.Marshall
G.Winships		 Harle & Co. Liverpool LR; large repair 1818 & small repairs 1826
1832 G.Winships
J.Foster		 Harle & Co. London–Miramichi, New Brunswick LR; large repair 1818, & small repairs 1826 & 1832

Fate

Doncaster, Foster, master, was lost on 24 May 1835, off Cape North, Cape Breton Island. Ice crushed her and she sank off St. Paul Island, Nova Scotia She was on a voyage from Newcastle upon Tyne to Miramichi. The brig Dorothys rescued Doncaster's six crew members.[5]

Citations
  1. Tyne Built Ships: Doncaster.
  2. LR (1794), Seq.No.D165.
  3. Carlton (2012), p. 2.
  4. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 5964. 30 November 1824. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735034.
  5. "Shipping Intelligence". The Hull Packet. No. 2642. 10 July 1835.

References
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