Storm 1806 by Geoff 9 February 2010Does anyone have information about a storm off Brighton & Hove on 15 December 1806 when a gun-brig was wrecked off Hove?7 replies Re: Storm 1806 by Andy Grant 10 February 2010Hi Geoff, Might I ask where you have acquired this information from? I find it rather odd that none of the contemporary writers mention it. There was elsewhere reference to a 14 gun clinker bottom sloop foundering at Havre around that time. Regards Andy Re: Storm 1806 by Geoff 10 February 2010Hi Andy, The information comes from a letter printed in The Morning Chronicle, London, Friday, December 19, 1806. I’ve been unable to find any refernce to it in any of the histories, well known or otherwise. Perhaps some kind person could troll through The Sussex Weekly Advertiser and see if there are any entries there. Regards, Geoff Re: Storm 1806 by Andy Grant 11 February 2010Hi again Geoff, As there was a war on at this time, there were a number of books published which detail the loss of all armed vessels. Using the appendix of all vessels lost during the conflict in “The naval history of Great Britain” by William James & Frederick Chamier, the only gun boat lost was “The Clinker” captained by Lt. John Salmon. This foundered whilst cruising off Havre in December 1806 with the loss of all 12 crew. There were no other vessels listed as foundering, leaving three possibilities. The report you mention mistakenly identified Hove instead of Havre as the location. The ship was of foreign origin, but this seems unlikely due to the war status. An error was made in the report to the government of the day. The weather does not appear to have been unfavourable in the area, as another sloop departed Portsmouth for Havre on that day. On the 16th the wind at Deal was northwards and favourable but turned westwards later in the day.Regards Andy Re: Storm 1806 by Jeremy Homeward 11 February 2010At the risk of sounding obsequious, Andy, you never cease to amaze me. Regards Re: Storm 1806 by Glen Robins 11 February 2010I can’t see the place being a mix-up with Havre, since the letter written from Brighton in the Morning Chronicle mentions that a body was washed ashore at “the little village of Hove, about a mile to the west of this town”. The body was said to have been in the water “but a short time”. The letter doesn’t actually report anyone seeing a ship sink, but just the body washing ashore, so the man may have fallen overboard or been washed from further afield (if you can say “afield” when talking about the sea!) Re: Storm 1806 by Geoff 11 February 2010I should have looked here before–The Encyclopaedia of Brighton states that “Other destructive storms have included 15 December 1806 when much of the Marine Parade cliff top was washed away from Lower Rock Gardens to Royal Crescent”.No, I don’t think Hove was mixed up with Havre. I give below the text of the whole letter:A Letter from Brighton, Dated Dec. 16, says:- “A melancholy circumstance, it is at present believed here, occurred in the offing yesterday. A gun-brig it was said, had foundered, and, to corroborate this report, the body of a marine, as supposed, was washed on shore at the little village of Hove, about a mile to the West of this town. The man evidently had been but a short time in the water. In his pocket was found a five shilling and a half crown piece, and the remains of a pound note of the Union Bank here. Further particulars of this unpleasant affair I shall transmit to you as soon as I can correctly obtain them.–Such a continuance of bad weather as has desolated this district for almost the last three months, was never before witnessed by the oldest inhabitant. The storm raged violently all last night, and another tremendous excavation was formed in the Cliff, to the East, by the height and violence of the tide. The road from the Rock Buildings to the Crescent is now completely divided, and the householders are beginning to be very uneasy for their property. The inclemency of the weather also has done serious injury to many houses in the town. Not less than ten have been blown down, and the greater part of them almost level with the ground. They were principally new houses, and not inhabited; happily, therefore, no lives have been lost. The storm yet continues to rage with great violence, and much more damage is anticipated. Fortunately not a sail is to be seen in the Channel.”It is interesting to compare this with Defoe’s account in The Storm, published in 1704, which was a collection of accounts from all over the country regarding the Great Storm of 26 November 1703, which caused a great deal of damage. Incidentally, Defoe was a caustic writer who often criticised the Government and as a result often found himself in prison. In this work, he attacks the Government of the day for the loss of warships in the Downs, and this led to many copies of the book being seized and destroyed.It makes an interesting read. Re: Storm 1806 by Andy Grant 12 February 2010Hi Geoff, Whilst the storm affecting Brighton described in the letter can be verified, the loss of a gun-brig is evidently presumed. It is also salient that it was ‘supposed’ that the body was that of a marine. The losses of gunships (in numerous publications) does not support the writer’s assumptions, so the story in that respect is at best conjecture.The storms experienced during the early 18th century were far more widespread and catastrophic than the one reported in the letter. Although it affected Brighton badly, it appears not to have been severe enough to have caused major reportable damage elsewhere. Regards Andy Add your replyHiddenAdd your title Add your wordsWould you like to add some images (optional)? If so, how many images would you like to add? 1 2 3 4 5 6Your image files will be uploaded when you submit this form. They should be .jpg or .png files. The maximum filesize is 5Mb.First imageAccepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif.FileTitleSecond imageAccepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif.FileTitleThird imageAccepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif.FileTitleFourth imageAccepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif.FileTitleFifth imageAccepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif.FileTitleSixth imageAccepted file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif.FileTitleAbout youFinally, please tell us a few details about you, so we can contact you about your contribution if we need to. We won't use your contact details for any other purpose.Your name First Last Your e-mail address* SubmitThat's all. Thanks very much. You now just need to agree to our Terms of Use and press the Submit button. After that, please wait until your contribution is uploaded. You'll then see a 'Thankyou' page.Terms of Use* I accept this website's Terms of Use (opens in new window) and confirm that the material I am uploading does not infringe the copyright of any third party.Privacy* I consent to my name and e-mail address being stored along with this contribution, and to the website editors communicating with me by e-mail about the contribution if necessary. My name may be published alongside the contribution on the website, but my e-mail address will not be published. My information will not be shared with any third party (see our Privacy Statement - opens in a new window). *Δ Share thisFacebookPinterestTwitterLinkedin
