Magnum found this one as well as the bell, which had no name unfortunately, but cargo and position makes it a good bet..
SV Clio
The Clio had been in service since 1845 when in1876 she was in collision with the Austrian steamer Narenta in fog between Beachy Head and Dungeness.
Registered as a barque , the three masted vessel had square rigged sails on the fore and mid mast and fore and aft rigged sails at the stern ; also additional fore sails rigged to a long bowsprit .
At 107.5ft long and 27.7ft wide Clio was rated at 205 tons.
Built by Austin and Mills of Southwick Sunderland she was launched 23rd April 1845 and registered in the ownership of Collings and Co London on 22nd May 1845 for service to Demerera , Guyana from Sunderland.
Clio had several owners over her life while mostly in the West Indies Trade, the last owner was C Harrison 14 St Hildas Terrace Whitby, and the Captain John Cummins.
The Clio’s last voyage to Newcastle started in Gabes ( Kabes ) Tuniscia , a small port on the mouth of a river with a bar using lighters to load to anchored ships. Only opened up to international trade by the opening of a customs post in 1874. ( now Tuniscia’s 6th largest city )
Loaded in mid April 1876 with iron ore and Esparto Grass an important return cargo for UK to Mediterranean coal ships. Used in paper making 147518 tons were imported to the UK in 1876 with 21820 tons from Tunisia.
The high quality hematite iron ore could have been for Beckow and Vaughan new Bessemer steel plant opened in 1875at Eston Middlesborough which couldn’t used the low quality local ores they had been using for iron making.
The dense iron ore would have left space in the hold for the Esparto Grass. To avoid making the vessel to stiff the ore was made into a wedge shape mound along the center line. ( steam ships often carried Esparto as a deck cargo over iron ore in the hold not a viable proposition for a sailing ship.
On about the16th of April the Clio left Gabes for Newcastle on Tyne, , on the 31st of May the master Captain John Cummins died and on the 1st of June the Clio put into Lisbon where the captain was interred . Captain F Leng (could be Long ) of Boston took over command leaving Lisbon on the 8th of June.
By Wednesday the 5th of June at 8.30 pm Clio was off Beachy Head 5 miles west by north of the Royal Sovereign Light Vessel. A thick fog soon enveloped her and the fog horn kept going. There was a nice breeze South by West the vessel traveling through the water at six knots. Between 9 and10 o'clock the lookout reported a steamers lights some distance on the starboard bow this was the Narenta ( poss Marentha ) an Austrian vessel registered in Trieste under the command of Captain Druscovich. The steamers course it was stated was not altered a single point , her whistle was not heard and shortly afterwards she came within hailing distance of the barque. Captain Leng shouted several times to port his helm and in about a minute the steamer struck the barque by the fore rigging cutting into her decks and immediately backing off. Some of the crew including the captain clambered onto the steamers rigging and saved themselves, while others were by the force of the collision hurled overboard and one or two men jumped into the water. Captain Leng and his crew lowered one of the steamers boats and succeeded in rescuing three of the five who were overboard. The steamer also lowered a boat and burned a blue light for some time. The Clio sank in about four to five minutes after the collision John Best AB of Gottenburg and John Stent an apprentice were drowned.
The Narenta landed the survivors at Cardiff.
Lots of reports give position as 15 mile off Dungeness , the captains account of time and distance from Beachy Head and the fact the cargo is iron ore make the Clio a good bet for where we found her.
