The wreck identified as the BENGOLLYUN lies in 45m of water with its keel orientated 300 (bow)/ 120 (stern) degrees. It has a surveyed length of 62.9m, a width of 12.1m, and a maximum height above the seabed of 8m. The wreck is upright on the seabed and the hull is fairly intact, apart from a large damaged area aft of amidships on the starboard side. This damage may be consistent with a collision, possibly the cause of sinking. The identification of the wreck was confirmed by the recovery of the ship's bell in 1993, inscribed 'BENGOLLYUN'. An iron bowsprit resting over the raked bow was reported by divers in 1993, and a large spar/mast element is visible in the forward part of the vessel in the most recent surveys.
This wreck was originally located and examined by the UKHO in 1988, and most recently in 2022. It was subject to a detailed survey by Bangor University in May 2019. Associated research was undertaken by Dr Innes McCartney (2022) for the Echoes from the Deep project, which corroborated the existing identification of the wreck as the BENGOLLYUN.
The wreck is reported to lie with its bows to the southeast and is reported to be fairly intact. The broken off stump of the bowsprit still hangs over the raked bow. The hull appears to have collision damage slightly aft of amidships on the starboard side.
Event and Historical Information:
The BENGOLLYUN (alt. BENZOLLAN) was an iron-hulled 3-masted full-rigged ship built in 1862 at West Hartlepool by Pile, Spence and Co. (Official No. 44665). The vessel was 1155 grt; 201.7ft (61.5m) length, 36.2ft (11m) breadth, 22.7ft (6.9m) depth. The vessel is noted in the Lloyds Register (1889-90) as having two decks (wooden), two bulkheads, and haveing been 'cemented'. The 1889 register also notes that the ship was fitted with partial new decks fitted in 1875. An annotation under its name records that is was 'Lost'. The ship was originally owned by McKinnon of Liverpool (Lloyds Register 1863-64). Its name was chaned to NOUMEA in 1871, but had reverted to BENGOLLYUN by 1880. At the time of loss was owned by Foley and Company, registered in London.
In March 1889 the BENGOLLYUN had sailed from Liverpool under tow of the tug CRUISER until 4 miles outside Liverpool Bar. The tow was discharged around 4.30pm on 20 March 1889 and the ship continued on its voyage to Inquique, Chile. A violent storm blew up in the evening and it is presumed that the ship foundered or may have been in a collision.
The first indication of the loss came from a variety of objects that were washed ashore along the coast of Anglesey. The Customs Officer at Amlwch began to take charge of the items, including a feather pillow and a lifebuoy. The first items taken in hand by the Customs Officer were a ship's boat marked with BENZOLLAN London on the stern and an oar on 22 March 1889 at Porthlullen. On the 24 March, timbers and a deck house were washed up. On 30 March, a wooden figurehead was washed ashore at Amlwch and is described as `a fiddle head with a shield underneath and carved down the sides with some semi-circular ovals, painted white, but appears to have been painted blue some time, it is 6ft 8in in length, 5ft 6in round the broadest part of the shield with the wood at the back part of it, the bolt is 1in. More poignant items include two seamen's chests belonging to Sverge Blandford and J Fr Couper. The later appeared to contain books suggesting an apprentice. On 25 March, the local Lloyd's agent received a telegram from the father of J Fr Couper with regard to the possibility of finding his son's body. On 1 April 1889, the Receiver of Wreck forwarded one of the chests to W M Couper, Corn Merchant, Boston.
Sources include:
Depositions of the Receiver of Wreck, H M Customs, Amlwch, Anglesey Archive Service document reference WM2025/6
Lloyds Register Documentation, LRF-PUN-LON682-0345-R: https://hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/ships/bengollynn-1862/
Lloyds Register of Shipping 1863-64, B168 https://archive.org/details/HECROS1863/page/n225/mode/2up
Lloyds Register of Shipping 1889-90, B317 https://archive.org/details/lloydsregisters28unkngoog/page/n90/mode/2up?view=theater
McCartney, I., 2022. Echoes from the Deep. Leiden: Sidestone Press. https://www.sidestone.com/books/echoes-from-the-deep
UKHO ID 7369: Contains public sector information, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, from UK Hydrographic Office.
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?67146
J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, December 2024.