DescriptionArchaeological remains associated with the loss of this vessel are not confirmed as present at this location, but may possibly be in the vicinity.
Event and Historical Information:
The KING OF THE FOREST was a wooden schooner built at Newport in 1838 by John Young. Technical and configuration specifications are given as 115.28gt/nt; 73.3ft long x 20.8ft breadth x 12.2ft depth; 1 deck, 2 masts, schooner, square stern, carvel built, a lion figurehead. The vessel was registered new at Newport on 24 April 1838 with the owners given as John Corner and Joseph Latch trading as John Corner & Co (16 shares); John Young, merchant of Newport (8 shares); Joseph Beynon, master mariner of Newport and the nominated master (16); John Beynon, master mariner of Newport (8 shares); Henry Beynon, master mariner of Newport (8 shares); Peter Williams, master mariner of Newport (4 shares); Martha Morgan of Milford, spinster (4 shares). Transactions show the gradual acquisition of majority of shares by Joseph Beynon by 1844. At time of loss, the schooner's registry had transferred to the port of Aberystwyth and then back to Newport. It had recently been purchased from William Newett, Ship Broker of Liverpool, by James Jones, master mariner and John Hugh Jones draper, both of Aberaeron. The schooner was on passage from Cardiff to Liverpool with a cargo of railway iron under the command of master James Jones. In the company of the eight other ships it was running for the shelter of Milford Haven during a storm. The KING OF THE FOREST went onto rocks off St Ann's Light. The crew were saved and the cargo was subsequently salvaged.
Sources include:
Gater, D, 1992, Historic Shipwrecks of Wales, pg103
Goddard, T, 1983, Pembrokeshire Shipwrecks, p89-90
Larn and Larn Shipwreck Database 2002
Lloyds Register of British and Foreign Shipping, 1 July 1865 - 30 June 1866, number 117 in K
Port of Aberystwyth Shipping Register 1853-1855, Ceredigion Archive Service AT/SHIP 4, folio 40
Port of Newport Shipping Register 1837-1855, Gwent Archives D1847/2, folio 208
Port of Newport Shipping Register 1855-1868, Gwent Archives D1847/3, folio 57
Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, March 2008.
