Barque Iota Shipwreck - Tintagel, Cornwall
Posted by: SMacB
N 50° 39.765 W 004° 45.471
30U E 375764 N 5613796
The Iota was an Italian vessel bound for the West Indies with a cargo of Welsh coal. In December 1893, like many other vessels before and since, it was driven onto the North Cornish shore in a fierce gale.
Waymark Code: WMWRNP
Location: South West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/08/2017
Views: 0
The Iota was an Italian vessel bound for the West Indies with a cargo of Welsh coal. In December 1893, like many other vessels before and since, it was driven onto the North Cornish shore in a fierce gale.
"on 20 December 1893, at Lye Rock when the barque Iota was driven against the cliff. The crew were able to get onto the rock and apart from a youth of 14 were saved by four men (three of these from Tintagel: one of them Charles Hambly received a Vellum testimonial and three medals for bravery afterwards). The story is told in verse in 'Musings on Tintagel and its Heroes' by Joseph Brown, 1897; the youth was buried in Tintagel Churchyard and the grave is marked by a wooden cross (his name is given in the bureaucratic Italian usage, surname first: Catanese Domenico)."
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One of the lifebuoys from the Iota has also been placed in the south transept of the church as a memorial to disaster.