A bank of x2 single Scotch type boilers with x3 furnaces per boiler as fitted in the Heathfield. Note ... the picture shows the furnaces to be corrugated, the furnaces of the Heathfield's boilers were regular, not corrugated.
Heathfield SS
HEATHFIELD SS
Position ... 53 01'49,5"N / 01 07'29,0"E
Type ... Cargo
Construction ... Steel
Built ... 1887
Tonnage ... 2140 grt
Dimensions ... 86.3 x 11.3 x 5.8mtrs / Poop deck 31ft ... Quarter deck 82ft ... forecastle 31ft
Engine ... 1 x 3 cylinder triple expansion engine / 21.5 , 35 , 58 x 39 inch
Boilers ... x2 Scotch type boilers, 6 furnaces total (not corrugated)
Power ... 210 nhp
Speed ... 9 knots
Builder ... Edward Withy & Co, West Hartlepool, Sunderland
Yard number ... 148 / Yard Middleton
Official number ... 94332
Engine builder ... Central Marine Engineering Works Ltd, West Hartlepool, Sunderland.
Lost ...13 / 10 / 1910
Owner at time of loss ... Eastern Navigation Co Ltd, Glasgow
Cause of loss ... Struck the Sherringham Shoal and foundered
Depth .... 20mtrs max
From the crew of 22, all but 2 men lost their lives
History of ownership
Built in 1887 as the Heathfield for F. Woods of London. In 1904 the Heathfield was taken over by Woods, Tylor & Brown. In 1909 she was once again to change hands, her new owners being The Eastern Navigation Company of Glasgow who in turn owned the Heathfield up until the time of her loss in 1910.
General history
Masters : 1890-91 C McFee: 1892-94 J McDonald: 1895-96 WW Bustin: 1897-1902 JH MacKenzie: 1903 S Blackmore: 1904 William McFee: 1905-06 AS Smith: 1907-08 TA Smith: 1909-10 William McFee.
On a voyage from Newport for Glasgow with a general cargo & a total crew of 24 Heathfield had her boats, davits & other equipment damaged during Force 9 westerley winds in the North Atlantic on 18 February 1897. 1 life lost
Circumstances of loss.
Heathfield left Blyth on 12 October 1910 for Savono with a cargo of coal. The weather increased to hurricane force through the night & the following morning she was in difficulties off Sheringham. The 2nd officer was on the bridge when she struck the Sheringham Shoal about five miles from shore on 13 October 1910. The master came from below & decided to send a boat for assistance. The 2nd officer & the boatswain reached the shore but by that time the Heathfield had disappeared. Next day only the masts & funnel were visible above water & several bodies were lashed to the rigging. The Court of Inquiry was at a loss to explain why a boat that could have held 16 men was sent off with only two unless he thought they would be safer staying aboard the Heathfield due to the heavy seas. 20 lives lost; two survivors.
Lives lost October 1910: McPhee, William, master, Bristol; Conner, C, donkeyman, Glasgow; Detert, G, seaman, Glasgow; Hill, T, fireman, Blyth; Huxham, H, fireman, Blyth; Lee, H, cook, Cardiff; Lockwood, Hugh, carpenter; Marshall, W, fireman, Blyth; McHugh, H, chief engineer, Hepburn; Nettors, James, fireman, Blyth; Norrie, NE, 2nd engineer, Glasgow; Paton, J, steward, Ardrossan; Patterson, A, fireman, Blyth; Priest, MM, seaman, Glasgow; Rowley, A, fireman, Blyth; Sloan, RJ, steward, Glasgow; St Clare, James, seaman, Glasgow; Taylor, GE, seaman, South Shields; Young, C, seaman, South Shields.
Survivors October 1910: Thomas Herbert Mowat/Muitt, 2nd mate, South Shields; Gerald Meyar, Holland.
Below ... The funerals of of some of the Heathfields crew at Wells-Next-The-Sea. The building in the background is what is now the Harbour Office.
Click on link below for official court record into the loss of the SS Heathfield.
Court record
UKHO
1950 ...WK, 8 fathoms = 48ft = 14.5mtrs
1985 ... Identified as the Heathfield. Totally broken up apart from bilges and main spars. No sign of cargo of coal.
1993 ... Swept clear at 14.9mtrs, foul at 15.5mtrs. Least depth 13.7mtrs in a general depth of 18.3mtrs. Length 90mtrs, width 40mtrs.
2015 ... Wreck 13.6mtrs, length 82mtrs, width 25mtrs, height 4mtrs.
Edward Withy & Co, builders of the Heathfield.
1869 Edward Withy formed a shipbuilding partnership with Edward Alexander in 1869.
1872 Withy, Alexander and Co, Middleton Ship Yard.
1873 When Alexander left in 1873, Withy carried on the business alone.
1874 The company name was changed to E. Withy and Co.
In 1880, the yard launched the Cyanus. This was the first steel ship to be built in the Hartlepools. Before this all ships were made of wood or iron. One of the firm’s customers was local businessman Christopher Furness.
1884 When Withy decided to move to New Zealand, Furness bought his shares in the shipyard. He made Withy’s brother, Henry, managing director.
1891 The company continued under its own name until 1891, when it was merged with some of Christopher Furness’ other businesses. It now became part of Furness, Withy and Co
Central Marine Engineering Works Ltd, builders of the Heathfield's engine.
In 1883, William Gray, a local shipbuilder (Sunderland) leased a ten-acre site for a new works, which would build engines for his ships. At the time the only other marine engine works in the port was that of Thomas Richardson. Gray recruited Thomas Mudd, who had formerly worked at Richardson’s, to design and run the new firm, which he called the Central Marine Engine Works (CMEW). The new company gave employment to 1000 men. Their first engine was produced in 1885, and was fitted in the Enfield.
CMEW soon gained a reputation for the quality of its work. This was in a large part due to Thomas Mudd, who used many of his own ideas and designs in the engines. By 1894, when he was made a director of the company, CMEW engines were being made not just for Gray’s ships, but for shipyards all over the world.
The Heathfield today
For the most part the Heathfield is a mass of broken plates and frames that lay out accross the seabed. Her two Scotch type boilers and donkey boiler are her highest points. The furnaces are no longer visible due to the sanding in of much of the wreck.
Click on link below for underwater footage