Position ...  Withheld

Depth ... 20mtrs

Port ... Wisbech (as above)

Built ... 1830 (Hull)

Builder ... Unknown

Owner ... Thomas Teed

Master ... Thomas Teed

Cargo ... Stone

Date of loss ... 13th March 1852

Construction type ... Timber, clinker built, Iron bolted frames, single deck

Type ... Humber Sloop

Length ... 55 feet (approx)

Beam ... 15 feet (approx)

Draught ... 6 feet (approx)

Tonnage ... 58 tons

Cause of loss ... Sprung a leak off the Dudgeon Shoal in a NNE force 8 gale, foundered off Cley

Below ... The Walcott, built 1845 by John Wray and Sons of Burton Stather, this being of similar design, build and dimensions as that of the Rival.

History of the Rival

Built in 1830, the Rival was a 55 foot, 58 ton Humber Sloop. She first appears in the Lloyds register in 1831, with her port of registration being Hull, her owner being T. Mason and her Master being J. Riches. Over her life span, the Rival was to change hands several times before her loss.

 History of ownership and masters

2nd owner, 1835 - 1836 Lloyds Register ... J. Bagnoll, home port Wisbech

3rd owner, 1847 - 1848 Lloyds Register ... Owner G. Haley, master Gusner, home port Wisbech.

4th owner, 1848 - 1849 Lloyds Register ... Joint owners, G. Haley, Thomas Teed, masters Gusner and Thomas Teed, home port Wisbech.

In 1849 - 1850 Lloyds Register entry shows the Rival to be the sole property of Thomas Teed, no doubt at this point his partnership with G. Haley has disolved. From this point on, until her loss, Thomas Teed took not only full ownership of the Rival, but also became her sole master.

Thomas Teed, born 1817, married Elizabeth Warner at St Peters Church, Wisbech on the 15th June 1843.

Circumstances of loss

On the 13th March 1852, whilst on passage from Gainsborough (on the river Trent) to London with a cargo of stone, the Rival found herself in a NNE force 8. After the discovery of a leak and with no means of repair, she was abandoned by her crew off the Dudgeon and last seen drifting towards the North Norfolk coast offshore from Cley where she eventually foundered. The crew were picked up by the Wheatsheaf of London, the Wheatsheaf then landing them at Yarmouth. From Yarmouth the crew of the Rival were given passage home to Wisbech courtesy of the Shipwreck Fisherman's and Mariners Benevolent Society.

There is at present speculation as to whether the Rivals cargo of stone blocks was destined for the re-building of Parliament, at present this has not been confirmed either way.

Below ... Stone blocks (Mandy Frary)

The wreck today

Today, what now remains of the Rival and her cargo, sits on a sandy seabed at 20mtrs. Her cargo of stone blocks is still very evident, this taking the form of a pile of quarried 1 foot square stone blocks, the dimensions of these being some 4mtrs high, by 10mtrs by 4mtrs approx. All but nothing now remains of the vessel apart from a large timber that stands almost upright amongst the pile of stone. The thinking due to the orientation of the large timber amongst the cargo, is that it could well be all that now remains of her mast.