Primrose - a general history

Official No. 67547; Code Letters MHLB.

Owners: 1873 Cory, Lohden & Co. Hartlepool; 1882 E. Cory & Co. West Hartlepool; 1887 R. Irvine & Co. (Jackson Bros. & Cory) West Hartlepool; 1890 Jackson Bros. & Cory, West Hartlepool.

Masters: 1873-80 Hardcastle; 1880 Boyes; 1881 Hardcastle; 1881 Scoones; 1881 Vickers; 1882-86 Hardcastle; 1887-89 Smith; 1889-90 Svensden; 1890-91 Peacock; 1892 TH Lumsden; 1894 William Pyper Symons (b. Macduff, Scotland).

Voyages: arrived Hamburg 2 January 1881 (master severely injured); left Hamburg 7 January 1881 for Greenock; arrived Greenock 13 January 1881; arrived Glasgow 17 January 1881; left Glasgow 20 January 1881 for Bordeaux; arrived Bordeaux 25 January 1881; left Bordeaux 29 January 1881 for Bilbao; arrived Middlesbrough 8 February 1881; left Middlesbrough 16 February 1881 for Huelva; arrived Huelva 24 February 1881.

Primrose left Waterford on 7 February 1894 bound for Rouen with oats & a crew of 15 all told. At 1am on 9 February she struck on the Runnel Stone (or Rundleston) rocks of the coast of Cornwall & was wrecked. The crew landed at Mousehole in the ship’s boats. No lives were lost.

Northern Daily Mail 9 February 1894:

 ‘The crew of fifteen of the steamer Primrose were landed today at Mousehole near Penzance. They reported that owing to a fog which prevailed during the night their vessel struck the Runnel Stone Reef off Land’s End & sank. The Primrose, which was an 800 ton vessel, is registered at Hartlepool. The Primrose was on a passage from Waterford for Rouen with oats. Captain Symons says he ascribes the grounding of the vessel to the fog & to an error of judgement by the officers left in charge. Fireman, Hills, of Dartford, was badly scalded.’

The mate was found to blame for the casualty & his certificate was suspended for six months.

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