There could not be a more suitable name for the St.
Keverne Reef than the Manacles which means Church
Stones. Maen Eglos was the old Cornish term from which
Manacles is derived. These stones were visible from the
Church, and mariners passing them, easily recognise
their position by noting the spire of the Church. This
Spire has been their sign-post for many
generations.
Many and great however have been the disasters on the
same rocks, one of which stands out exceptionally
pitiful.
It occurred at a time when Britain was carrying out
her determination to strike a bold stroke for the
rescue of Europe, Wellesley and Moore were struggling
with Bonaparte in Spain, winning and losing
alternately, but eventually compelled to retire on
Corunna.
After a long and arduous march, accompanied by
privations unsurpassed in history, our soldiers waited
for the ships which were to convey them home. The
transport "Dispatch" was in the harbour, and
in it part of the 7th Dragoons embarked. They had lost
many men - numbers of horses, worn out, had fallen by
the way, and had been mercifully shot. The Company
itself was overcome by fatigue and semi-starvation -
the enemy, in hot pursuit, was gathering its forces
about Corunna - the fleet, which should have been
there, was absent - anxiety for St. John Moore, and
their cornered fellow warriors, added distress to a
disheartened band - and there was nothing to relieve
their depression excepting the fact that they were
going home.
They started on the 14th January, two days before Sir
John Moore laid down his life for his country. The
weather at the time was bitterly cold and rough, but
the Bay of Biscay was passed in safety and the Lizard
was rounded on the night of the 21st.
What happened later was described in the old Church
Register:
“Jan 22nd, 1809. On Sunday morning about half
past three o'clock the "Dispatch"
Transport (George Fenwick, Master) having three
Officers and seventy men of the 7th, Light Dragoons (on
her way from Corunna in Spain) was driven on the rocks
near Coverack, and all on board perished except seven
private Dragoons. The three unfortunate Officers who
had survived a disastrous campaign to perish on the
English Shore were, Major Cavendish. Captain
Duckinfield, and Lieutenant Waldegrave.”
An Act had been passed the previous year
which'required that the bodies of those cast up by
the sea should be buried in the parish graveyards, and
not on the cliffs as hitherto.
But the Act was unnecessary in the case of St. Keverne
for many records in previous centuries tell how
Church-town men bore shipwrecked bodies to St. Keverne
where they had Christian burial and were reverently
laid to rest under the shadow of the old Church.
The victims of the awful calamity which befel the
"Dispatch"' were interred by the North
Wall of the old graveyard, and a marble tablet was
raised in their memory. Subsequently, however, this
tablet was removed to the interior of the Church. Upon
it are engraved the names of the Officers who perished
and the circumstances of the wreck with the following
lines:
When Britain sends at liberty's command
Her ready youth to free a stranger land,
She bears her slain in triumph to the shore,
And the proud parent shows the wounds before.
But when her sons, each form of danger past,
Strain their glad eyes to view her bills at last;
If then the tempest rolls the foaming flood,
And her own ocean 'whelms her bravest blood,
When there a Bukenfield, a Cavendish here,
And youthful Waldegrave press a wat'ry bier;
Their mourning comrades feel a moisten'd
cheek,
And bid the marble their dumb sorrow speak.
Tyranti the barrier of thy rage, the deep
Aids thy fierce boast, and English mothers weep.
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but its removal left the grave without a monument, and
its site was evidently for a time forgotten. Another
wreck, and the digging of another gigantic grave
revealed the spot forty-six years later. The soldiers
had been buried in uniforms, and the cloth of their
coats had retained its original colour while the
buttons left no doubt on the matter.
A granite cross now stands above them erected by Sir
Arthur Vivian of Bosahan who generously came forward a
few years ago and placed it there at his own
expense.
As recorded in the old registers it was half past
three when the "Dispatch" was driven ashore
(One Dean's Point). An hour and a half later on the
same Manacles another ship was foundering, and one
hundred Officers and Men and six passengers of His
Majesty's Brig of Was "Primrose" were
grappling with the waves. It was an awful contest which
could have but one result, and despite the fact that
the brave fishermen of the parish went to their rescue,
only one boy, John Meaghen - emerged from it alive.
Connected with this youth is a strange pathetic
story.
Meanwhile the coast was converted into a vast
mortuary, where the dead awaited burial and the living
a shelter. The Vicar and men of St. Keverne took part
in the performance of the last rites.
The week of the "Primrose" is recorded
beneath the wreck of the "Dispatch" and the
following lines complete the entry:
  On the same morning about 5 o'clock
the Brig of War "Primrose" (James Mein, Esq.,
Commander) was wrecked on the Manacle rocks. Her
complement of Officers and Men consisted of 120
besides six passengers, only one poor lad was preserved
from the dreadful catastrophe. From these wrecks
(including the "Dispatch") 104 bodies were
buried in the churchyard of the parish between Jan 24
and April 2.
The Rev. William Whitehead was Vicar at the time and
the records are signed by his hand.
Happily among the living was Lieut. Col. Vivian, and
we turn with relief from a scene of woe to one of
chastened gladness. No sooner did Mr. John Vivian hear
of the calamity than he hastened with Cap. Treweeke to
Coverack. There he found the gallant Colonel, and the
seven surviving privates, whom he took to his home,
(with the exception of one too ill to be moved) where
they received every care and attention. Between this
dragoon and the boy saved from the "Primrose"
there was a pathetic friendship formed.
In other documents we are glad to read the the bravery
of the Porthoustock fishermen is highly praised, the
Government recognizing their self-denying effort
granted each helper a handsome gratuity on this sad
occasion.
Mr. Grylls, Cap Norris with part of his troop of the
13th Dragoons under Sergeant Connor from Helston, aided
by Lieut Cock of Coverack Signal Station rendered
valuable assistance. It is said that fifty coffins were
sent from Helston for the internments
From the “Dispatch” a number of horses
were washed ashore. They were buried on the Meirs near
the Coastguard rocket poles. The mound ridge is quite
conspicuous.
Editors note:-
We have yet to transcribe about ten pages of Rev.
Diggens text on wrecks and they include a sad tale of
the emigrant ship “The Barque
John”. The story is told on this website
through the original newspaper articles and the
transcript of the subsequent trial. We hope to
transcribe Rev. Diggens original pages when time
permits.
Clan Alpine" struck a rock off the Black Head and
went to pieces. Seventeen persons were drowned.
Following this disaster the "Mary West" went
ashore the same year, and the "Sultana
Southdown" two years later, but these were minor
calamities compared with the havoc wrought in 1891 by a
blizzard which swept both sea and land in the month of
March.
While the storm was at its height a smack was seen
close to Porthoustock Cove in such a perilous position
that the safety of those on board depended on beaching
her. James Henry Cliff, second coxswain of the Life
Boat offered to carry a line through the surf. He put a
rope round his body, gave one end to the watchers on
shore, and plunged into the boiling surf. His efforts
were successful, and one by one the three sailors were
landed, almost as soon as they were saved "The
Dove" went to pieces.
A more melancholy fate awaited the occupants of two
other vessels which were seen to be in distress at the
mouth of the Bay. Not near enough to beach they were
cut off from help. The waves were thundering at the
door of the Life Boat House, and to launch a boat was
an impossibility - and so the smacks went down in sight
of shelter, and all on board were drowned.
 Nor does the tale of horrors end here,
another and more awful sight met the eyes of the St.
Keverne men the following morning. Between Pennare
Point and Porthoustock lay the "Bay of
Panama" a ship of 2,282 tons register.
She was covered with snow and icicles, and some of her
crew were frozen to death in the rigging and on deck.
One local man volunteered to swim across to her with a
line. Later the rocket apparatus was used and 19 of her
crew were saved, eighteen persons however perished,
from cold exposure and drowning.
What was to be done with the beautiful disabled ship
and her cargo of seventeen thousand bales of jute, and
how to communicate with Falmouth were questions which
then arose amid the mournful accompaniments of
wreckage and required an answer, but telegraph wires
and poles alike lay broken by the way side and snow
drifts rendered traveling a seeming impossibility. In
face of such overwhelming difficulties however Joseph
H. James of St. Keverne set out to accomplish the task,
and on foot reached Falmouth utterly exhausted, but
capable of delivering his messages, a purse of gold was
publicly presented, to him for his bravery.
The survivors were removed to Falmouth and the dead
were borne to the old graveyard.
Later in the year "The Baron" a French Brig
was totally wrecked on the Lowlands bringing up the
number of disasters to five in eight short months.
Fortunately however 1892 stands out brightly against
the proceeding year, and no wrecks are recorded till
1894 ("The Clifton Grove" having in the
meantime "got off" from the Lowlands).
The "Forester" and the "Dryad"
were the next two wrecks, both on the Manacles, and
both in the month of November.
Then followed the destruction of the
"Andola" in January 1895. As daylight began
to dawn she struck on the Carclew Rocks, and the
Porthoustock Life Boat was called to her assistance.
Twenty eight of her crew were happily saved, but the
ship registering 5,000 tons perished where she struck.
This happened at the beginning of the year.
On Nov 26th the Manacles claimed another victim the
"Anne Elizabeth" a barque from Christiana,
which foundered inside the Lowlands, and although the
Rocket apparatus was the means of saving four of her
crew, five men were drowned.
The "Liffey" and the "Crokai" were
the next to strike. These however were re-floated -
unlike the "Plantagenet" which listed almost
as soon as she received her first impact, and
subsequently became a total wreck. Her crew of fourteen
were happily landed on the Blackhead without the loss
of a single life. This happened in 1897.
In 1898 the "Mohegan" went down. This
disaster resulting in the loss of 107 lives, and the
total destruction of the vessel was one of the most
appalling and, at the same time one of the most
inexplicable wrecks, which ever happened on the Cornish
Coast.
She struck as the last glimmer of daylight faded at a
quarter to 7 on the 14th day of October, and in less
than 20 minutes she was under water, with only her
masts, funnel, and davits above to mark her
whereabouts. What brought her in such a perilous
position will ever remain a mystery. After passing the
Eddystone the Captain who wishes to clear the Manacles
and the Lizard usually steers west-south-west but Cap
Griffiths the Commodore of the Atlantic Transport line
(by some error of compasses or judgment) drove his ship
in a West by North direction right on to the Minstrel
rock, in the heart of the Manacles.
An ominous, grating sound told the passengers and crew
what had happened, and there was a general rush from
dinner tables, cabins, and engine rooms, to the upper
deck. The situation was awful, and was rendered trebly
so by the sudden extinction of the electric lights.
Darkness above, a swell on the sea around, a mournful
tolling of the warning bell - the rising of water in
the ship, all contributed to swell a cause for panic.
But of panic there was none, and clear, encouraging and
commanding was Chief Officer Couch's voice as he
gave orders for the women and children to be saved
first. The Captain too was active and cool, but the
moments were passing and each one brought the
"Mohegan's" doom nearer.
She had been struck on her starboard side forward, her
fore part was becoming engulfed, her ship's boats
were launched with difficulty and one containing many
passengers upturned as she touched the water. Much
remained to be done when with a mighty plunge the
vessel went down and was locked on the reef, never to
rise again.
Then came the time of anguish and the shrieks which
arose from masts, boats and broken spars will ever be
associated in the minds of the hearers on shore with
that terrible night. By that time however the Life Boat
from Porthoustock (under the guidance of James Hill,
Coxswain) had been launched, and the Rocket Apparatus
(in charge of Mr. Jeft'ers) also was on its way to
Manacle Point.
All were eager to help, and had there been light
instead of darkness more lives might have been saved,
but the position of the vessel was a matter of
conjecture, and it was most difficult to decide which
course to take. Meanwhile the Life-boat threaded her
way among the deadly rocks continually sending out her
signals, at length cries of distress guided her to the
ship's boat which was three parts full of water,
and from this boat she rescued twenty seven, and picked
up from the water Miss Noble. These were landed at
Porthoustock about eleven, and were conducted at once
to the cottages where fires, beds, and food awaited
them. While they were being tended the Life Boat was
once more piloting her way on the dark heaving waters.
It was 2 o'clock in the morning when it returned,
and the saved were in a worse condition than those in
the first boat, having been 7 hours struggling for very
life.
The next few days no pen can adequately describe, The
Vicarage and Church were places of mourning and joy.
Bereaved friends wept while relatives of the rescued
ones rejoiced.
It was a time for cabling, interviewing, identifying,
a time of inquiries and inquests of sheltering and
hospitality. From the Squire at Lanarth to the humblest
cottager, all opened their doors to the stranger, and
did what they could to those who needed help.
Unhappily 107 were past human ministration and 48 of
these were laid in the Church, at one time. Some of
them destined to be carried across the Atlantic. For
the others one vast grave, and a few smaller ones were
being prepared in the old Churchyard.
Sunday intervened between the wreck and the burial,
and the Services conducted by Canon Diggens took place
in the presence of the dead and the living.
The following Wednesday, the great funeral took place.
The Service was read by the Vicar assisted by the Rev
Dr. Eajar of Manaccan and the Rev.F.R. Sell, The
committal sentences were said as each separate coffin
was being lowered into the big grave. Loving hands had
made wreaths for every coffin (with flowers supplied
from Lanarth), Life Boat men and survivors were the
bearers. The following Sunday Memorial Services were
conducted by Archdeacon Cornish (afterwards Bishop of
St Germans) and Canon Diggens.
A beautiful stained glass window now occupies a place
above the altar. It was presented by the Atlantic
Transport Company, and dedicated by Archdeacon Cornish,
in the presence of a vast congregation, who contributed
for the erection of a large Granite Cross which now
marks the site of the grave on the North Side of the
Church, with the simple word "Mohegan" on
it.
After the wreck of the "Mohegan" the
necessity for a light was strongly urged by the Vicar,
both in the TIMES Newspaper and Trinity House, but no
notice whatever was taken of the appeal until a larger
and more important ship went ashore the following year
on the same reef.
Happily no loss of life was occasioned by the
stranding of "The Paris", but it might have
been otherwise, and in the face of what might have been
the Brethren of Trinity House acted with promptitude.
Such a ship on the Manacles was "like a great
town" said a farmer who saw her lights as the mist
shifted on Whit-Sunday morning 1899!
Her size may be gathered from the fact that she
carried 800 souls, who were roused from their sleep by
the booming of a gun, and other signals of distress at
1.30 a.m. These signals were answered by Socket
Apparatus and Life Boat, but unlike the
"Mohegan" the "Paris" had steamed
on to a bed of rocks, and the elements of imminent
peril were missing. All were able to leave without
haste, and were taken in safety to Falmouth by the
"Dragon".
A Service of Thanksgiving followed immediately after
their arrival, and never was there greater cause for
gratitude. Had not a pilot boat been hovering near
which immediately showed a warning light, and thus
turned the Liner's course, a disaster far exceeding
in magnitude that of the "Mohegan" had been
the result.
As it was the stranded "Paris" provided
entertainment for the Whitsuntide holidays and
thousands of people from different parts flocked to see
her. Such a ship, with her 20,000 horse power engine,
her fans which could revolve at the rate of 400 times a
minute, her furnaces which consumed 500 tons of coal
per day, her enormous rudder, her spacious decks, and
stately saloons were a rare sight, and men wondered if
she could possibly ever be refloated. Divers were at
once engaged to find out the extent of the damage, with
a view to saving her, and lightening operations
began.
The Liverpool Salvage Company took the matter in hand
and six powerful tugs exerted all their strength to
move her, but day after day passed leaving the ship in
the same position despite every effort, and there she
remained until a German firm released her for a quarter
of a million pounds, they agreed to take that sum or
nothing in case of failure- In the gloaming of an early
summers day, she steamed quietly away.
But not so quietly was the question of lighting the
dreaded reef allowed to pass. The Trinity House
Brethren were again reminded of a responsibility too
great to be ignored by the publication in the TIMES of
facts supplied by the Vicar after the
"Mohegan" sank. We quote one or two
lines:
"One fisherman who is still in middle life
recalls 36 (casualities). His list however is
incomplete for more than 50 have happened during the
past 50 years. Of these considerably more than half may
be classed as total wrecks".
To turn to the Life Boat records it seems that the
Porthoustock boat has, since the year 1872 been on
active service 16 times, and has effected the rescue of
112 persons. The same records show that 119 lives were
lost from the vessels to which the Life Boat went out.
There were at least 16 other wrecks during that period
resulting in the loss of 44 lives to which the Life
Boat could render no assistance.
Four wrecks alone in the last 90 years have resulted
in the drowning of no less than 470 persons.
The Vicar then begs for a Life Boat to be placed at
Coverack, and happily both the light and the boat were
provided.
The latter was presented by Mrs. Hills of Penshurst
Place, near Tunbridge Wells who was present at the
launching of it. It is a splendid boat, perfectly
equipped with a reliable crew.
Both Boat and Light have been of great service to the
public, the former was called into action almost
immediately to rescue the crew of the
"Glenberrie" which went ashore.
No Maritime parish in England
possesses a more dangerous coast than St. Keverne and
from time immemorial Nare Point, the Manacle Reef, the
Hebba Point and Blackhead have in their turn claimed
their sacrifices of living victims. But more notorious
than the rest, the Manacle Reef stands out, as the most
rapacious of them all, and is ever waiting for a mist
or strong east wind to exact the excessive toll which
our country men are compelled to pay for their insular
position.
Unfortunately a greater part of this reef is
submerged, and although two miles and a half wide, with
a projection from the shore of a mile and a half,
little is seen above the water, except a few crags.
The whole bed of rocks is a continuation in the sea of
a large dyke of green stone which crosses St. Keverne,
and give to it its extraordinary fertility. In its
course this dyke is studded by boulders which become
more numerous as the coast is neared. Beneath the water
they are very uneven and in some places wide enough
apart for a vessel to pass through, but these channels
are only navigable to those who know them well.
Commander Lory, in command of a Falmouth Packet Boat
(probably carrying mail) was chased by a French
Privateer (War between Eng. & France). Knowing -the
inner channel of the Manacles he safely navigated his
boat through. The Frenchman attempting the same feat
was wrecked. (See W. Michell or James Hele).
Each of the principal rocks has its distinguishing
name, and to these rocks Falmouth owes its safety in
gales from the Southward. They are its breakwater and
the students of navigation are taught in their first
lessons to avoid them, To facilitate this the Lizard
lights are kept burning to the South West. St
Anthony’s light illumines them from the North
East, and on the Bell Buoy The Trinity House Brethren
have placed an intermittent light which has lessened
the number of wrecks considerably. The Bell Buoy itself
was moored at a cost of £1,100.
There is little danger now of ships going down as they
often did in former times.
Speaking of the Manacles in 1620 Sir John Killigrew
wrote
"Neither is yet possible to get parfett notice
of the whence and what the ships are that yearly do
suffer on and near The Lizard, for yet is seldom that
any man escapes, and the ships split in small
pieces".
Royal Cornwall Polytechnic. Report 4 1836 P.
21.
"Before this Report shall be in the hands of the
public, your Committee hope to have supplied a
desideratum long wanted, by the accurate determination
of the true Meridian. Thus will be furnished a standard
by which the variation of magnetic, from the true
meridian, may be readily ascertained, and any change in
the declination of the needle easily detected. By it
compasses and other mathematical instruments may be
accurately adjusted; and mine agents and surveyors will
be enabled to lay down their plans to the true
meridian.
The spire of St. Keverne Church has been fixed on, as
the Southern extremity of the line; and it is intended
to erect a granite pillar in a field to the Westward of
Beacon Hill, to mark its other extremity near Falmouth.
This will give a base line of about 40,000 feet, and it
is hoped that it will be continued through the County
to the Bristol channel".
To the Solicitor of the Board of Trade. Wreck of
the S .S. MOHEGAN.
I, William Alfred Diggens, Vicar of Saint Keverne in
the County of Cornwall, having made many voyages at
sea, and having been most intimately acquainted with
the events that occurred immediately subsequent to the
week of the S.S. Mohegan beg to make the following
observations based on the experience thus acquired.
(1) That in all human probability if a light-house had
been in existence at the Manacles, the above valuable
ship with more than a hundred still more valuable lives
would not have been lost.
(2) That such a light would have prevented a very
large number of the casualties that have unfortunately
taken place in this locality.
(3) That if such a light is not provided measures much
more ample and efficient for the saving of life and
property than those adopted existing in this
neighbourhood should be taken. For instance:-
(4) Since life boats from distant places cannot work
safely and effectually in them (to them) strange and
dangerous waters, a second life-boat should be placed
at Coverack. The fishermen at this village are familiar
with the Manacles and the boat could be launched in all
weathers.
(5) There should be a life-saving apparatus at St.
Keverne (say), from whence an easy descent could be
made to any position of the adjacent coast. If the
Coverack Rocket Carriage is employed on the shore near
the Manacles, it has first to be brought (probably
pushed) up a long steep hill, a mile in length, before
it can be conveyed to its ultimate destination. The
delay thus occasioned has proved disastrous in at least
one instance.
(6) A Coast-guard Station, instead of being
established (as seems to be the intention) in
Porthoustock Cove, should be established at or near the
old Watch-house on Manacle Point. Vessels approaching
the dangerous rocks might then perhaps be warned off in
time to avoid disaster.
(7) Life-boats in search of wrecks and survivors
should on dark nights carry powerful lights. Briefly,
more lives sight have been saved if this had been done
on the night of the "Mohegan" wreck.
(8) There should be some system of signals by which
people ashore can convey messages to life-boats at sea.
Such a system would have been of great value on the
night of the wreck,
(9) That the Mast-Head and side lights on ships should
be altogether independent of any general system of
illumination.
(10) That a scheme for rendering each separate iron
deck a horizontal water-tight bulkhead might prevent
such losses as that of the "Mohegan".
(11) That practical tests of the boat lowering
apparatus of vessels should be made at frequent
intervals in the presence of Officers of the Board of
Trade, and that weekly boat drills on ships should be
made compulsory,
I have only to add that I should like to have given
evidence at the Board of Trade Enquiry as I think that
my evidence might have been of some value especially in
the matter of life-saving,
signed W. A. Diggens.
November 2nd, 1898,
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